ESPN's Fab 5?

[Tugg Speedman]

Who is watching it?  It's really good!

[Steve Buscemi]

yeah, i'm diggin it.  No C Webb though

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

It's a bunch of bullsh*t. The idea that their "shaved heads," "black shoes" and "baggy pants" were some invented fashion trend is borderline outrageous. It was nothing more than what everybody was doing at the time..imitating Jordan. They weren't socially relevant AT ALL. They were bad imitations of the rebel (no pun intended) Running Rebels of UNLV. Nobody thought they were anti-establishment. They were a bunch of posers. The only guy that seemed to be somewhat of a punk was Jalen Rose and he's turned out to be the most solid guy of the bunch. Webber went to Detroit Country Day for chrissakes. It's all a bunch of ESPN nonsense.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Not socially relevent at all???!!! Do you live under a rock? I don't know what team/game you watched PRN. To say that team was an impersonation of UNLV is ludicrous. From an athleticism standpoint, maybe. But style-wise, attitude-wise, and the overriding factor that all five guys were freshmen was the main point. It wasn't a lot of ESPN hype. The end of that film was dead on when Jalen said, "Who won the NCAA title three years ago? Who won it five years ago? Who was the starting lineup for UNC in that game?" You don't remember."

It was one of the best 30 for 30/ESPN docs they've done. Any fan of college hoops should watch it. It's too bad Webber bitched out and didn't interview for the flick. Rose was awesome. My opinion of him has done a complete 180 since back when he played. Still love Ray Jackson.

The banners will be back up in 2013 as the new A.D. (who wasn't around for any of the fab five/post-five fall out) has already been back in touch w/Rose and them. You can count on it.

[BrewCity83]

That was good television.  My wife and 11-year-old son were even interested to watch it to the end.

[GGGG]

I agree with PRN that the shaved heads, black socks and baggy shorts weren't their invention.  Those were all Jordan.

However, he is wrong that they weren't socially relevant.  They were very unique.  Everyone knows who they are and why they were different.  I was in my mid 20s at the time, and watched more basketball then than I do now.  They were a sensation.

[MUMac]

I was living in Wichita when the Fab 4 (Weber already left) played in the first two rounds there.  They were definitely the reason why most attened the touney that year.  It was really a scene when they played.  Something about them that was a bit maverick (maybe not the right term). 

I loved the sign they had on their bus "Just Passing Through".  That was their attitude.

Mention the Fab 5 and every CBB fan knows what that means.  It was all about those 5 guys.

[Tugg Speedman]

The end of that film was dead on when Jalen said, "Who won the NCAA title three years ago? Who won it five years ago? Who was the starting lineup for UNC in that game?" You don't remember."

It was one of the best 30 for 30/ESPN docs they've done. Any fan of college hoops should watch it. It's too bad Webber bitched out and didn't interview for the flick. Rose was awesome. My opinion of him has done a complete 180 since back when he played. Still love Ray Jackson.

+1000!

To ask the Jalen Rose question differently ... Name the most famous college basketball team since 1993, since the Webber TO?  Or, has any one team done anything since 1993 that would be deserving of a documentary?

I say no.

[Blackhat]

Didn't get to catch it yet but is or should ESPN be glorifying the Fab 5?   


The Fab 5 embodied everything that is wrong with college athletics, buying amateur players.   Who's got the biggest pocket book can get your program fame I guess.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

From an athleticism standpoint, maybe. But style-wise, attitude-wise, and the overriding factor that all five guys were freshmen was the main point.

How does that equate to social relevance? Get a grip. They were a oft-viewed college basketball team. They weren't "socially relevant." Do you understand what the term means?

[reinko]

Didn't get to catch it yet but is or should ESPN be glorifying the Fab 5?   


The Fab 5 embodied everything that is wrong with college athletics, buying amateur players.   Who's got the biggest pocket book can get your program fame I guess.

Maybe you should watch it, then judge.

[Niv Berkowitz]

should ESPN be glorifying the Fab 5?  

The Fab 5 embodied everything that is wrong with college athletics, buying amateur players.

It's even more the reason to tell their story. You have so many things going on with them that were also going on in society. It was the perfect storm.

