Beginnings of ‘Cardiac Kemba,’ iPhone 3G and more trends from UConn’s last AP No. 1 team

The UConn Huskies men’s basketball team is off to a 16-2 start after winning last season’s national championship game against the San Diego State Aztecs.

UConn has four players averaging double-digit points but has been paced by transfer guard Cam Spencer‘s 15.5 points per game. The Huskies have four wins over ranked opponents, including a 62-48 win over the No. 19 Creighton Bluejays on Wednesday night.

The early success has led to UConn being the No. 1 team in the AP poll for the first time since Feb. 2, 2009. The Huskies finished at No. 3 in the final AP poll that season and reached the Final Four, losing to the Michigan State Spartans.

Here’s a look back at what the world looked like the last time UConn was the top team in the men’s poll.

Cardiac Kemba came off the bench

Two years before he took the college basketball world by storm, Kemba Walker averaged 8.9 points as a freshman off the bench. He started in two of 36 games and appeared in each round of the Huskies’ March Madness run.

Walker would lead UConn to a national championship in 2011, averaging 23.5 points during a memorable run.

‘Just Dance’ dominated the charts

Lady Gaga’s debut track became a memorable one. “Just Dance” lived on the charts and earned Gaga her first Grammy nomination, though it lost in the best dance recording category.

The hit song was slotted in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week UConn became the top team in the country. “Just Dance” officially went diamond — selling 10,000,000 units — in April 2023.

UConn women’s team was in midst of legendary run

UConn had it good in men’s and women’s basketball in the late 2000s.

The Huskies women’s team was 21-0 and in the midst of 90 consecutive wins when the men’s team rose to No. 1 in 2009. UConn would finish 39-0 during a championship season led by Maya Moore, who averaged 19.3 points and 9.9 rebounds.

Apple launched second iPhone

The days of flip phones were nearing an end with Apple’s release of the first iPhone in January 2007. The second edition, the iPhone 3G, came out in July 2008.

It marked the iPhone debut of the App Store, GPS technology and a scientific calculator, among other new advancements.

President Barack Obama’s first inauguration

Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009.

An average of 37.8 million people tuned in, making it the largest audience since Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981. Though there is no official count, at least one million people attended Obama’s inauguration in person.