10 All-Time Great Hoops Teams Added After Massive Realignment

Update - As we started to calculated the player cards, some of our new teams' ratings improved. Here is the anticipated points per trip against an average team for each new team - though the average against the great teams in the game is about 21 points a game worse.

 

Factors in All-Time Rnk	BC	Clem	FSU	Neb	NW	Rutg	Stan	UFC	Va T	Wash
Cards Offensive Eff	116	111	115	106	110	118	107	110	111	114
Cards Defensive Eff	99	99	97	96	95	98	91	96	102	96
Team Starting Rating vs Great Team	-4	-9	-3	-11	-6	-1	-5	-7	-12	-3
Tempo Used	61	74	77	65	66	80	63	65	77	71
New Rank	110th	155th	94th	167th	133rd	78th	120th	140th	169th	96th

Original Post Starters Here:

With the barrage of conference realignment announced this weekend, we are adding 10 teams to our Value Add Basketball Game including two who gave me my most vivid memories as a fan. This is our most popular blog of all-time, with 68,800 unique visitors to date. Yes it's college football kickoff today for many teams - but the realignment is for all college sports.

If I ever needed proof I was a certifiable basketball nut, it would start with a game I went to see Stephen Curry’s dad Dell Curry play at the Richmond Coliseum against a great VCU team. I parked in my home downtown Richmond, at the time ranked No. 2 to Detroit in murder per capita, and bolted with a friend into the game. After the game I could not find my keys despite the help from staffers. I retraced my steps to where I parked, only to discover I had not only left the keys in the car, but left the car running and unlocked for the entire game. I also watched one of the other 10 teams were are adding to the Value Add Basketball game, seeing Brook Lopez sink a shot as he fell on the baseline and the buzzer ended the game to give Stanford an 82-81 win in March Madness on my 43^rd birthday in 2008.

 With the barrage of conference realignment, only two teams (Washington State and Oregon State) are currently scheduled to play in the Pac-12 in 2024. This leaves four power football conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC), one power basketball-only conference (Big East) and for purposes of this post we are categorizing the other schools as “Mid-Major” for our all-time Value Add Basketball Game.

We grouped our Value Add Basketball Game player cards into the 2024 conferences, and found their were 10 schools in one of the power conferences but without a team in our game. We looked at the best teams in the history of each of those 10 schools, as well as the best players to come out of each school, and chose a team for each of them. The following is a summary of the 10 news teams for which player cards are being created to enable you to play them in the game. At the bottom of the blog is the link to the free game and all the player cards.

Duke - 2001 - Shane Battier

ACC - Shane Battier's Duke 2001 Ranked Best of 35 All-Time

Five New Teams Being Added include:

Boston College - 2006 - Jared Dudley

Two 6-foot-7 future NBA players Craig Smith and Jared Dudley dominated for a combined 34 points and 16 rebounds per game as Dudley went onto be one of many great NBA players from BC including Kevin Loughery (1962), John Bagley (1982), Michael Adams (1985), Dana Barros (1989), Howard Eisley (1994) and later Reggie Jackson (2011). The team was two baskets away from a potential ACC and national title, losing only by 2 to Duke in the ACC title game, then by 1 in overtime to Nova in the Sweet 16. They had pretty good balance, but a bit stronger on offense than defense. The debut as the 135^th all-time ranked team of our all-time teams from 1943 to current.

Clemson - 1987 - Horace Grant

Two future dominant NBA towers included the greatest Tiger of all in senior Horace Grant (6-foot-10, 21 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and emerging freshman Elden Campbell (6-11, 8.8, 4.1 off the bench) as they started to 24-2 to peak at #10 in the country. Their weaker defense was eventually exposed by the rugged ACC in the final stetch of the season. Grant and Campbell were part of an incredible 8 first round draft picks for Clemson in a 17 year stretch. They were nearly unstoppable on offense, though the defense was exposed late in the season. They debut as the 153^rd all-time team in our game.

