photo: NY Times
With March Madness only a month away, I’m already fiendin’ like Gator in Jungle Fever (”Look Mama, I made this dance up for you.”) So as the current college crop prepares their playground swag for the big dance, I needed to quench my thirst and take a look back, with some added video highlights for your viewing pleasure.
They hijacked the world, took it by storm and forever altered the landscape of the college game. The Fab Five signaled the merging of hip hop sensibilities and hoops, from fashion to swagger to attitude. They took the anti-establishment mystique much further than their Hoya Paranoia predecessors of Patrick Ewing and Big John Thompson in the early to mid ’80s. In addition, they did something that had never been done before: five 18-year-old freshman starters that led their school to the national championship game.
The greatest recruiting class ever – Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Jalen Rose – won 56 games in two years, appearing in the NCAA Finals as freshman and sophomores in ‘92 and ‘93.
Even to this day, their influence is profound. Yeah, MJ was the stylistic forefather who nudged the masses away from the John Stockton hotpants, but the boys from Michigan took it a step further. When they crashed the scene with the extra long, extra baggy shorts that are ubiquitous today, the conservative keepers of the John Wooden old school lost their ever-loving minds!
Remember that at the time, The Duke Blue Devils of Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner were the country’s model program with their refined, polished and squeaky clean image that had supposedly saved the game from the thuggery of Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt, Mo Scurry, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.
The Fab Five soared higher, dunked harder and looked better than everybody else. They played with the unrestrained joy and hunger that is seen in the hood where real ball is played.
photo: jamd.com
Jalen Rose and C-Webb grew up in the grittiest of circumstances in Detroit and honed their skills at the parks and neighborhood rec centers, as well as the legendary St. Cecilia’s Gym. Juwan was reared in several low income projects on Chicago’s South Side, where the outdoor courts provided his first classroom. Jimmy King (whose slam dunk game was bananas, filled with the soaring, windmilling, twisting acrobatics of playground royalty like The Goat, Jumpin’ Jackie and Hook Mitchell) and Ray Jackson did their thing as kids outside in the Texas heat.
Just like on the playground, they ran their mouths, laughed at and taunted their opponents regardless if they were on national TV. And they played a brand of ball that was as lovely as Alicia Keys and Keyshia Cole on the BET awards – an around the way game of five-on-five in its purest form!
photo: mvictors.com
Billy Packer and the other bigwigs who thought they owned college ball hated it, called it unsportsmanlike. But we all loved it because that’s how we gets down. Ain’t no hard feelings when I serve you and tell you all about it, or vice versa.
The Billy Packers’ didn’t have a problem when floppy haired Larry Bird from French Lick, Indiana talked trash, but when the five baldheaded African-American freshman did it, and smiled and danced and jumped for joy, you would have thought the end of the world was upon us.
Not only did they bring record numbers of TV viewers (21 million people watched the ‘92 Chip against Duke and 20.7 mil followed suit the next year against Carolina) and establish fashion trends that stretched across the globe, the Fab Five inaugurated a merchandising and licensing BOOM that lit the fuse of today’s marketing-centered business model.
Consider that in ‘89, when Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson led the Wolverines to the national title, the school made $1.6 million in athletic royalties. The year before the Fab Five hit Ann Arbor, sales of Michigan gear notched $2 million. In ‘93, the cash registers were humming at $6.2 mil. Money talks, baby.
Simply put, the Fab Five, like the Jackson Five, were rock stars who not only fed a media machine, they fed thousands of others who couldn’t throw a basketball into the ocean. They not only changed the game, they changed the business of the game. And if it wasn’t for the playground, none of it ever would have happened.
THE PLAYGROUND IS NOT THE PROBLEM. IT IS THE SOLUTION!
June 26th, 2008 at 11:46 am
illest says:
couldnt of said it better. from the huraches, to the black socks, to jalen rose running down court with the ill strut the fab five changed college basketball. name a team who can do that without even winning the title.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
ali says:
hey illest, the forerunner to the fab five, stylistically, was the phi slamma jamma crew at the university of Houston with the glide, dream, larry micheaux, etc. in the early ’80s. they made us say “Hold Up!”
but they didn’t have the national, and even international appeal of the fab five, nor the financial or popular culture impact.
but phi slamma jamma gave us a preview of the look of big time college and pro ball that was coming down the pipe.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
g says:
great piece Ali,but I beg to differ. The dudes that changed college basketball were the Texas Western squad coached by Don Haskins in 1966. They changed the scope of college basketball for the rest. If not for them,no men of “color” would be recruited muchless see playing time at a major university. And……they won the chip to boot.
