Although there are championships held in every NCAA sanctioned sport, from field hockey to water polo, the Division I Men's Basketball tournament is the most famous and most prestigious.
Ever since the first Final Four was held in 1939, players who have starred at the collegiate level have gone on to become some of the most famous players in the professional game.
From Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul Jabbar) taking his UCLA Bruins to three NCAA titles during the team's dynasty run of the 1960s, to Magic Johnson's Michigan State Spartans squaring off against Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores in the classic 1979 title game, to Michael Jordan's game winning shot for UNC against Georgetown in 1982, NBA superstars often got their beginning shining on college's biggest stage.
As we look ahead at this year's crop of teams looking to gain their shot at a national championship, let's look at the impact players whose collegiate legacy could propel them to an NBA career.
Starting with the Georgetown Hoyas, the champions of the East Regional, the marquee names are Patrick Ewing, Jr., the son of NBA hall of famer Patrick Ewing, and coach John Thompson III, the son of legendary coach John Thompson. The last time there was an Ewing-Thompson combination at Georgetown; the team reached the 1985 Final Four.
However, the real impact players for the Hoyas are Jeff Green and Jonathan Wallace, who scored 22 and 19 points respectively in the regional final. Look for these two to continue their hot play over the final weekend of the season.
The defending champion Florida Gators are looking for the first back-to-back titles since Duke in the early nineties. The Gators are the first team ever to return all of its starters from the previous year.
Led by Joakim Noah and Taurean Green, the Gators will play UCLA in the semifinals, a rematch of last year's title game. If the Gators are going to win another ring this year, it will be these two leading the way again.
The team that the Gators will be facing, the UCLA Bruins, are back in the Final Four for the second straight year.
Aaron Affalo is the team leader this time around, scoring 24 points in the regional final to lead UCLA in an upset against top-seeded Kansas. The challenge for the Bruins will be finding a second scorer to go along with Affalo, as Darren Collison was the only other Bruin in double-digits in that game.
The final squad is the Ohio State Buckeyes. There is no question who the star player on that team is, as Greg Oden has been named as a potential No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft.
While he may look like he's 35 years old, his play as a true 19-year-old is a major reason why the Buckeyes are thinking national title this year.
So who will be cutting down the nets in the Georgia Dome?
Florida may have the most experience, yet Ohio State may have the best player in the nation. Georgetown has the legacy factory, yet UCLA has the momentum on its side.
The uncertainty heading down the homestretch of the 2007 basketball season is what makes the Final Four an American classic and propels the players taking part into legendary status.