Florida State - 1993 - Charlie Ward

As great as the 2018 team was with four future NBA players, it was Charlie Ward's 1993 Elite 8 team after he brought the Seminoles their first national football title as the Heisman Trophy winner that we pegged for the game. He was one of five future NBA players for a runner-up in the rugged ACC and 3-seed in the NCAA where they won three games before losing to #1 Kentucky. Ward and Sam Cassell (actually the team's best player) combined for more than 10 assists a game. Cassell, Bob Sura and Doug Edwards each averaged more than 18 points per game.  The Seminoles offense may have been the best in the country, though they were a bit soft on defense. They debut as the 93^rd ranked all-time team in our game.

Stanford - 2008 - Brook Lopez

As mentioned above, this is a heartbreaking team for me to include due to Brook Lopez’ shot while falling on the baseline with 1.3 seconds left to beat my beloved Marquette team 82-81 in overtime in the NCAA tournament. He and his 7-foot Robin Brooks both went in the top 15 NBA draft picks. The obviously towered over opponents, stretching UCLA in the Pac-12 championship.  The offense could stall a bit at times, but the defense was among the best in the country. They debut ranked 141^st all-time in our game.

Virginia Tech - 1986 – Dell Curry

With all respect to the recent deep NCAA run of NBA bound Nickell Alexander-Walker and Buzz Williams, we went with the father of Steph Curry - Dell Curry and his 1985 and 1986 Virginia Tech teams that combined for a 42-18 run and reached the top 15 during both seasons. The offense was very strong, but the defense was weak and led to first round losses in the NCAA two years in a row. The Hokies debut ranked 168^th all-time in our game.

Big 12 – Paul Pierce’s 1997 Kansas Ranked Best of 27 All-Time

One new team is:

Central Florida - 2019 - Tacko Fall

While Joey Graham from the 2005 team went onto be the best NBA player with more than 6,000 points from 2006 to 2011, we went with one of the most talked about future NBA players, Tacko Fall. The 7-foot-6 center from Senegal terrified opponents with his dominant play around the rim, beating VCU by 15 in the tournament before UCF fell just should be a point to Duke in the second round. Their offense and defense were both balanced and good, and they debut as the 162^nd best all-time team in our Value Add Basketball Game.

Big East – Mikal Bridges’ 2018 Villanova Ranked Best of 24 All-Time

No new teams are being added to the game.

 

Big Ten – Bill Walton’s 1972 UCLA Ranked Best of 32 All-Time

The following four new teams are being added to the game. And yes, UCLA in the Big Ten.

Nebraska – 2014 – Terran Petteway

We originally listed Aleks Maric’s 2008 squad, but on further review switched to add Terran Petteway’s 2014 squad. Both appear practically equal, but the 2014 squad won eight of the last nine games to finish 11-7 and 4^th in the Big Ten to grab a tournament spot. They did lose in the opening round to Baylor by 14, but that Baylor team then beat Creighton by 30 in the next round, so the loss does not look that bad. They had two wins over top 10 teams down the stretch, closing with a home win against Wisconsin after an even more impressive road win at Michigan State, which would go onto the elite 8. This was definitely a defense first team – and debuts at 171st among our all-time great teams.

Northwestern - 2017 - Vic Law

While the school known more for SAT scores than hoops that has not produced an NBA player this century, Vic Law led the school to perhaps their best season ever. Northwestern won at Wisconsin late in the season and then played #1 Gonzaga tough in the 2nd round of the NCAA before losing 79-73. They had a great defense, but not enough offense to be truly elite. They debut at 136^th all-time in our game.