But thats not to slight the fab 5 or phi slamma jamma.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Antonio Gil says:
Great story Ali!
June 26th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
ali says:
i hear you G! Texas Western changed the game, w/out a doubt. i’m not saying the fab five was the one and only team that changed college ball.
1966 is one of those pivotal years, as any hoops historian will attest. after texas western’s championship victory, african-americans began being recruited wholesale by major college programs.
but did you know that Texas Western was not the first school to start five black players? Wayne State University, in Detroit, did it years prior to Haskins’ crew.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
g says:
feel you on that Ali.
Yessir,Ive heard of the Wayne State crew in 56′,57′ if my sports/signifigance memory serves me correctly. Funny how actual life is often reflected or embodied thru sports. To think of the opportunities afforded to us because of the endurance and perserverance of our elders,and how we so easily abuse or lose them,”we” really have a heavy debt to pay.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
ali says:
and our youth needs to be reminded of that debt. young people today have absolutely no idea of how significant the harlem globetrotters were, or the rens, or the many other trailblazers. they don’t know about texas western in ‘66 or the dream at the university of Houston or the fab five.
the nba wasn’t even 50% african american until the mid to late ’60s. can you imagine? that’s like cornflakes without the milk, the pips w/out gladys knight, ike w/out tina, junior mafia w/out biggie, ralph tresvant w/out new edition, damon dash w/out jigga -you get the picture. but i take solace in guys like d-wade, chris paul and ‘bronnie, who somehow seem connected to the past, unlike your j.r. rider’s and others.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
bobbito garcia says:
yo ali! i got goosebumps reading your post and watching the clip. for all those out there, peep our late july issue #16 where we go deep into detroit’s history, and of course jalen rose is a big part of that.
i’d also like to let everyone know that neither michael jordan nor the fab five started the baggy shorts craze. that began in the ‘hood, on the schoolyards. yes, once the aforementioned gave it TV exposure it became worldwide (as well as finally available at most retail), however one of the first stores to ever carry baggy shorts was Olaf’s on 114th St. and Madison Ave. in Harlem. That was in the late ’80s, and sparked by what kids Uptown were asking for for many years prior . . .
June 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
ali says:
no doubt bob. mj and the fab five weren’t the originators. but they were the human billboards that took the craze from the hood and spread it from bangor to beijing and everywhere in between.
and thanks for the love on the post. can’t wait for the july issue, #16 to drop.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Wellington says:
They took money for their services.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am
illest says:
how could i forget phi slamma jama!!!!of course there swagger wasnt comparable to the fab five but they had the ill nikes. why werent they in sole provider? scoop missed that.
off the topic….im watching nbas showmen (old vhs tape) on espn classic this morning and there isnt a guard on the playground or nba that is near isiah thomas.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:03 am
ali says:
wellington, so you’re obviously in favor of the hypocrisy of the ncaa rules and regs. when i was a kid growing up in brooklyn, drug dealers paid me $20.00 for every “A” on my report card. i got paid!!!! does anybody fault me for that and ranting about how i provided a disservice to the ivy league institution that provided my post-secondary education?
when i was in college and in a bind, concerned folks could always be counted on to pass along some thick envelopes. why? because they saw some potential in me and, in their own philanthropic way, they were helping out.
the fab five situation, whatever happened with payments, happens EVERYWHERE!!! the kids at UCLA got paid by a hollywood mogul when John Wooden was considered the patron saint of college ball, winning all those ncaa championships, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the so called squeaky clean programs like Duke and Indiana under bobby knight had kids receiving extra benefits. the pretty girl always gets kissed, as the saying goes.
how much did michigan, the big 10, the ncaa make off of the fab five in ticket sales, TV revenue, apparel sales, etc? how many donor dollars came into the university coffers? what did the enormous increase in applications for admittance and alumni contributions mean. what did the TV networks reap?
there is a story of chris webber in the student union not being able to afford a $3.00 chicken box for lunch, yet his jersey hung in the window of the store across from the lunch spot, selling for $75.00 a pop.
if they took money wellington, they SHOULD have because, broken down in it’s most basic form, they were being pimped! and i don’t want to hear about them receiving a full scholarship.
