When the “One Shining Moment” montage played on the big screen at State Farm Arena, Zach Eady wasn't on the court, but standing on a small piece of paper with his team's colors on it. So the best players in college never got to watch their greatest accomplishments unfold in slow motion in his favorite nostalgic jams from college basketball. Instead, that special memory will forever belong to the greatest basketball team. That happens sometimes in games. Probably even in most cases.
More than any other team sport, basketball thrives on individual talent. A peculiar star fuels intrigue. They make us sit and pay attention. And the Superstars would have you believe that 1-for-5 will hold up pretty well. Then nights like Monday come along and the belief that it's impossible to win without a superstar is shattered.
Because somewhere in Purdue's locker room sat Eadie, his season ending in disappointment, a lonely shower awaiting him. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Huskies were busy dressing up on the court. Their new shirts read “2024 Men's Basketball National Champs,” making the words stand out from the rest of the shirts.
It's no surprise that the sport's biggest star didn't leave the stadium wearing a nice new shirt. Huskies manager Dan Hurley predicted that in his pregame speech to his players.
After the team won 75-60, Hurley told Turner's Ernie Johnson, “The message was we are the best team in the country.” “Purdue is clearly the second-best team in the country.”
The best team wins. The team won its second consecutive championship, becoming the eighth NCAA Division I men's team to accomplish this feat. U-Conn may be more impressive. To do so, he had to go through the most dominant man in college hoops.
This season, Eadie toyed with her opponents like a freakish Caitlin Clark. While she ruined the women's game with her ability to shoot from sneaky distance, he represented the men's side perfectly, with his 7-foot-4, 300-pound frame allowing him to shoot from close range. Make no mistake, Purdue had a solid team surrounding Eadie. The Boilermakers ranked second in the country in 3-point percentage. Eady had a backup all season as Purdue came within 40 minutes of winning his first national title. Still, the Boilermakers weren't nearly enough to reach Connecticut's level. Many college superstars can relate.
While Danny Manning was a freak who propelled a weak Kansas team to the 1988 title, Georgetown's Reggie and the Miracles had no such luck. Williams is an All-American who led an underdog Hoyas team to the Big East title, but not the big one. And while freshman Carmelo Anthony provided all the star power for the 2003 Syracuse national champions, while Tim Duncan won the Naismith Trophy and Wood Trophy, Kentucky led Wake Forest's team to the Elite Eight as a senior. piled up.
Manning and Melo have even more Marbury. He is an extraordinary player whose talent alone cannot carry an entire roster.
Eady scored 37 points on Monday — impressive, to be sure — but his teammates deflated at the worst possible time. Starting guard Fletcher Royer was held scoreless for the first time in his career. The other two starters, Lance Jones and Trey Kaufman-Len, combined for nine points. And while this Purdue team was efficient all year long, it finished just 1-3, its lowest total in a national title game since 2011.
“We knew he was going to score points. He took 25 shots en route to 37 points,” Huskies guard Tristen Newton said of Eadie. “That was the game plan. Just limit the guards.”
More specifically, just protect everyone except named Edy and win the game. That's why Hurley was so obsessed with having his photo taken with the trophy instead of being a talented matte painter. It was only when he kept smiling, like when he invited Jim Calhoun on stage for a photo, that he stopped chewing gum. The program now has six national titles, largely thanks to these two.
“Calhoun is our GOAT,” former Connecticut star Rudy Gay said in response to a question about Hurley's current standing.
“[But] New generation, okay, let's give it to Harley,'' said Charlie Villanueva, who won the title at Calhoun in 2004.
Since arriving in Connecticut, Hurley has built a blueprint for this era of college basketball, combining old-school values โโwith an innovative offense. He's a coach's son and a Jersey City player. During the recruiting process, he said Hurley would not kiss the derriere. Of course, he didn't use that word, he used another word. And seeing a bright neon light flashing above a five-star recruit doesn't always make him want to stray from the reliable path of success.
Connecticut clearly has elite players. After last year's title, the Huskies signed a top-five recruiting class. But Hurley said he is pursuing “our type of people.” A great example of this is McDonald's All-American Stephon Castle, whose stellar wattage Hurley couldn't ignore. He got off to a slow start Monday night, picking up an offensive foul late in the first half before Castle made a missed shot through a crowd of bodies. On Purdue's next possession, Castle intercepted an inside pass and tiptoed along the sideline to stay inside the goal. The two game-winning plays will never be highlights, but they are Hurley-like plays by one of Hurley's guys.
In the end, Castle finished above average with 15 points, but he wasn't alone. Four of the Huskies' starters reached double figures in scoring, leading to the biggest question of the night. What's more unstoppable than that — the 7-foot-4, two-time National Player of the Year? Or is it a balanced attack with overwhelming beauty?
The answer is “B,” so U-Conn is a back-to-back champion.
“One of the things I always say about this team is that it was different than most other teams, because this team was balanced,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva proudly wore his U-Con on Monday night. Basketball alum t-shirt. He celebrated on a confetti-covered court with other Huskies who went on to have long NBA careers, including Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Emeka Okafor and Gay. But Villanueva never looked back on his past, nor did he implement the OG-like tactic of comparing his freshmen to his own team, which tends to glorify his past more. Like his fellow alumni in attendance, Villanueva simply recognized the greatness of the Huskies who unleashed the beauty of his team game.
“It could be AK, DC, Tristen. It was different players every night. That's what the team really is. They don't rely on one player. Or two players,” Villanueva said. He spoke using the initial nicknames of sophomores Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan. โItโs a bunch of guys who donโt know whoโs going to bring it.โ
By the time “We Are the Champions” was playing over the speakers and arena staff had set up ladders under both rims, the best players in college basketball had already left. Instead, the court belonged to the best team in the sport.