As the NCAA Tournament begins today, we all wonder who will become the story of the next two weeks, which team will carve its name alongside the champions past. Here's one man's five favorite NCAA champs post-John Wooden era, when the Bruins won an amazing 10 tourneys in 12 years...

    5. -- ARIZONA '97 -- This Lute Olson-coached outfit was one of the finest perimeter teams to ever compete. There is little doubt in my mind Miles Simon and Mike Bibby comprised the most lethal backcourt of the modern era. Both were marksmen from outside the 3-point arc, and Bibby was a masterful playmaker. I didn't think a team could win it all when it was centered almost-exclusively on its guards, but the Wildcats upset top-ranked Kansas in Birmingham in the regionals and never looked back.

    4. -- DUKE '91 -- People love to talk about the David vs.Goliath upsets in tournament history, and there have been many. But none quite compares to Duke's shocking victory over defending champion UNLV in '91. The Rebels had embarrassed the Blue Devils in the finals the year before, and few gave them a shot this time around. However, bolstered by what may have been the best starting five in college history, Mike Krzyzewski's crew was convinced it could play with UNLV. Two nights later, they beat Kansas for the championship, the first of three under Coach K.

    3. -- GEORGETOWN '84 -- No, I'm not a John Thompson II fan. His son, the guy who runs Georgetown's show now, is a far superior coach in my opinion. However, dad had one of the top defensive teams to ever lace 'em up some 24 years ago. Patrick Ewing had few moves offensively, but he and freshman Michael Graham were terrors when it came to blocking and altering shots. The Hoyas held Kentucky and its vaunted twin towers of 1984 -- Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin -- without a field goal over a 10-minute stretch in the semifinals. Unfortunately, the Hoyas themselves were upset by Villanova the very next year, which they are remembered for more than they are winning it all.

    2. -- KENTUCKY '78 -- From this corner, the SEC's best champ ever. With transfer guard Kyle Macy and All-America Jack Givens scoring from outside, 6-11 bookends Mike Phillips and Rick Roby roamed the paint. Givens' performance in the championship game is still the stuff of legends as he scored 44 points. Even Kentucky's rabid Adolph Rupp fans finally embraced Joe B. Hall, despite Hall pulling his starters too soon in the waning moments of the title-clincher over UCLA and having to suffer the embarrassment of putting them back in the lineup.

    1. -- INDIANA -- '76 -- Like Bobby Knight or despise him, there's no debating the fact his team from '76 is the last one to run the table undefeated. Scott May was an All-America forward, but this club was vintage Knight -- superb on defense, totally unselfish on offense. Quinn Buckner was as close as anyone's ever come to a coach on the floor and Bobby Wilkerson was the ultimate defensive stopper.

    Are there others worth of making the list? Clearly. Any of Wooden's afore-mentioned clubs would qualify, and it speaks volumes for Florida and Duke being the only other squads to repeat as champions in the last 45 years. All that's left now is to see if this tourney produces another titlist for the ages.

    Phil Paramore's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in The Dothan Eagle. He can be heard weekday mornings from 7-9 on AM 560. He can be reached at www.woofradio.com.