It takes a team to win a title

You can't do it alone. Having a superstar like Tyler Hansbrough, Kevin Love or even Derrick Rose is nice, but one guy isn't going to carry his team to the promised land — especially in a year in which the Final Four is loaded with the four top teams in America.

The two-time defending national champion Florida Gators were a perfect example.

Billy Donovan's team had three lottery picks, but none of them averaged anywhere near 20 points per game. In fact, none of them even averaged 15 per game in their dominating two-year run.

Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and the rest of the Gators bought into the team concept. It was all about sacrificing individual accolades for team success.

These days everyone is looking for balance. And while Kansas is the team that most closely resembles Donovan's clubs, the other three teams offer plenty of support for their so-called superstars.

Bill Self's team has four players in double-figures and Sherron Collins is knocking on the door at 9.5 points per game.

"I think that the fact we have so many players who are capable of stepping up is what makes us a very good team," Self said. "It's a different player each game for us."

Darrell Arthur has the most "upside", which basically translates to the fact that NBA teams will take a chance that they can get all of that God-given ability out of him, but there really is no one who stands out on the Jayhawks roster. Brandon Rush is capable of exploding on the offensive end, but he's not a guy who is a consistent dominant player.

That's not the case with the other three teams in attendance.

North Carolina's go-to guy is also arguably the best college basketball player in the land, Tyler Hansbrough.

If the Tar Heels need a basket with the game on the line, the top option is to get the ball down low to Psycho T and let him go to work in the paint.

UCLA's freshman big man Kevin Love wasted little time becoming the Bruins' primary offensive threat. He's been a double-double machine virtually all season and has also quickly established himself as a vocal leader as well.

He can score down low, dominates the glass, is one of the best passing big men to come around in the last decade — and is the missing piece that Ben Howland has been lacking in the middle for the past two years.

Memphis has its own talented frosh in soft-spoken Derrick Rose, who could be the top overall pick in June's NBA Draft. Rose has become the team's star, especially in the last month or so when he's put it all together and begun to dominate — whether it's by scoring or making his teammates better.

While Hansbrough, Love and Rose have stood out — especially recently — each have strong supporting casts.

Kevin Love gets a lot of help on the court from Darren Collison, among others. (Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images)

Hansbrough has smooth shooting guard Wayne Ellington to take off some of the pressure and also a terrific point guard in Ty Lawson. Ditto for Love, who has his own speedy floor leader in Darren Collison.

Rose runs the show, but he's got a more-than-capable wing man in Chris Douglas-Roberts.

The last time North Carolina went to the Final Four, when the Tar Heels won it all in 2005, Sean May earned MVP honors. But he had plenty of help from Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants.

The previous year Emeka Okafor was UConn's horse down low, but Ben Gordon went for 21 points in the title-game victory over Georgia Tech.

People fail to remember that Carmelo Anthony had a pretty good running mate in Gerry McNamara when the Syracuse freshman shocked the nation and led the Orangemen to the national championship in 2003.

It's been two decades since a player literally carried his team on his back to college basketball's ultimate prize. That was when current Kansas assistant coach Danny Manning went for 31 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to an 83-79 win against Oklahoma in 1988.

Even when UCLA's Ed O'Bannon exploded for 30 points and 18 boards to beat Arkansas in 1995, Toby Bailey added 26 points and nine rebounds.

If you're expecting Hansbrough, Love or Rose to carry their team on their backs to the national title, think again. It's not going to happen.

Not without some help.

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.