The past 10 years have produced many great memories in college basketball.
We are about to wrap up a great decade, and 2020 will start a new era of college hoops greatness.
With that in mind, I sat down and put together my picks for an All-Decade Team, and also ID'd the decade's top coaches, teams and games:
All-Decade Team | Top Coaches | Top Teams | Top Games
Dickie V's All-Decade Team:
Zion Williamson, Duke Blue Devils (2018-19)
Anthony Davis, Kentucky Wildcats (2011-12)
Trey Burke, Michigan Wolverines (2011-13)
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners (2012-16)
Kemba Walker, UConn Huskies (2008-11)
Dickie V says: I will never forget Buddy Hield's performance in the Oklahoma-Kansas game on Jan. 4, 2016, won by the Jayhawks 109-106 in three overtimes. Hield put on a show at Allen Fieldhouse, scoring 46 points. The only four-year player on this list, Hield is a member of my All-Decade team because of both his skill and work ethic. Kemba Walker was Mr. Clutch for the Huskies. Zion Williamson averaged 22.6 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 68% from the field -- he was excitement galore. Burke was so special for Michigan, and I think some people forget how important he was as a college player. Davis averaged a double-double and shot over 62% from the field.
Dickie V's Teams of the Decade:
2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats
2014-15 Duke Blue Devils
2017-18 Villanova Wildcats
2013-14 UConn Huskies
2016-17 North Carolina Tar Heels
Dickie V says: All five of the teams above cut down the nets as national champions. Kentucky was 38-2 and beat Kansas for the national title in New Orleans. Duke won 35 games and beat Wisconsin for the title. Villanova went 36-4 and dominated the Final Four, with an impressive win over Michigan in the title game. North Carolina edged Gonzaga behind Joel Berry. Connecticut, coached by Kevin Ollie, beat Kentucky in a No. 7 vs. No. 8-seeded final. That team fought so hard to win it all.
Dickie V's Coaches of the Decade
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils
Jay Wright, Villanova Wildcats
Tom Izzo, Michigan State Spartans
John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats
Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels
Dickie V says: I know there are a few others who could have made this list, but I'm confident with these five. Wright won titles in 2016 and 2018. Coach K won in 2010 and 2015. Williams and Calipari won one each, while Izzo was in the Final Four three times in the decade to make the list.
Dickie V's Games of the Decade
Virginia 63, Auburn 62 in Final Four (April 6, 2019)
Villanova 77, North Carolina 74 in National Championship (April 4, 2016)
Kansas 85, Duke 81 (OT) in Midwest Regional Final (March 25, 2018)
Duke 61, Butler 59 in National Championship (April 5, 2010)
Kentucky 68, Notre Dame 66 in Midwest Regional Final (March 28, 2015)
Dickie V says: Imagine if Gordon Hayward's last-second shot went in for Butler, over Duke? In a similar scenario, Kris Jenkins became a hero for Villanova six years later. There was controversy in that Auburn-Virginia semifinal, but it was excitement galore. Malik Newman was special in the Duke-Kansas Elite Eight showdown, scoring 32 points in an overtime win. Kentucky, meanwhile, made its last nine shots to edge the Irish in a thriller that deserves to be remembered.