Not sure why some have issues with "Helms Titles". It was a form of crowning the best team, before the NIT,and the NCAA. If we got technical, we could depreciate NCAA titles won when the NIT was considered the more premier tournament...
UNC has 7 titles?
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FWIW, I don't have an issue with recognizing Helms titles. But I don't believe in doing what UNC primarily does which is to mislead unsuspecting media members into stating it was a national championship. It wasn't.
Fact is you and me could decide to name who we thought were the best team from the past 120 years and that would be just as valid as Helms titles.
For anyone interested, a number of years ago I wrote an article which goes into great detail about the Helms and how it came about and what it represents.
Helms Titles: What they are and what they aren't
It was and it wasn't. Most of these Helms selections were made retroactively, and the ones that weren't were for times when the NCAA tournament was already established.
As far as the NIT ever being the 'premier' tourament, that's really not true. It was indeed very prestigious in the 1940's and arguably at the same level as the NCAA but it was never considered the best in general. Some schools may have preferred it because of the payday and because it guaranteed a trip to New York City.
Both. It's why you see see banners from the 1920s and the banners from the 2000 and 2010s.