Rutgers - 1976 - Phil Sellers

More recently Ron Harper was an intimidating physical force that made Rutgers a scary team, but it was the 1976 team that went 31-0 before finally losing in the Final Four with a dominant offense led by four future NBA players in Phil Sellers (19.2 pts, 10.2 rebounds), Eddie Jordan (14.1), Hollis Copeland 12.9) and James Bailey (9.5 as a freshman off the bench). Admittedly the competition was not as tough as an independent, but 31-0 is 31-0 and the fact that so many of their players showed they could play at the NBA level shows this was no fluke. They might have had the best offense in the country, though the defense was probably saved by a weak opposing schedule as an independent and even an easy draw in the tournament until the Final Four. They debut at 129^th all-time in our, but certainly fans could argue they are better than that and we do adjust ratings each time we play a team.

Washington - 2006 - Brandon Roy

Brandon Roy was the best of four NBA-bound players as the Huskies won their last eight games of the season including beating UCLA and winning at Arizona before a 2nd straight Sweet 16 run ended in overtime against UConn. The season capped a 2-year run with an incredible 55-13 record. They had one of the top offenses in the country, though definitely as weaker defense. They debut at 166^th all-time in our game.

SEC - Antoine Walker’s 1996 Kentucky Ranked Best of 25 All-time Teams

No new teams are being added to the game.

 

Mid-Majors – Nigel Williams-Goss’ 2017 Gonzaga Ranked best of 35 Teams

No new teams were added – this list includes any team not scheduled to be in one of the five conferences listed above for the 2024 season.

Below are the links to the free Value Add Basketball Game and to the link to all of the teams, grouped in alphabetical order.

 

All-Time Great Teams in  the Value Add Basketball Game in Alphabetical Order

The following is an alphabetical list of all teams in our game, their current rank in our game based both on how strong the cards are and then adjusted for games we have played between them (Bill Walton’s UCLA beat Michael Jordan’s UNC in our first tournament of all teams). On the rankings, we do have a formula that adjusts each team's ranking after each game we play using a formula similar to www.kenpom.com. Like in real life, sometimes a team pulls and upset or gets upset, and with the small sample of games a team may shoot up or down a bit from where we started them based on the player cards. The biggest upset I believe we've had was 1980 DePaul upsetting Kareem's UCLA team - which knocked UCLA out of our top 10 to 22nd, and shot DePaul all the way up to 31st. I believe UCLA is higher and DePaul is lower based on the cards, but that's the fun of playing games and will see if we play enough and UCLA shoots back up or not.

http://www.pudnersports.com/2019/02/value-add-basketball-board-game-debuts.html

 

List A - Alabama 1977 to Georgia Tech 2004

 

List B - Gonzaga 2017 to Marquette 2011

 

List C - Marquette 2023 to San Francisco 1956

 

List D - Seattle 1958 to Xavier 2023 

 

