As the year comes to a close, we’re looking back at the best of Sports Illustrated from 2022 across the site. In college basketball, it was an especially busy year—we saw legendary coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright retire, South Carolina continued its dominance and Saint Peter’s went on a still-unbelievable March Madness run. In between there were dramatic games, breakout performances and groups that came back together to do it all again this winter.
These were our 22 favorite SI stories around the sport (both men’s and women’s), in no order:
• From Controversies to Comebacks, Kansas Has Perfectly Imperfect Title Run (by Greg Bishop): Why this Jayhawks team will be remembered as the poster child for one particular time period: the era of asterisks in college sports.
• Dawn Staley’s Holistic Approach Defines a Team That Couldn’t Be Stopped (by Emma Baccellieri): Champion South Carolina dominated all season under a coach who prioritized culture and built up every player.
• Coach K, the Ultimate Team Builder (by Michael Rosenberg): Give Mike Krzyzewski the kids he wants and look out. He’s been doing it for four decades.
• Blue Man Regroup: Inside Duke’s ‘Great Succession Plan’ (by Michael Rosenberg): From a distance, the job of replacing Mike Krzyzewski seems impossible. Up close, it looks even harder. The key, Jon Scheyer knows, is not to be Coach K, but to be himself.
• She Wanted a Scholarship. Now She’s the Face of Women’s College Basketball. (by Wilton Jackson): Aliyah Boston is a double-double machine, TikTok queen and the biggest reason South Carolina was No. 1.
• Leaky Roofs, Disappearing Balls and Frozen Offices: Inside a Real Cinderella Story (by Kevin Sweeney): Saint Peter’s is the latest in a line of underdogs who have made noise in March. But the Peacocks might be the most improbable of all.
• Jay Wright Did It His Way, and a School and Sport Were Better for It (by Pat Forde): The Hall of Famer’s abrupt retirement at 60 took college hoops by surprise, but he’s never been in it for the accolades.
• Forty Years Ago an HBCU Played in the First Women’s Final Four. Today the Program Is Gone. (by Ben Pickman): The Cheyney basketball story has been lost to history.
• Their Countries Are on Opposite Sides of a War, but They Stand United (by Alex Prewitt): San Francisco center Volodymyr Markovetskyy is from Ukraine. Two of his teammates are from Belarus. But they spoke out together with a simple plea: ‘Stop the war.’
• One Rebound at a Time, Oscar Tshiebwe Has Electrified a City—and a Sport (by Kevin Sweeney): The National Player of the Year spearheaded Kentucky’s bounce-back season while rewriting modern rebounding records.
• Dickie V Can’t Be Silenced (by Jon Wertheim): After surgery on his vocal cords, Dick Vitale was under doctor’s orders not to talk for four weeks. But he had plenty to say, and his thumbs worked just fine.
• March Madness Faced a Gender Reckoning. Now Everyone Gets a Pasta Station—but What Else? (by Emma Baccellieri): A year after the bubble tournaments that exposed the gaps between the men’s and women’s competitions, advocates and NCAA administrators still disagree about what needs to change.
• A Mixtape Changed Seventh Woods’s Life at 14. Years Later, He’s Picking Up the Pieces. (by Jason Jordan): The once-viral sensation went from UNC to South Carolina to Morgan State. But he’s happier now than he’s been in a long time.
• The Drive That Fuels Johnny Davis, College Basketball’s Unforeseen Star (by Jeremy Woo): The steely sophomore took many in the sport by surprise—but not the staff at Wisconsin.
• Cinderella, After the Ball: Life at Saint Peter’s Already Looks Much Different (by Kevin Sweeney): The bulk of the roster—plus coach Shaheen Holloway—has switched schools, but Jersey City won’t soon forget what these Peacocks accomplished.
• With a Torch Passed and Destiny Denied, Mike Krzyzewski Rides Into the Sunset (by Pat Forde): Coach K has seen many careers end over his four-plus decades of coaching. In the Final Four, against Duke’s most hated rival, the clock finally ran out on his.
• How Kellie Harper’s Past As a Player Is Shaping Tennessee’s Future (by Ben Pickman): Ten years after Pat Summitt’s retirement, her former point guard is leading a Vols program with high expectations.
• He Looks Like a Lineman and Plays Like a PG. He’s David Roddy—the Man in the Arena. (by Kevin Sweeney): Colorado State fought hard to recruit a player many were unsure of what to do with. It more than paid off.
• With His Mesmerizing Jumper, Jabari Smith Is the Fulcrum of Auburn’s Ascent (by Jeremy Woo): The Tigers’ dominant 6’10” freshman arrived on campus with a refined shooting stroke and a grounded outlook.
• Radford’s Josiah Jeffers Has a Cautionary Transfer Portal Tale (by Jason Jordan): A year before, Jeffers entered the portal looking for greener pastures, but learned a hard lesson in market value.
• With Eyes on a Final Four Return, Stanford Is Leaning Heavily on Its ‘Happiness Professor’ (by Ben Pickman): After losing in the national semifinals, the Cardinal have hit the drawing board with nothing but love.
• How Rutgers Reemerged As Having One of College Basketball’s Greatest Venues (by Declan Walsh): The RAC—now named Jersey Mike’s Arena—has been long known for its unusual architecture. Nowadays, it’s back to also being a fearsome advantage.