i studied business at the wharton school my man and i understand finance. do a comparative analysis on the cost of a scholarship and an individual like webber’s worth to the school, conference, ncaa and tv networks and figure out the difference. the added value that his services provided, to all concerned parties, was MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. and he can’t afford a $3.00 chicken box???? IF HE TOOK MONEY FOR HIS SERVICES, HE SHOULD HAVE!!!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:07 am
ali says:
illest,
people nowadays don’t have a real appreciation for how nice Isiah was. simply put, him and tiny are the greatest little men to ever do it.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:20 am
g says:
Wellinton…. Michigan took money too. The boosters and alumni arent exactly the cleanest groups of people often affiliated/associated with “institutions of higher learning”,and no one bats an eye when the universities/colleges not only solicit the funds,but gladly take it with no inibitions what so ever. More notably,the schools give scholarships simply because the student/athlete will be more of an asset to the school thru either academic or athletic pursuits.
and like Ali implied,the ncaa generates so much money at the expense of these students,but doesnt reciprocate at all. too imply that the scholarship is adequate payment while everyone else but the student benefits from their contributions/performance is grossly unfair. its like telling the slave to be grateful for the food and shelter that massa’s provided while he’s “allowed” to be a slave on such a glorious plantation.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Jeremy Ripley says:
ALI_
Great post, I love all of your retrospective pieces! The second photo with King laying it up in the butter was indeed taken in the old home of the Wisconsin Badgers, the Field House. Fond memories for me include watching Tractor Traylor and Bobby Jackson play there.
Another team that brought their own funk from that time period was the UNLV squad comprised of Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, and Larry Johnson. (Not to mention Lloyd Daniels who never played for the squad but was godlike in his own right.) There’s plenty of guarded speculation as to whether the team was paid off to lose against Duke in the Final Four who of course had squeaky-clean white kids galore.
The streets has always infuenced the game and will continue to do so. Who hasn’t seen playground boogie over the past couple of years? Heck, I even remember seeing a dude wearing a grill, on the court!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:58 am
illest says:
the knicks scenario has ruined isiahs mystique with some people. i didnt expect much from isiah anyway with the knicks. the problem with isiah is he always had that player mentality when coaching or being the gm. he feels he could change a franchise from the ground up like he did as a player. what he did for detroit by turning around a franchise that was nothing into two titles is something no one does now. in all of his stops he couldnt do it. and you know hes hurting from not being able to help in turning around the post bad boy pistons.
tiny was so good i laugh when i hear how these guards today are changing the game. i want to see someone in any park league, ymca, summer league, any league average 34 and 11 asts.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
ali says:
g, excellent point! some ignoramus’ still don’t understand why the slave wasn’t/isn’t content.
jeremy, w/out a doubt, that UNLV crew could be considered one of the greatest college teams ever.
and illest, people can’t name one pg in the league right now that’s as nice as tiny and isiah. chris paul has a chance, but he has to have some longevity playing at the level he’s at now.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
note to the young folks:
Bronx native, Clinton HS/UTEP product Nate “Tiny” Archibald was, and still is, the ONLY player to ever lead the league in points and assists in the very same season. only. Oscar Robertson might’ve done that had Wilt Chamberlien not been in his generation (the Stilt even led the league in assists one year, i think ‘66, to prove to people he could pass and be a team player). people compare iverson to tiny, but ai would never ever lead the league in assists like tiny did. his dimes come by default when his scoring option which he thinks of first has been shut down. tiny on the other hand was settting dudes up left and right AND scoring at will. there will never be another Tiny. it’d be very difficult.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
ali says:
bob
we’re on the same wavelength w/ the tiny and iverson comparison. i was going to say the same exact thing.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
illest says:
plus the assist has changed anyway. the iverson and tiny comparison never made any sense anyway. they were just compared because of height. the tiny/isiah is more logical because of what they both did.
June 27th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Wellington says:
Well, my man, I studied philosophy and law at Stanford (as long as we’re name dropping) and I fail to see how your logic leads me down a path of righteousness because the institution profitted from Chris Webber.
I would expect someone so proud with their Ivy League education to come up with a better argument than “Well, everybody else is doing it so…” Let’s follow this argument to bring us to a place where it’s OK to use performance enhancing drugs because well, everybody else is doing it. Or, it’s alright to compromise the game because Duke and Indiana MIGHT be doing it. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s against the law, the rules, and oh yeah, CHEATING. Stand for something man!