Rnk	Team - Year - Best Player Card	Conf 2024	Print pg
133	Alabama - 1977 - Reggie King	SEC	A2
39	Alabama - 2023 - Brandon Miller	SEC	A3
57	Arizona - 1997 - Mike Bibby	Big 12	A4
43	Arizona - 2015 - Stanley Johnson	Big 12	A5
161	Arizona St. - 1980 - Byron Scott	Big 12	A6
157	Arkansas - 1978 - Sidney Moncrief	SEC	A7
16	Arkansas - 1994 - Corliss Williamson	SEC	A8
108	Arkansas - 2021 - JD Notae	SEC	A9
147	Auburn - 1984 - Charles Barkley	SEC	A10
28	Auburn - 2019 - Chuma Okeke	SEC	A11
17	Baylor - 2021 - Jared Butler	Big 12	A12
135	Boston College - 2006 - Jared Dudley	ACC	A13
149	Brigham Young - 1981 - Danny Ainge	Big 12	A14
169	Butler - 2010 - Gordon Hayward	Big East	A15
125	California - 1959 - Jack Grout	ACC	A16
162	Central Florida - 2019 - Joey Graham	Big 12	A17
21	Cincinnati - 1960 - Oscar Robertson	Big 12	A18
48	Cincinnati - 2002 - Jason Maxiell	Big 12	A19
153	Clemson - 1987 - Horace Grant	ACC	A20
40	Colorado - 2021 - McKinley Wright	Big 12	A21
53	Connecticut - 1999 - Richard Hamilton	Big East	A22
13	Connecticut - 2004 - Ben Gordon	Big East	A23
37	Connecticut - 2023 - Adama Sanogo	Big East	A24
158	Creighton - 2014 - Doug McDermott	Big East	A25
163	Creighton - 2020 - Ty-Shon Alexander	Big East	A26
74	Creighton - 2023 - Ryan Kalkbrenner	Big East	A27
134	Davidson - 2008 - Stephen Curry	Mid-Maj	A28
165	Dayton - 1967 - Don May	Mid-Maj	A29
103	Dayton - 2020 - Obi Toppin	Mid-Maj	A30
117	DePaul - 1945 - George Mikan	Big East	A31
31	DePaul - 1980 - Mark Aguirre	Big East	A32
76	Duke - 1986 - Johnny Dawkins	ACC	A33
19	Duke - 1992 - Christian Laettner	ACC	A34
5	Duke - 2001 - Shane Battier	ACC	A35
15	Duke - 2010 - Jon Scheyer	ACC	A36
14	Duke - 2015 - Justise Winslow	ACC	A37
61	Duke - 2022 - Wendell Moore	ACC	A38
54	Florida - 2006 - Joakim Noah	SEC	A39
138	Florida Atlantic - 2023 - Johnell Davis	Mid-Maj	A40
93	Florida State - 1993 - Charlie Ward	ACC	A41
160	George Mason - 2006 - Jai Lewis	Mid-Maj	A42
64	Georgetown - 1984 - Patrick Ewing	Big East	A43
79	Georgetown - 2007 - Roy Hibbert	Big East	A44
159	Georgia - 1982 - Dominique Wilkins	SEC	A45
89	Georgia Tech - 1990 - Dennis Scott	ACC	A46
78	Georgia Tech - 2004 - Jarrett Jack	ACC	A47
10	Gonzaga - 2017 - Nigel Williams-Goss	Mid-Maj	B2
59	Gonzaga - 2023 - Drew Timme	Mid-Maj	B3
118	Holy Cross - 1950 - Bob Cousy	Mid-Maj	B4
11	Houston - 1968 - Elvin Hayes	Big 12	B5
29	Houston - 1983 - Hakeem Olajuwon	Big 12	B6
58	Houston - 2021 - Quentin Grimes	Big 12	B7
50	Illinois - 1989 - Nick Anderson	Big Ten	B8
27	Illinois - 2005 - Deron Williams	Big Ten	B9
7	Indiana - 1976 - Scott May	Big Ten	B10
52	Indiana - 1981 - Isaiah Thomas	Big Ten	B11
105	Indiana - 2002 - Jared Jeffries	Big Ten	B12
140	Indiana St. - 1979 - Larry Bird	Mid-Maj	B13
120	Iowa - 2002 - Reggie Evans	Big Ten	B14
