Mike DeCourcy

It was easily the most surprising assignment of my career, outside of a newspaper ordering me to cover auto racing though I can't even drive a stick. Some weeks back, the editors of Sporting News asked me to write about the player, coach and team of the decade.

It hadn't occurred to me, not for a second, the clock is running down on the 2000s.

Now that I've been stirred, I've got a few more thoughts about what occurred in college basketball during these past 10 years.

These are the 10 defining moments of the 2000s:

March 9, 2000: The look on Kenyon's face
Cincinnati center Kenyon Martin, the unanimous 2000 player of the year, was playing in an early conference tournament game when he set a screen, bumped an opponent and fell. It didn't appear to be a drastic collision, but the desperate look on Martin's face revealed the extent of his injury. His season was over and Cincinnati's title dream destroyed. Doctors rushed him to the hospital for tests that revealed a broken leg and torn ligaments, but Martin's expression spoke as clearly as the MRI.

April 3, 2000: Mateen limps to glory
Perhaps Michigan State would have held off Florida in the NCAA championship without All-American Mateen Cleaves. But there was an electric element of drama in the RCA Dome after Cleaves twisted his ankle on a layup with MSU up six, early in the second half. He was taken to the locker room, argued with medical personnel to permit his return, tried to loosen the ankle in the Dome's long hallways and ultimately reentered with about a dozen minutes left to help guide the Spartans home.

April 2, 2001: JWill goes for a ride
With Duke All-American Jay Williams owning two fouls in the first half of the NCAA championship, he and Arizona guard Jason Gardner scrambled after a loose ball. Gardner got it and Williams wound up sprawled across Gardner's bent back. No call. It was the ultimate in no-harm/no-foul, as no advantage was gained. But Williams' ability to continue with impunity set the tone for a decade of complaints about perceived officiating bias toward Duke. (Apparently, refs aren't cheating hard enough because the Devils have been to one Final Four since).

Nov. 14, 2002: Hello, Melo
On the way to losing his first college game to Memphis, Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony scored 15 consecutive points in one stretch. He finished with 27. I remember writing this note: "Could be all-Big East at every position." That night, at Madison Square Garden, Anthony redefined what a freshman could accomplish. He rewrote that book again by winning his final college game in the NCAA championship against Kansas.

April 7, 2003: Roy talks a blue streak

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Roy Williams, who prefers modifiers like "dadgum" to those most coaches employ, spit out a surprisingly caustic answer–on live TV–to CBS reporter Bonnie Bernstein's question about the North Carolina job shortly after his Kansas Jayhawks lost the NCAA title game to Syracuse. "I could give a (expletive) about North Carolina right now," he said. In that moment, he was not lying. He cared deeply about his team. But he soon was the Tar Heels' coach, and that passion and commitment helped restore UNC's greatness.

March 2, 2004: Perfection
It wasn't much of a game: Saint Joseph's 82, St. Bonaventure 50. That result gave St. Joe's a perfect 27-0 regular season—perhaps the decade's most enduring accomplishment.

July 30, 2005: The draft comes of age
As part of its collective bargaining agreement with players, the NBA announced prospects would need to be 19 and a year removed from high school graduation to enter the draft. After years of prep stars largely crashing as NBA draft picks—most remember Kobe and LeBron and forget the dozens of failures—players would need to gain some training before becoming pros. Most chose college. This might have been David Stern's best moment as NBA commissioner. The age minimum has legions of loud, misguided critics who continue to gripe. This many people haven't been this wrong about a single subject since Out of Africa won the Best Picture Oscar in 1985.

March 26, 2006: Table dance
There were lots of decisive plays in George Mason's regional final victory over Connecticut, but no picture so memorable as the Patriots standing on the press tables and celebrating—the first Final Four for a true mid-major since 1979—with their fans.

April 3, 2006: The blow-by
In the 2006 NCAA title game, Florida was matched against one of the great tacticians, UCLA's Ben Howland. He determined Taurean Green was essential to the Gators and put the Bruins' best perimeter defender, 6-6 Cedric Bozeman, on the puny point guard. Zip, zip, zip—Green blew past Bozeman three times in the first few minutes and shattered UCLA's game plan. Florida became a short-term dynasty.

April 7, 2008: Rim shot
With 10 seconds left and Memphis leading the NCAA final by two points, guard Derrick Rose missed the first of two free throws. He'd been the best player in the game, and other Tigers had made mistakes that allowed a comfortable lead to evaporate. A Kansas fan might view Mario Chalmers' OT-forcing 3-pointer as the moment of that game. But if Rose makes both foul shots, the final seconds are just for show.

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