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Fab Five

1992 Michigan Basketball: The Fab Five Makes The Final

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Steve Fisher was one of college basketball’s great stories in 1989, but in three short years his seat had began to get a little warm. Fisher took over the Michigan program on an interim basis after head coach Bill Frieder left and promptly started his career 6-0 with a national championship.

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After getting the permanent job, Fisher began to struggle. Michigan lost in the second of the 1990 NCAA Tournament, then struggled to a 14-15 record in 1991. He needed to turn it around and the 1992 Michigan basketball team had the greatest recruiting class ever put together.

They were known as “The Fab Five”–incoming freshmen Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson became the starting lineup before their first season was done. They electrified the country, become cultural icons and won more than a few basketball games along the way.

Rose was the top scorer in 1992, averaging 18ppg, although Webber was the best all-around player, averaging 15 points/10 rebounds per game. These two were clearly the best of the class and both went on to good NBA careers. Howard was clearly the third-best player. He averaged an 11/7 as a freshman and also enjoyed a long run in the NBA. King and Jackson didn’t make an NBA splash, but were solid college players.

The hype surrounding the Fab Five had Michigan ranked #20 to start the year in spite of the program’s recent downward trajectory. They hosted defending NCAA champion Duke in December and took the Blue Devils to overtime before losing 88-75. The Wolverines were able to beat NCAA Tournament-bound BYU 86-83 in the other notable non-conference game.

Big Ten play had a spotty start after the New Year. They lost at Minnesota and at home to Purdue, neither an NCAA-caliber team. A decisive loss at Indiana, one of the conference frontrunners, was part of a 2-3 start in conference games.

An 89-79 win over archrival and NCAA-bound Michigan State got the Wolverines back on track and even a ten-point loss to Ohio State was no big deal—the Buckeyes would end up conference champions.

Three straight wins, including a pair of NCAA-bound Iowa followed, but the inconsistencies of youth resurfaced in a 70-59 home loss to Michigan State. After beating lowly Minnesota and Northwestern, the season hits its lowest point in a 96-78 loss at Wisconsin, then a bad program with few signs of life.

After falling again to Ohio State by double-digits, this time 77-66, Michigan was a mediocre 8-7 in Big Ten play. They were still 17-8 overall and in good shape for an NCAA bid, but there was nothing suggesting that anything special was at hand, at least not this year.

That began to change on a nationally televised Sunday afternoon home game with Indiana. The Wolverines delivered a big blow to the Hoosiers’ conference title hopes with a 68-60 win. Michigan followed by winning at Purdue and closed the year beating Illinois at home.

There was no conference tournament in the Big Ten prior to 1998, so this ended the regular season. The late push was enough to get the Wolverines a 6-seed in the Southeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan flew to Atlanta where the first opponent was Temple, where guard Aaron McKie was one of the country’s better players. McKie didn’t play badly, but by forcing him to shoot 6-for-15, the Wolverines neutralized the Owls’ best weapon. Meanwhile, Michigan’s own offense sizzled. They shot 60 percent as a team, with Rose and King each scoring 19. Webber controlled the inside with 12 rebounds the result was a 73-66 win.

Fortune smiled on the Wolverines that night when 3-seed Arizona was upset by East Tennessee State. Michigan had a wide-open path to the Sweet 16 and they took full advantage, going up 54-34 by halftime and winning 102-90. The inside game was the key as Webber went off for 30 points and Howard added 23.

There would be no bracket breaks in the regionals. Michigan was the lowest seed traveling to Rupp Arena in Lexington and 2-seed Oklahoma State was on deck. In an outstanding basketball game, the Wolverines’ inside game was again the difference. They won the rebounding battle 37-25. Rose’s height in the backcourt was a big factor, as he grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his 25 points. Michigan pulled out a 75-72 win.

The Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry has a long and storied lore. There’s not the same richness to the basketball battles, but 1992 would be the exception to the rule. The Buckeyes were the region’s top seed. Forward Jim Jackson was the best player in the Big Ten, one of the best in the country and on his way to being the fourth overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. They had handled Michigan two previous times. Now the two schools met with a Final Four spot on the line.