We’ve all heard the tired story of how C-Webb couldn’t afford lunch in the Union while his jersey hung in the bookstore. I know kids that would do anything to get into a school like the University of Michigan (to study, let alone play a D1 sport) and who would make damn sure to NEVER do ANYTHING that would put that opportunity and their reputation at risk.
Michigan was required to forfeit an entire season and removed the Final Four banners from the arena. You already know these facts, but do you know that this is a serious embarrassment? They even struck his name from the records and chose to sever all association with Webber. What would the Wharton School have done had they found out you cheated while studying there? What would your colleagues think? What would the kids that look up to you think?
He may have had to live in the dorms and eat Top Ramen (like the rest of the student body, BTW), but do you really think the University of Michigan was going to let Chris Webber, the most recognizeable face in college basketball starve to death? Really? I believe his cafeteria food card was working just fine. He just didn’t want what was being served that day so he made his way over to Chic Filet and the rest is history taken way out of context. Besides, I’m sure all that “suffering” was made worthwhile after he signed a $74 million contract with Golden State (And I bet you’re the guy who’ll tell me that it’s Nellie’s fault that Webber was eventually dropped from a lucrative shoe sponsorship because he was caught with a controlled substance, twice).
If you think the rules are wrong, then work to get them changed and made more equitable for the STUDENT-athlete. Don’t cop out by believing it’s OK to cheat because everybody else is doing it. If C-Webb wanted to get paid to play basketball, then he should’ve hired an agent and declared out of high school.
June 27th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
g says:
Wellington….
as a litigator or atleast one thats studied it as well as philosophical thinking and its applications,then you should know that just because its a law or a rule,does not mean it is just or fair. the ncaa and the system that they oversee is for lack of a better term “pimping”. is it fair that you as a struggling student not on scholarship should have to eat oodles of noodles as a normal part of your dietary intake while a student athlete is eating better or is atleast perceived to be?
chris webber was no better than you as an undergrad student,no one disputes that. but lets also not forget that CWebb as well as the other student athletes are endentured servants to the universities/colleges for the time that they are there,and are bound by ridiculous,obscure,obsolete and outdated rules. you as a non athletic scholarship undergrad were allowed to be assisted by whatever means and resources you were privy or had access to. but you arent generating revenue for the university,funding more scholarships,research grants,new faculty,additional equipment,etc. chris webber and all the other student athletes were put under magnifying glasses for doing the same thing that any other struggling college student wouldve done and still does. and lets not be naive enough to believe that the universities/colleges like duke,indiana,etc, are immune to the payola. why is it that the major universities seem to be the only ones that can land top notch athletic talent like the fab five? its not because their micro-physics program is ranked in the top 10. its because they can afford to pay them,and in return,the students generate within the time that theyre there atleast 5 times the actual academic,room/board etc that the school gave to the student. lets not discount that the athlete has to not only be academically eligible to compete,but he/she has to be good. that means that they have to excel dually,which is not an easy feat. that mindset/approach is not the defeatist cant beat them join them or everyone else is doing so why not me too approach that your referring to,but i’d be remiss to not acknowledge that approach is often applied as well. bobby knight and mike krysieski (pardon the misspelling) even called for the athletes to be paid. dukes coach receives 1.2 per annum to wear a nike pin on his suit lapel and have duke wear nikes,yet his players dont reap any of the benefits of being billboards for nike at the behest of their coach. still seems fair? still seems like the rules are right?
I also remember C-Webb being one of the league dudes that endorsed a lower priced shoe sighting his kinship with the working class and poor populous of the urban areas. i also recall Jalen giving out scholarships,Jimmy King hired his mother (a professor) to start an educational fund in Texas,etc.. but i digress.
You and Ali obviously will agree to disagree, thats the beauty of open,intelligent dialogue which thanks to the mag this blog affords us.
June 27th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
ali says:
wellington, my man, this is getting fun!
i would expect someone who studied law at Stanford to carefully read the written word. i never said that because everyone else was doing it, that it was ok.
i pointed out that it was done at UCLA when wooden was coaching his way to all those championships. by the way, none of those banners came down. this has been proven and documented. i also pointed out, due to my firsthand knowledge and experience, that the dukes and indiana’s of the world have and have had players that took money.
chris webber didn’t compromise or cheat michigan or college basketball if he took somebody’s money! if he threw games and shaved points, then i’d agree with you – that’s cheating and compromising the integrity of the school and its athletic program.
but to have the banners removed and his name stricken from the records is asinine. you’re right that it’s an embarrasment-an embarrasment that the ncaa would even go to such lengths when, in essence, they are the predators offering candy to little kids for the purposes of reaching financial orgasm every march.
