UCLA is now ranked number 1 in college basketball. I’ve cheered for UCLA since my high school days in California, at the end of the Wooden era. I put together three whole teams of stellar UCLA alums. Quite an amazing list–two guards, two forwards, and a center for each.

First Team
Reggie Miller (1987)
Gail Goodrich (1965)
Marques Johnson (1977)
Keith Wilkes (1974)
Lew Alcindor (1969)

Second Team
Baron Davis (1999)
Henry Bibby (1972)
Sidney Wicks (1971)
Kiki Vandeweghe (1980)
Bill Walton (1974)

Third Team
Walt Hazzard (1964)
Roy Hamilton (1979)
Richard Washington (1976)
David Greenwood (1979)
Swen Nater (1973)

The team that played in that famous streak-ending loss to Notre Dame had Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes, Marques Johnson, David Meyers, Richard Washington, and Swen Nater, all of whom became good pros.

The closest contender for all-time greatness would be North Carolina. You can put together a few great teams from this list, though they would be short on centers and not well-rounded. And they still wouldn’t beat the UCLA greats. At least, not in a series.

Michael Jordan
James Worthy
Vince Carter
Antawn Jamison
Rasheed Wallace
Sam Perkins
Phil Ford
Rick Fox
JR Reid
Jerry Stackhouse
Brad Daugherty
Eric Montross