It was a classic basketball game by any measure. Webber scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds. King was a big X-factor, shooting 7-for-10 and scoring 15 points. But no one was better than Rose. In an overtime game, he played all 45 minutes. He scored 20 points, got six more rebounds and sealed his Most Outstanding Player of the Regional award. Michigan won it 75-71.

Improbably, the freshmen were going to the Final Four in Minneapolis. They caught a break in that the best two teams left—Duke and Indiana—would have to play in Saturday’s semifinals, while Michigan played a 4-seed in Cincinnati.

The Wolverines trailed the early game of Semifinal Saturday by three at the half. But the Bearcats were a smaller team and Michigan’s size—particularly Webber—was too much to handle. The center posted a 16/11 stat line and keyed a decisive 45-27 edge in rebounds. King, probably the most underrated player on the Fab Five, scored 17 more. Defensively, Michigan forced Cincinnati into 40 percent shooting. The 76-72 win sent the kids onto the Monday Night stage to play for a national championship.

It was the first time in history that five freshmen started an NCAA final and for twenty minutes of basketball it looked like the magic might go on. Michigan led Duke 31-30 at the half. But experience took over and the Wolverines shot poorly for the first time in the tournament, settling for 38 percent from the floor. Duke pulled away to a 71-51 win.

The 1992 Michigan basketball season was still the start of a two-year run where all five players stayed in school. They made it back to the NCAA final again in 1993 before losing a crushing game to North Carolina.

There’s a mixed legacy for the Fab Five—their accomplishments have been officially disowned by the NCAA and the school due to recruiting violations. On the court, they didn’t win a Big Ten title or a national championship. But there’s no question they were a cultural phenomena like college basketball has not seen before or since. And though there was no title, that 10-2 record in the NCAAs over the two years they were together is nothing to sneer at.

The Road To The 1993 Final Four

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The 1993 Final Four saw North Carolina return to the stage after an uncharacteristic eleven-year absence. It saw Michigan’s famous Fab Five make their second straight appearance. It saw Rick Pitino bring Kentucky here for the first time and another future legend, Roy Williams, arrive with Kansas. Here’s a look back at the paths the Tar Heels, Wolverines, Wildcats and Jayhawks took to New Orleans…

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NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels hadn’t been to a Final Four since their championship season in 1982, but they had reached the Sweet 16 in each ensuing year. They were knocking on the door and the 1993 team was no different. A balanced lineup was led by 7’0” Eric Montross, who averaged 16 points/7 rebounds per game. George Lynch was a tough forward, who added 15/10. Donald Williams and Brian Reese were double-digit scorers on the wings and Derrick Phelps was a solid and steady quarterback of the offense.

North Carolina went 28-4 and won the ACC’s regular season title. They got the #1 seed in the East Regional and opened the NCAA Tournament with an 85-65 win over East Carolina. It was a somewhat shoddy performance, with the Tar Heels needing a 22-10 edge in free throw scoring to really get separation. There was no such problem with Rhode Island. UNC held the Rams to 32 percent shooting from the floor, outrebounded them 43-32 and crushed them 112-67.

The Meadowlands was the venue for the regionals and North Carolina met 4-seed Arkansas. It was a sizzling first half, tied 45-45 at intermission. The Tar Heels were rebounding, while the Hogs kept pace by hitting threes. In the end, Lynch got 23/10, Williams added 22 and North Carolina survived 80-74.

Cincinnati, the bracket’s #2 seed, coasted past Virginia in the Sweet 16 behind Nick Van Exel’s 19 points/11 assists and Corie Blount’s 19 points/11 rebounds. The Bearcats had been to the 1992 Final Four and would be a tough out in the regional final.

Van Exel went for 23, but North Carolina held Blount to eight points. Williams knocked down 20 for UNC and Lynch was a force, with 21 points/14 rebounds. The game went overtime and North Carolina’s 75-68 win sent them to the Final Four. Lynch was named Most Outstanding Player.

