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I may be biased but to me the biggest cinderella story in college basketball history is the George Mason Patriot's run to the final four in 2006. This is my college and I was along for the ride from the beginning.
Mason is the most spectacular run of any team in history because of the times that we are in. The recent decades (90s and 2000s) have made it almost impossible for a cinderella team to break that last round and make the final four. Some teams, like Gonzaga and Kent State have come close before, but Mason is the first true cinderella to make the final four.
Mason's run is the most spectacular also because of the lack of stars on the team. No player from the team will meak the NBA and they will not even make the NBA DL. The team was made up of players that just loved the game, and a coach who knew how to coach through adversity. Lamar Butlet, Tony Skinn, Jai Lewis, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas will never be household names, but for a week they were the darlings of college basketball.
Don't forget that some of your so-called cinderella teams have all had NBA players on their rosters. 1979 Indiana State had NBA legend Larry Bird and even the Gonzaga teams of recent years had players that have gone on the make the NBA.
The competition Mason played was also some of the best college basketball has ever had to offer. They knocked off three of the most storied schools in college basketball history, Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut. These schools had won three of the previous 7 national championships.
Based on the fact that Mason beat some of the best teams in the history of college basketball with very limited talent makes them the biggest Cinderella story in the history of basketball. Who had ever heard of George Mason University or the Colonial Athletic Association except for people like me who go to the school?
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