Thrive for next five: No. 1 is Bruin up right recipe

No. 1: UCLA

There was just one answer, really, only one school fit to top this list of college basketball programs best positioned to be powers over the next five years. You've been debating the position the past few weeks. I'll accept final guesses now.

Duke!

No, not Duke. That's so 1990s.

Florida!

There may be none better than Ben Howland at making on-court adjustments. (Getty Images)

No, not Florida. You heard about Billy Donovan, right?

Kansas!

No, not Kansas. Getting bounced in the first round twice in three seasons can't be overlooked.

You're an idiot, Parrish!

Perhaps, just not when it comes to this list. Because though the legitimacy of Kentucky being ahead of North Carolina -- or Ohio State being ahead of both of them -- can be argued, the program at the top is non-negotiable, undeniable, easier to identify than Lindsay Lohan's substance-abuse problem. Speaking of, Miss Lohan crashed her car roughly three miles from the chosen campus the other morning. And while I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, it's at least a hint that the college basketball program best positioned to be a power over the next five years is ...

UCLA

The case for the Bruins: UCLA meets every possible criteria, and well. Cherished tradition? Eleven national titles and John Wooden behind the bench of most home games covers it. Nice facilities? There's a $120 million renovation to Pauley Pavilion on the way. Great league affiliation? The Pac-10 was arguably the nation's best last season. Coach who can both recruit and X-and-O? Ben Howland might be the best at combining those two traits. Strong recruiting base? Top 10 prospects are as common as eating disorders in southern California.

Seriously, what's not to like about UCLA and where it's headed?

The Bruins have been to back-to-back Final Fours and are projected to make another next season. They've got a top five prospect named Kevin Love about to enroll alongside a top 65 prospect named Chace Stanback, and three top 30 prospects from the Class of 2008 -- No. 13 Malcolm Lee, No. 23 Drew Gordon and No. 26 Jerime Anderson -- have already committed to join them the following season. Meanwhile, Scout.com's third-best rising senior, Jrue Holiday, is also a likely addition given how he has narrowed his possible list of destinations to UCLA and Washington. And the No. 1 player in the Class of 2009, Renardo Sidney, resides just 30 miles away, meaning it's reasonable to assume he'll one day be a Bruin, too.

Put another way, there's a better chance of Iraq turning around than there is of UCLA slipping anytime soon. A 12th national title is coming, if not a 13th, a 14th ... you get the point.

The best attribute: It seems UCLA's place in the hierarchy of college athletics would be its most important quality, the thing that clearly separates it from the rest. But tradition plus $349 won't buy much more than an 80GB I-Pod in the year 2007, point being banners and trophies mean little unless a school has someone in charge who embraces the history and represents the type of person capable of making the present days seem like glory days.

That's why Ben Howland is the key.

There are lots of coaches who are skilled recruiters, just as many who are brilliant tacticians. But the list of men who genuinely excel in both areas is relatively short, and Howland's name is cemented on it. His recruiting accomplishments (Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison, Love, the 2008 class) speak for themselves, but his uncanny ability to prepare, adjust and position his players for success is a little less tangible, though a tale from two seasons ago should help place things in perspective.

Long story short, UCLA played Memphis twice in 2005-06. The first time was in November in New York, the second time was in March in Oakland. I was courtside for both, and in the first I watched Memphis totally dominate the Bruins, score 88 points and win while shooting 53.4 percent from the field. It was an impressive performance, the kind that suggested Memphis would control any future meeting. But Howland stayed up the night before the second showdown studying film from that previous game and others, and -- depending on who's telling the story -- he watched 12, 14 or 16 hours of the stuff. Either way, it was an insane number, and it led to UCLA holding the Tigers to a season-low 45 points.

Did you get that?

Given the chance to prepare and adjust, Howland nearly cut Memphis' offensive production in half. Granted, some of it had to do with the Tigers missing shots they normally made, but casting the dismal effort as nothing more than "one of those days" would be naive. Simply put, Howland coached his ass off, and that was the biggest factor that contributed to UCLA avenging an earlier loss to advance to the Final Four. The guy is really good. Really, really good.

The final word: So that's the list. Perfect, right? UCLA is on top just like it's pretty much always been, dating to the days of Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton.

So are the Bruins on the verge of winning 88 consecutive games and seven consecutive national titles again?

Of course not.

Things don't work like that anymore.

But a bunch of victories are coming, some national championships, too.

So here's hoping Miss Lohan enjoys her local basketball team, and learns to drive a bit more responsibly.