MICHIGAN

The Fab Five had reached the Final Four as freshmen and were looking for a national title in their sophomore season. The interior was manned by Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, who combined for 34 points/17 rebounds per game. Jalen Rose added 15 ppg and ran the offense. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson rounded out the all-sophomore lineup and Eric Riley provided veteran rebounding help off the bench.

Michigan rolled through the regular season at 26-4, although two losses to Indiana cost the Wolverines a Big Ten title. They still got the #1 seed in the West Regional. Jackson’s 19 points led an easy 84-52 win over Coastal Carolina to start the tournament. But a Round of 32 game with UCLA would be a battle. The Wolverines trailed by thirteen at the half and were sloppy with 17 turnovers. But they won the rebounding battle 38-26 and Webber had a big afternoon with a 27/14 line. Michigan rallied and won 86-84 in overtime.

They came to Seattle with the region’s 4-seed (Georgia Tech) and 2-seed (Arizona) already gone. Instead, 12th-seeded George Washington awaited in the Sweet 16. In spite of another sloppy performance—twenty turnovers this time—Wolverine rebounding prowess was again too much to overcome. Michigan won 72-64. Then they watched 3-seed Vanderbilt, the SEC regular season champ, lose to Temple thanks to 26 points from the Owls’ Eddie Jones.

It was also noteworthy that Temple forced 18 turnovers, in light of Michigan’s difficult caring for the basketball in their most recent two wins. And the Owls did take a 38-27 lead at the half. But the Wolverines were again far more talented and gradually took a game over. All five starters hit double figures, with Webber’s 13 points/12 rebounds securing his Most Outstanding Player trophy. Michigan won it 77-72 and returned to the Final Four.

KENTUCKY

It was Rick Pitino’s fourth year in Lexington and the Wildcats were coming off a crushing overtime loss to Duke in a 1992 regional final, one of college basketball’s greatest game. Kentucky was built around forward Jamal Mashburn, a future NBA lottery pick, who averaged 21 points/8 rebounds/4 assists. Mashburn led a lineup that was very deep. The most notable members of the supporting cast were Travis Ford, who knocked down 13ppg in the backcourt and Rodney Dent and Jared Prickett adding some rebounding help.

Kentucky went 23-3 in the regular season, but finished behind Vanderbilt in the SEC race. The Wildcats responded by winning the conference tournament and the Selection Committee gave them the #1 seed in the Southeast Regional. The Wildcats went to Nashville to open NCAA play and first blasted Rider, 96-52, then rolled over Utah, 83-62. In both games, Kentucky had at least ten players get in the scoring column and both games were effectively over by halftime.

On the far side of the bracket, 2-seed Seton Hall had been knocked out. Although there’s no evidence it would have mattered. For the first two weekends of this tournament, the only team that was going to beat Kentucky was Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Kentucky blasted 5-seed Wake Forest 103-69. This one was 60-26 by halftime and this time thirteen Wildcat players got on the board.

Florida State was the 3-seed and a credible foe in the regional final, with future NBA players in Sam Cassell and Charlie Ward. The Seminoles overcame horrid free throw shooting in the Sweet 16–18/38 from the line—to survive Western Kentucky in overtime. And Florida State at least hung in with Kentucky for a half, trailing 54-46 at intermission. The Wildcats took over the second half. Ford was the region’s MOP, scoring 19. Prickett was the best player in the final, with 22 points/11 rebounds. The 106-81 win sent Big Blue Nation to its first Final Four since 1984.

KANSAS

Roy Williams was in his fifth year at Lawrence. This was his second dance at the Final Four, coming here in 1991 and reaching the title game before losing to Duke. The 1993 edition of Kansas basketball was exceptionally well-balanced. Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan combined to average 27 points/9 assists in the backcourt. Richard Scott and Eric Pauley combined for 22 points/10 rebounds up front.

Kansas went 23-6 and grabbed the 2-seed in the Midwest. They blasted Ball State 94-72 behind 23 from Walters and eleven assists from Jordan. The Jayhawks then beat BYU 90-76, with Walters knocking down 28 more. There were red flags though—Ball State had shot over 50 percent from the floor and BYU won the rebounding battle 33-26. The Jayhawks would need to step up the intensity at the regionals in St. Louis.