and please, no one is suggesting that michigan would let him starve, so save the drama for maury povich. and so what if he didn’t want what was served that day for lunch. he has that right as an individual, does he not? or must he fall to his knees and say “Tankee kind suh fo’ mah meal card. ah’s greatly appreciate it suh!”
in a free market economy, Webber provided a service to the university of michigan, the big 10 conference, the ncaa as well as espn, cbs sports and others that generated HUGE financial profits for every party involved, except him.
that’s like enslaving a people and forcing them to build the agricultural infrastructure that serves as the rock solid foundation of an economic superpower, without any compensation.
so, following the basic principle of being fairly compensated for services rendered, you think it’s fair and equitable when you balance the value of his scholarship versus the value added to all of the institutions previously mentioned? if you do, i’d run to any ambulance chasing attorney before consulting you in any legal matters.
and what does the $ figure of his contract have anything to do with you and your emotions? you need to soul search and fugure out why that bothers you to such an extent.
and who said he suffered? he played for a great university and enjoyed two years of the wonderful gift of a college education. and nellie’s not to blame for anything, my friend.
jeez, you act as if he killed someone and still served in the senate – oh sorry, that’s a kennedy. you act is if he was a cocaine abuser that ducked out on a military obligation and utilized family connections to compensate for being dumb while skating through andover and yale, only to become a terrible businessman before stealing a presidential election – oh wait, that was bush (I bet you voted for him, didn’t you wellington?)
webber made mistakes, as i’m sure 99% of young people in their formative years are bound to! does that not hold true for him because he signed a $74 million contract, which is obviously upsetting to you.
if a kid is has the potential to be a physician and people, recognizing his gifts, provide him with money to help him get there, or whatever their motivations – even if they’re nefarious – that does not have anything to do with the med school that the kid attends, unless he’s stealing prescription drugs and selling them on the street for the folks that paid him. but if he goes to school and performs and creates a great future for himself and his family, in the words of Derrick Coleman, “Whoop Dee Damn Doo!”
i know that the rules are wrong. slavery was once the law of the land. does that mean, because it was the law, that it was right??? that people should have been happy to follow the rules, and obey them without question until the law books read differently? according to your argument, nat turner was wrong to rebel and anybody that ran away should have had their foot cut off because, well, they cheated the system.
read my words again wellington. i never copped out by saying it was ok to cheat because everybody else was cheating. what i said was, if he took money, he didn’t cheat – he simply did what adam smith, karl marx, john keynes, and machiavelli would have all approved of, given each of their economic and philosophical beliefs.
so because the ncaa told you he cheated and removed the banners, you bought it? to study law at stanford suggests a mind that is capable of analysis and free thought. try it. it can be liberating!
February 6th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Keyes says:
Wow! This debate is great to read. Aside from the controversy, scandal, etc., these 5 guys did something pretty spectacular. They were better than anyone thought they should be for their age, they talked ish while serving it up, their swag was on 100 thousand trillion (kanyeezy, swagger like us, 2008) and if I didn’t say it yet…THEY WERE DAMN GOOD! But, since we are talking about basketball, I will refrain from dicussing the financials, scandals. implications, etc.
As was mentioned, I don’t think C-Webbs actions justified the total removal of the two seasons that he played as well as himself from the history books for the following reasons: he didn’t “enhance” his play with any drugs and he didn’t throw any games for $. With that being considered, the play that he and his teammates demonstrated one the games. As they song goes, “…you can’t take that away from me!”
I think this was an opportunity to remove something spectacular that a bunch of young kids accomplished with brazen authority. If this really is the USA, I can be as dope as I want and you don’t have to like me. These guys didn’t bow down in repsect to the seniors in the crowd. They stepped in front of them in line and ate their food and waited for a response. They assumed the role of greatness and represented it their way. To the opponents…if you don’t like to get ish talked about you, don’t get served!
February 6th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Elliot Rosado says:
Ali, The playground gave us Bobby Hurley (Duke) do this one for me please.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
that dude says:
ummm Gator was in Jungle Fever not Mo Better Blues
February 6th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
ali says:
you know what i meant that dude. thanks. that’s what i get for rushing.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
ali says:
keyes,
your thoughts always bring something tangible to the table. as always, i appreciate you taking the time to not only read, but offer up your insight, along with the rest of the dedicated “playground gave us…” crew.
and elliot, hurley has a place in the chamber. it’s marinating.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
that dude says:
i know this is off the subject but did anybody see Deron Williams sit Jason Terry down last night. He gave him the “Im not Going that way” cross.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Donn says:
I don’t care what the University of Michigan does, the Fab Five mystique and legend will live forever!!!! You think U of M would have strip the Fab Five of their existence if they actually won those NCAA championship games??!!?
