Best programs; all-time and current

Now that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has taken the top spots for most wins and has established himself as one of the greatest coaches of all time, what about the best programs? Which program is No.1 all time? What are the top programs now?

After a ton of research, here is the Hoops Scoops list of top programs, both current and all time. You’ll be surprised which programs made the all-time top 4 and which programs didn’t.

1. North Carolina - North Carolina is the top program of all-time under Hoops Scoops’ scenario. Under Dean Smith (1961-1997) North Carolina 17 ACC regular season titles and 13 tournament championships. The Tar Heels made 27 NCAA tournament appearances, 11 Final Fours and won two national championships in 1982 and 1993. But the key is what the program has done since Smith’s retirement. Longtime assistant Bill Guthridge took over, went 80-28 in three seasons and took the Tar Heels to two Final Fours. The Matt Doherty reign was short (2000-2003) and far from sweet, but Roy Williams hit the ground running. Under Williams the Tar Heels had won two national titles (2005, 2009) and made the Final Four in 2008. Few programs can say they have been as consistent as the Tar Heels have been in the last three decades.

Duke not in the top 4 all time? It was actually an easy decision. We’ve seen what North Carolina (Dean Smith), Kansas (Phog Allen), UCLA (John Wooden) and Kentucky (Adolph Rupp) look like without their chief architects. The aforementioned schools have all thrived under different coaches over the decades and have remained household names.

We have no idea what Duke, Connecticut, Michigan State or Syracuse will look like without their current coaches. The one season Duke didn’t have Krzyzewski (the coach had hip surgery in 1994-1995) the Blue Devils went 13-18 (2-14 ACC) and missed the tournament. This isn’t to say Duke couldn’t thrive without Krzyzewski, but we’d like to see it happen.