But at least they had survived, which was more than could be said for 3-seed Duke, the two-time defending NCAA champion, who lost to 6th-seeded Cal and their dynamic point guard Jason Kidd. The Golden Bears hung with the Jayhawks for a half, trailing only 43-40. But Kansas was able to hold Kidd to 13 points, Walters again got loose for 24 points and the Jayhawks pulled away, 93-76.

A showdown with #1-seeded Indiana was the last step, although the Hoosiers had been badly hurt by a late-season injury to forward Alan Henderson. Already a small team, Indiana was now effectively forced to a four-guard lineup. It got them past Louisville in the Sweet 16, thanks to Calbert Cheaney’s 32 points, but the Jayhawks had too much balance.

The magnificent Cheaney scored 22 more and shot 10-for-19. He actually got Most Outstanding Player honors in defeat. But Kansas shot 60 percent from the floor with all five starters hitting double figures. It was enough for an 83-77 win and a Final Four trip.

THE 1993 FINAL FOUR

North Carolina and Kansas met in the early game, just as they had in 1991. This time the Tar Heels got the upper hand. Montross had his best game of the tournament, with 23 points. Williams hit for 25. The Jayhawks shot the three-ball, with Walters and Jordan hitting five apiece from behind the arc. But UNC’s 32-22 rebounding advantage keyed a 78-68 win.

The Michigan-Kentucky battle in the late game was one of the best Final Four games of the decade. Mashburn knocked down 26. But Webber scored 27, grabbed 13 rebounds and got help from Rose and Howard, who combined for 35. Kentucky’s depth kept them in it and there were times it looked like the Wildcats would win, but the Fab Five survived again. This time it was 81-78 in overtime.

Donald Williams continued his hot shooting on Monday night with 25 points. The inside players on both teams came to play, with Lynch putting up a 12/10 line and Montross scoring 16. Webber was excellent for almost the entire night, with 23/11. But trailing 73-71 in the closing seconds, Webber made the play this game is remembered for—he called a timeout he didn’t have. It was an automatic technical foul and it was effectively the ballgame. UNC hit their free throws and the 77-71 win gave Dean Smith his second national championship.

TV Daily Sports: Len Bias & Fab Five Documentaries Tonight

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There’s good baseball on TV, and the NBA draft yesterday needs to be rehashed, but the most compelling television on Friday night’s daily sports docket lies in a couple documentaries on college sports.

ESPNU will show 30-for-30 episode on the tragic death of Len Bias back in 1986. For those that might be too young and haven’t heard of the tragedy, Bias was the second player picked in ’86 draft. The star from Maryland was considered a can’t-miss player and had been landed by the just-crowned Boston Celtics.

Instead, Bias celebrated his selection by going to a cocaine party and ending up with a drug-induced heart attack. The one-hour long 30-for-30 looks back at everything that transpired.


Then at 9 PM ET, it’s a three-hour documentary on the “Fab Five”, the group of Michigan freshmen who showed up in campus and captured the imagination of college basketball. They never captured a Big Ten title, but knew how to turn it on in March, reaching the NCAA final two consecutive years before the best of the group—Chris Webber, who had his best NBA years with the Sacramento Kings—went pro. Jalen Rose went on to a good career with the Indiana Pacers a year later, and is now on the ABC/ESPN studio team for the NBA.

For those more interested in the contemporary NBA, there will be draft reviews on NBA-TV, starting at 7 PM ET. The league’s network will give one hour to reviewing the Eastern Conference and another hour to the Western Conference. I was glad to see Cleveland pick UNLV forward Anthony Bennett. It wasn’t Bennett per se—I’d have been just as happy to see the Cavs go for Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Otto Porter or any number of the solid prospects that were out there. But I thought it spoke well of Cleveland’s judgment that they didn’t force a pick on a risky Nerlens Noel or an overrated Alex Len.

And for baseball, MLB Network will show the opener of a good Cincinnati-Texas series tonight at 8 PM ET. MLB coverage has been going daily here at TheSportsNotebook this week, including yesterday’s feature on the Boston Red Sox. Today we’ll go in another direction and talk about the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as racing resumes on Saturday night.