The BIAH Advent Calendar: Day 5

Yup, it is December. And as the temperatures outside drop, the heat is rising on college campuses across the country as basketball season kicks into full swing. But December is also a time to reflect on the past year. This December is special, because as we draw closer to the new year, we get closer to the end of the aughts. In the spirit of the holidays, we are going to celebrate the decade past by counting down the top 25 games, players, and teams of the last 10 years with the BIAH advent calender. Each day, we will be unveiling the next on each of our lists, culminating with our gift to you on Christmas Day: the best game, the best player, and the best team of the 2000's.

Here is No. 21:

2001: Duke vs. Maryland in the ACC Semifinals: In the early 2000's, it seemed like every time Duke and Maryland played, it was a classic. This game was no different. Maryland ended the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 45-42 lead, but Duke exploded to start the second half, going on a 19-2 run to open up a 61-47 lead.

Maryland would immediately start chipping away. A 14-6 run cut the lead to six, and the Terps would hang around until back-to-back threes form Juan Dixon and Danny Miller gave Maryland a 78-77 lead. Mike Dunleavy, Jr, would score five straight points for Duke sandwiched around a Danny Miller free throw to set the stages for an exciting finish. Down three, Steve Blake buried a deep three pointer from the wing to tie the game. Jason Williams drove the lane at the other end. He missed a shot in the lane, but Nate James was johnny-on-the-spot for a tip-in to give Duke the lead with 1.3 seconds left. Juan Dixon's half court prayer at the buzzer bounced off the rim.


Josh Howard, Wake Forest: Howard was a starter from the day he stepped on the Wake Forest. As a freshman, he averaged 9.1 ppg, including a 19 point performance against Duke in the 2000 ACC Tournament. As a sophomore, he missed a few games battling the flu, but he still managed to earn second-team all-ACC honors while leading Wake Forest at 13.6 ppg. As a junior, he deferred Darius Songaila, but still managed to post 13.9 ppg while earning third-team all-ACC honors.

Josh Howard was named ACC Player of the Year as a senior.
(photo credit: AP)

But it was Howard's senior season that put him on a different level. He was named ACC player of the year and 1st team all-american (a couple outlets - FOX, Basketball Time - even named him national player of the year) while averaging 19.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, and 1.5 bpg. What made Howard so special was his versatility and all around game. A 6'8" forward, Howard could defend against either forward spot, he could score in the post or on the perimeter, and he was an excellent defender. To get an idea of how good his all-around game was, think about this: the only other player in ACC history to amass 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals, 100 blocks, and 100 three-pointers was Shane Battier.


2003 Arizona Wildcats: You wanna talk loaded, let's talk the 2003 Wildcats team. Look at this list of names: Jason Gardner, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Rick Anderson, Hassan Adams, Andre Igoudala. This team was so deep, that Will Bynum, who helped lead Georgia Tech to the title game the next season, left because he couldn't get minutes.

Arizona had high expectations all season long.
(photo credit: SI)

The consensus during the 2003 season was that Arizona, along with Kentucky, were far and away the best teams in America. The Wildcats rolled through the regular season, finishing 25-2 and 17-1 in a pretty good Pac-10. I've said it before, but this team was part of the reason that No. 1 seeds began getting ranked, because Kentucky and Arizona were due to meet in the national semifinals.

The postseason is where this team ran into trouble. They lost a shootout to UCLA in the opening game of the Pac-10 tournament, and were eventually eliminated in the Elite 8 by a pretty good Kansas team they had handedly defeated earlier in the season. Regardless of post season success, on a talent-by-talent basis, this group could match-up with any team of the decade.


No. 22: Duke v. Maryland in the ACC Semis, Tayshaun Prince, UConn's 2009 team
No. 23: 2005 Vermont v. Syracuse, Andrew Bogut, and Memphis's 2008 team.
No. 24: UConn v. Miami, Luke Harangody, and Kansas's 2003 team
No. 25: Drake v. Western Kentucky, Wayne Simien, and Louisville's 2009 team.