1. Ralph Sampson

Just before the start of the 1979–80 college basketball season, Virginia had won a long, competitive battle with Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and about 50 other colleges for Ralph Sampson, the 7'4" center who had won just about every high school accolade there was to win. "Is one player strong enough to lift a team to the top of the college basketball world?" Ken Rappoport wrote for the AP. "Perhaps — if his name is Sampson."

Rappoport's words may have been a little harsh on the rest of the team. Virginia's 1979–80 team returned three starters from a squad that went 19–10 and participated in the NIT the year prior. One of those starters included Jeff Lamp, who was the ACC's scoring leader at 22.9 points per game.

From his first day on the court as a Cavalier, Sampson proved he was worth the hype of the tremendous recruiting efforts put on by Virginia and other schools while he was still in high school, and Virginia head coach Terry Holland was not shy about the expectations he had with Sampson. "What we're thinking about now is winning the NCAA title," he said shortly after Sampson announced his decision to attend Virginia. "That has to be our goal."

The goal would never be realized during Sampson's time, but the big man, whom his teammates began calling "Stick" because of Sampson's thin frame and stature, would still take the Cavaliers to uncharted territory during his four years. In Sampson's freshman year, he played in all 34 games, averaging 14.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks per game. After jumping out with 12 wins in the first 13 games, the Cavaliers were ranked No. 8 in the country — just the first time since the 1971–72 season that Virginia was able to crack the Top 10. A rocky February finish sent the Cavaliers to the NIT, where Virginia would capture their first ever NIT championship. For his efforts Sampson was awarded ACC Rookie of the Year honors.

Sampson continued to push the team his sophomore year, the most successful season for the Cavaliers in Virginia history. Ranked in the Top 10 the entire season, Virginia climbed its way to its first No. 1 ranking after a 23–0 start to the season, a feat that remains unmatched for Virginia. The Cavaliers upended Villanova, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 16 BYU en route to the program's first ever Final Four appearance, where they lost to No. 6 North Carolina, a team Virginia had beaten twice earlier in the season, and Sampson's first shot at a national championship would slip through his fingers.

Virginia would open Sampson's junior season with a No. 7 preseason ranking. The Hoos won 27 of their first 28 games, losing only to top-ranked North Carolina. Unfortunately, Virginia would eventually fall in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

All the pieces looked to be in place for a deep NCAA Tournament run for Sampson's senior season. Virginia was ranked No. 1 in the preseason and had an All-Star cast of Craig Robinson, Tim Mullen, Ralph Sampson, Rick Carlisle, and Othell Wilson as its starters with support coming from Jim Miller, Ricky Stokes, and Kenton Edelin. Sampson's senior season was a roller coaster that saw what many dubbed the "Game of the Decade," a showdown featuring Ralph Sampson's No. 1 Virginia taking down Patrick Ewing's No. 3 Georgetown. Two weeks later the team hit a low as the country saw No. 1 Virginia fall to unranked, unheralded Chaminade 77–72 in what many dubbed the "Upset of the Century."

Heading into the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, the team felt more prepared than ever to make a deep run and capture a championship. "Everything we have done," Holland told The New York Times in 1983, "has been predicated on preparing this team for the NCAA Tournament, even if it meant losing games. We did not worry about even a regular season championship. Our goals are much longer range than that. The only thing left for this team is to win a national championship."

It was a goal that would never be achieved. Virginia would be denied both an ACC title and another NCAA Final Four appearance at the hands of North...