(07-11-2017 12:21 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Villanova and Florida have the exact same number of NCAA Championships and Final Fours, and Villanova has way more NCAA Tournament appearances. Villanova also won their national championships with separate coaches. I don't think it is a stretch at all to have Villanova over Florida. Both are clearly elite programs. One just has more sustained success than the other.

Indiana is clearly not the same program it was under Knight. It may never return to that level. The thing, in my mind, that is a category of a blue blood is its ability to sustain success through different coaches. UNC has done it through Smith and Williams. Kentucky has done it through Rupp, Pitino, Smith and Calipari. Kansas has done it through Brown, Williams and Self. Indiana was only one of the top programs in the country - consistently - under one coach. At least Villanova and Florida have achieved consistent national success under separate regimes.

Frank McGuire was hired by UNC around 1952 because NC State and Duke had been killing UNC since the end of WWII. By 57 he had a national title and undefeated season even though NC State won more conference titles in that time, and I think Duke won more conference games. He was run off by UNC due to point shavers who followed him down from the northeast. Smith was his assistant. So it's not just Smith and Williams, but McGuire, Smith, Guthridge, and Williams. Matt Doeherty was the only dud over the last 60 years.