55	Iowa - 2021 - Luka Garza	Big Ten	B15
94	Iowa St. - 2014 - DeAndre Kane	Big 12	B16
71	Jacksonville - 1970 - Artis Gilmore	Mid-Maj	B17
77	Kansas - 1957 - Wilt Chamberlain	Big 12	B18
139	Kansas - 1988 - Danny Manning	Big 12	B19
2	Kansas - 1997 - Paul Pierce	Big 12	B20
3	Kansas - 2008 - Mario Chalmers	Big 12	B21
24	Kansas - 2022 - Ochai Agbaji	Big 12	B22
97	Kansas St. - 2008 - Michael Beasley	Big 12	B23
85	Kansas St. - 2023 - Markquis Nowell	Big 12	B24
104	Kentucky - 1948 - Alex Groza	SEC	B25
150	Kentucky - 1970 - Dan Issel	SEC	B26
4	Kentucky - 1996 - Antoine Walker	SEC	B27
35	Kentucky - 2012 - Anthony Davis	SEC	B28
143	La Salle - 1954 - Tom Gola	Mid-Maj	B29
164	Louisville - 1980 - Darrell Griffith	ACC	B30
18	Louisville - 2013 - Russ Smith	ACC	B31
51	Loyola Marymount - 1990 - Bo Kimble	Mid-Maj	B32
46	Loyola-Chicago - 1963 - Jerry Harkness	Mid-Maj	B33
174	Loyola-Chicago - 2018 - Cameron Krutwig	Mid-Maj	B34
170	LSU - 1970 - Pete Maravich	SEC	B35
62	LSU - 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal	SEC	B36
131	LSU - 2006 - Glen Davis	SEC	B37
152	Marquette - 1955 - Terry Rand	Big East	B38
91	Marquette - 1971 - Jim Chones	Big East	B39
90	Marquette - 1977 - Butch Lee	Big East	B40
123	Marquette - 1994 - Jim McIlvaine	Big East	B41
87	Marquette - 2003 - Dwyane Wade	Big East	B42
126	Marquette - 2011 - Jimmy Butler	Big East	B43
86	Marquette - 2023 - Tyler Kolek	Big East	C2
96	Maryland - 1984 - Len Bias	Big Ten	C3
106	Maryland - 2002 - Juan Dixon	Big Ten	C4
32	Memphis - 2008 - Derrick Rose	Mid-Maj	C5
100	Miami - 2013 - Shane Larkin	ACC	C6
83	Miami - 2023 - Norchad Omier	ACC	C7
175	Miami FL - 1965 - Rick Berry	ACC	C8
44	Michigan - 1965 - Cazzie Russell	Big Ten	C9
45	Michigan - 1989 - Glen Rice	Big Ten	C10
65	Michigan - 2013 - Trey Burke	Big Ten	C11
30	Michigan St. - 1979 - Magic Johnson	Big Ten	C12
33	Michigan St. - 2000 - Mateen Cleaves	Big Ten	C13
60	Michigan St. - 2009 - Draymond Green	Big Ten	C14
107	Minnesota - 1977 - Kevin McHale	Big Ten	C15
82	Missouri - 1982 - Steve Stipanovich	SEC	C16
167	Murray St. - 2019 - Ja Morant	Mid-Maj	C17
154	Navy - 1986 - David Robinson	Mid-Maj	C18
25	NC State - 1974 - David Thompson	ACC	C19
171	Nebraska – 2014 – Terran Petteway	Big Ten	C20
177	Niagara - 1970 - Calvin Murphy	Mid-Maj	C21
151	North Carolina - 1957 - Lennie Rosenbluth	ACC	C22
20	North Carolina - 1982 - Michael Jordan	ACC	C23
41	North Carolina - 1998 - Vince Carter	ACC	C24
8	North Carolina - 2005 - Sean May	ACC	C25
128	North Carolina - 2022 - Armando Bacot	ACC	C26
136	Northwestern - 2017 - Vic Law	Big Ten	C27
144	Notre Dame - 1970 - Austin Carr	ACC	C28
137	Notre Dame - 1981 - Orlando Woolridge	ACC	C29
9	Ohio St. - 1960 - Jerry Lucas	Big Ten	C30
72	Ohio St. - 2007 - Greg Oden	Big Ten	C31
49	Oklahoma - 1985 - Wayman Tisdale	SEC	C32