February 6th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
jboti says:
yo man I mean i ve been friends with some top collegiate players and it is true that they are well taken care of on all aspects. Trust me> But that is the nature of the beast. As a scholarship athlete, you are SUPPOSED to be taking full advantage of your education even though playing ball in college is worst than holding a part time job> But you love the sport. That’s what it’s about the love of the game> Just wanting to play the best ball at the highest level> But i digress. The point is the FAB FIVE were the business. These five players could literally go anywhere maybe except the higher echelon of the NBA and give buckets. And when is somebody gonna let me write a post?
February 6th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
inspiredworlds says:
how could they take down the banners and erase the records? that’s crazy. i never knew that happened, so thanks for the video Ali. also, i’m enjoying the debate between Wellington and Ali – as i’m seeing both sides of the argument.
the fab 5 legacy will still exist. those guys went international, and i can tell u firsthand about that. i live in sydney, australia and guys in my highschool in the mid 90’s were rocking Michigan jerseys and shorts. and the NCAA, legal system, Michigan uni etc… can never take that away. the playground will always remember.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
ali says:
indeed, the playground will always remember. yo g! looking back at your words, man! you’ve got a mental machete. and deron williams, if he wasn’t in utah, would have billboards in times square. money is nice!
the fab five was the business, no doubt!
and, again, i love an intelligent sports debate. ya’ll cats inspire me.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:28 am
inspiredworlds says:
the kings retired webber’s jersey today.
“With his versatile offensive game, exceptional passing and charismatic leadership, Webber was at the center of the franchise’s longest sustained run of success during his 61/2 seasons. Sacramento had eight straight winning seasons overall, including a club-record 61 victories in 2001-02 and back-to-back Pacific Division championships — still the only title banners hanging across from those retired numbers in the Arco Arena rafters.
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/06/webber.jersey.ap/index.html?rss=true
February 7th, 2009 at 1:29 am
inspiredworlds says:
so your Fab 5 story has come full circle now!
February 7th, 2009 at 2:16 am
run says:
I would have liked to see a little more walk with all that talk though…I love the swagger, but it ain’t enough; you gotta win.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:24 am
inspiredworlds says:
I was just checking out a video on sneakers, and came across a vid about the ‘92 Nike Huaraches. Guess who popularized them? These guys seem like their started a lot of trends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ825ROF2BU&feature=related
February 7th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
ali says:
they started, or became visible billboards for trends that influenced millions in many countries. and i hear you run, about winning. but the reality is, not every great player won the big one. there are many variables that come into play, often beyond an individual’s control. all you can do is go out there, night in and night out, and serve cats on a longevity basis and let the chips fall where they may.
and sacramento got within inces of shaq and kobe. some assert that some questionable reffing (i.e. donaghy, etc) had a little bit to do with them falling short. can’t cry over spilled milk, but these fellas, in college and the pros, gave dudes the business. bottom line!
February 8th, 2009 at 2:36 am
Donn says:
I remember hearing an interview with Chris Webber and him saying that he regretted leaving after his sophmore year because his days in Michigan was the most enjoyable experience he was ever part of. Imagined if he did. The year after Webber left, The Fab Four went pretty far in the tournament..i gotta imagine that they would at least got to the Finals and maybe ever finally winning it all. And I know he was Rookie of the Year but after that messy situation he had with Don Nelson and the Warriors maybe he should have stayed. Would have been fun to see how the Fab Five would have fared if they stayed together one more year.
February 8th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
inspiredworlds says:
who were the other guys on that team? i know it was all about the Fab 5, but there were another 7 players on that team that surely helped to propel them to the finals.
i think i saw “Vokshul” on the back of a jersey in that video but i dont think its Jake Vokhsul, as he was class of 2000.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:04 am
ali says:
the othet guys were michael talley, a former consensus all american at detroit’s cooley high, rick mciver, a former player of the year in texas, eric riley and kirk taylor, former all state players from ohio, james voskuil, sam mitchell and jason bossard who were former all-state in michigan and rob pelinka, who is now a big time sports agent, was a former all-state player from illinois.