At Final Four, Michigan Fab Five celebrates ‘a great night,’ for the Wolverines, friendship

INDIANAPOLIS — As the Michigan players’ celebration moved from the playing floor to the locker room following their dominating win over Arizona in Saturday’s Final Four, a postgame gathering was picking up steam among the south baseline. Jalen Rose leaned over a railing to pose for selfies, Juwan Howard high-fived everyone who raised a hand, and Chris Webber obliged each handshake, photo op and autograph request.

“A great night,” Webber said, beaming after the Wolverines’ 91-73 win that sent them to Monday’s national championship game against UConn. “And spending it with these guys has been special.”

The evening spent between the five — Webber, Howard, Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson — was more than a normal gathering of one of the most storied starting fives in NCAA basketball history. At the Final Four supporting their school, the group united for the Fab Five altcast, the latest example of an alternative programming option accompanying traditional broadcasts of the biggest events in sports.

“This really came out of nowhere; TNT brought this to us, and we jumped at the opportunity,” said Webber, who for years served as a color commentator and analyst for the network on NBA and college basketball games. “We were hoping this would happen, and it’s an honor to be back doing college for a company that allows us to do stuff like this.”

The Fab Five has long been considered one of the greatest college recruiting classes of all time and was the subject of one of ESPN’s most popular 30 for 30 documentaries. Four of the five recruits were McDonald’s All Americans (Jackson being the exception), and the group served as the first all-freshman starting lineup in a national championship game in NCAA tournament history.

They’ve long been considered trend-setters: the black socks, the long shorts, the swagger they played with on the court. Back then, they dominated with a youthful exuberance.

Today, in their 50s, they have a spot at the uncs’ table at the cookout.

Their goals as they took center stage on a Final Four broadcast more than 30 years after they were the featured attraction in college basketball?

“We knew there was no way that we would be politically correct,” Webber said, laughing. “This is a group of guys that, when we get together, we’re joking and talking about each other and dogging each other. It’s like we’re 18 again.”

The barbs during the broadcast were fierce.

When Jackson mentioned at the top of the broadcast that he felt ready to get on the court and “lace them up” for the game, Webber responded: “Your knees are 85 years old.”

When Webber said later that “It wasn’t this loud when we played,” Jackson’s payback: “It was louder because your breath was bad.”

And it went on and on like that for the entire broadcast, as the five offered analysis and humor for more than two hours. Jackson, King and Howard sported Fab Five sweatshirts, while Rose rocked a South West High hoodie to promote his show of the same name, which is now streaming on Tubi.

“As players, when you retire you miss the locker room — not the court, because your body tells you that you can no longer play,” Webber said. “Being here with these guys brings you back to the dorm, takes you back to the cafeteria and you relive some of the conversations and experiences that we went through. I really thank God for this opportunity.”

As is the case with most friendships, there are peaks and valleys. But it felt like there was a true sense of brotherly love among the Fab Five as they exchanged pleasantries with fans and among one another at the conclusion of the broadcast.

“You know, even with the rift between Jalen and I a few years back, we still talked to each other’s family and stuff,” Webber said. “So, it really feels good that we can get out here and share that energy with the world.”

While it’s not in the plans for the group to reunite for another broadcast on Monday — though Webber said they would “like to see that happen” — they will be in Lucas Oil Stadium to support their school.

“What you see with these players, their IQ, the temperament of the coach and their love of the game, I think it’s a special group,” Webber said of the current Michigan team, which enters Monday with a 36-3 overall record. “They have a great opportunity to win a championship. That’s what we expect to see.”

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