111	Oklahoma - 2016 - Buddy Hield	SEC	C33
114	Oklahoma St. - 1946 - Bob Kurland	Big 12	C34
95	Oklahoma St. - 2004 - John Lucas	Big 12	C35
42	Oregon - 2017 - Dillon Brooks	Big Ten	C36
115	Penn St. - 2018 - Tony Carr	Big Ten	C37
75	Pittsburgh - 2009 - DeJuan Blair	ACC	C38
172	Princeton - 1965 - Bill Bradley	Mid-Maj	C39
176	Princeton - 2023 - Tosan Evbuomwan	Mid-Maj	C40
66	Purdue - 1969 - Rick Mount	Big Ten	C41
26	Purdue - 2018 - Carsen Edwards	Big Ten	C42
129	Rutgers - 1976 - Phil Sellers	Big Ten	C43
92	San Diego St. - 2011 - Kawhi Leonard	Mid-Maj	C44
81	San Diego St. - 2023 - Jaedon LeDee	Mid-Maj	C45
56	San Francisco - 1956 - Bill Russell	Mid-Maj	C46
130	Seattle - 1958 - Elgin Baylor	Mid-Maj	D2
63	Seton Hall - 1989 - John Morton	Big East	D3
101	Seton Hall - 2020 - Myles Powell	Big East	D4
102	SMU - 2017 - Semi Ojeleye	ACC	D5
145	South Carolina - 1973 - Mike Dunleavy	SEC	D6
98	South Carolina - 2017 - Sindarius Thornwell	SEC	D7
116	St. Bonaventure - 1970 - Bob Lanier	Mid-Maj	D8
110	St. Joe's - 2004 - Jameer Nelson	Mid-Maj	D9
84	St. John's - 1985 - Chris Mullin	Big East	D10
88	St. Mary's - 2023 - Logan Johnson	Mid-Maj	D11
178	St. Peter's - 2022 - Doug Edert	Mid-Maj	D12
141	Stanford - 2008 - Brook Lopez	ACC	D13
142	Stephen f austin - 2016 - Thomas Walkup	Mid-Maj	D14
70	Syracuse - 1987 - Rony Seikaly	ACC	D15
47	Syracuse - 2003 - Carmelo Anthony	ACC	D16
127	TCU - 2023 - JaKobe Coles	Big 12	D17
124	Tennessee - 1977 - Bernard King	SEC	D18
69	Tennessee - 2023 - Santiago Vescovi	SEC	D19
121	Texas - 2003 - T.J. Ford	SEC	D20
38	Texas - 2023 - Marcus Carr	SEC	D21
67	Texas Tech - 2019 - Jarrett Culver	Big 12	D22
22	UCLA - 1967 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Big Ten	D23
1	UCLA - 1972 - Bill Walton	Big Ten	D24
119	UCLA - 2006 - Jordan Farmar	Big Ten	D25
73	UCLA - 2021 - Jaime Jaquez	Big Ten	D26
99	UNLV - 1987 - Armen Gilliam	Mid-Maj	D27
23	UNLV - 1991 - Larry Johnson	Mid-Maj	D28
68	USC - 2021 - Evan Mobley	Big Ten	D29
112	Utah - 1998 - Andre Miller	Big 12	D30
80	UTEP (Texas Western) - 1966 - Bobby Joe Hill	Mid-Maj	D31
173	VCU - 2011 - Bradford Burgess	Mid-Maj	D32
155	Villanova - 1985 - Ed Pinckney	Big East	D33
6	Villanova - 2018 - Mikal Bridges	Big East	D34
122	Virginia - 1981 - Ralph Sampson	ACC	D35
12	Virginia - 2019 - Kyle Guy	ACC	D36
168	Virginia Tech - 1986 - Dell Curry	ACC	D37
34	Wake Forest - 1996 - Tim Duncan	ACC	D38
156	Wake Forest - 2005 - Chris Paul	ACC	D39
166	Washington - 2006 - Brandon Roy	Big Ten	D40
148	West Virginia - 1959 - Jerry West	Big 12	D41
113	West Virginia - 2010 - Kevin Jones	Big 12	D42
132	Wichita St. - 2013 - Fred VanVleet	Mid-Maj	D43
36	Wisconsin - 2015 - Frank Kaminsky	Big Ten	D44
146	Wyoming - 1943 - Ken Sailors	Mid-Maj	D45
109	Xavier - 2023 - Jack Nunge	Big East	D46