• young brash, black kids who spoke their mind vs the establishment (most white, old men/reporters)
• TALENTED ball players, all of them, all freshmen, just when the NCAA was about to turn a corner and lose a lot of stars to the pros; Webber started that trend
• the rise of hip-hop among all cultures (young whites now listening to it and being accepted nationally)
• money/power mixing hands w/the players
• they hypocrisy of the NCAA re: "amateaur" athletics (did you SEE the chart showing how much UM made pre-FabFive in merchandise?!)

[GGGG]

The Fab 5 embodied everything that is wrong with college athletics, buying amateur players.   

That was part of it.  College athletics is just one giant vat of hypocricy...and this was part of that.

[NersEllenson]

I enjoyed it tremendously.  As Another posted..thought Jalen Rose's quote at the end summed it up best:  Who won the NCAA 3 years ago?  5 Years ago?  Who started on that North Carolina team we lost to?  Can't remember any of that, but can remember the Fab 5.

I was a junior/senior in High School at the time....and loved that time in college basketball..and the Fab 5 are a big part of college basketball history.

Never been done since.  5 freshman who all start and lead their team to an NCAA Final Four.  Probably won't ever see it again.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Should say...Webber wasn't the first underclassmen to go pro, obviously. Didn't mean to come off that way. But him and Hardaway declaring as underclassmen really set the tone for college hoops from that day on. You had more and more guys going pro and college hoops hasn't been the same since.

The Fab Five opened up everyone's eyes to the 'business' side of things, I think. Albom's book is a great example.

[Norm]

Anyone remember who the captain of the UM team was that year?

[Blackhat]

remember cheering for old crew cut eric montross and the tar heels against Weber and UM.  

Jamal Mashburn and Kentucky was a team I was a big fan of back then.  Great Michigan-Kentucky final four game that year.   Now I hate Kentucky.

[wyoMUfan]

It was well executed, entertaining to all (even non-basketball fans).
And I thought personally the upconverted NCAA  basketball footage looked fantastic

[jmayer1]

How does that equate to social relevance? Get a grip. They were a oft-viewed college basketball team. They weren't "socially relevant." Do you understand what the term means?

A lot of non-basketball fans knew who the Fab 5 were.  I think that defines socially relevant.

[MarqBB77-03]

Since UNLV was mentioned in some of the posts on this topic, you should catch the HBO documentary on UNLV.  It will give additional context to the changing trends in college basketball that were occurring during the early 90s.

[lab_warrior]

It's even more the reason to tell their story. You have so many things going on with them that were also going on in society. It was the perfect storm.

• young brash, black kids who spoke their mind vs the establishment (most white, old men/reporters)
• TALENTED ball players, all of them, all freshmen, just when the NCAA was about to turn a corner and lose a lot of stars to the pros; Webber started that trend
• the rise of hip-hop among all cultures (young whites now listening to it and being accepted nationally)
• money/power mixing hands w/the players
• they hypocrisy of the NCAA re: "amateaur" athletics (did you SEE the chart showing how much UM made pre-FabFive in merchandise?!)

+1 to all of these.  Although I do agree with some of the other posters, that they weren't really the first "rebel" type team...Texas Christian, ANYONE?!, some of Al's teams were pretty brash, early 90s UNLV, early 80s Georgetown, etc. were playing that role before Michigan.  I think the point is they captured the mid-90s ZEITGEIST, if you will.  Yup, I have a thesaurus at my desk.   

Also, I haven't thought much about Jalen Rose, other than him not getting called for tripping Jordan in Game 6 of the Eastern Conf. finals, but wow, he was NASTY (totally forgot that game where he laid waste to U of I at Assembly Hall).  And an extremely well spoken guy who made several awesome points/quotes in the film.

[Dawson Rental]

I enjoyed it tremendously.  As Another posted..thought Jalen Rose's quote at the end summed it up best:  Who won the NCAA 3 years ago?  5 Years ago?  Who started on that North Carolina team we lost to?  Can't remember any of that, but can remember the Fab 5.

I was a junior/senior in High School at the time....and loved that time in college basketball..and the Fab 5 are a big part of college basketball history.

Never been done since.  5 freshman who all start and lead their team to an NCAA Final Four.  Probably won't ever see it again.

But that seems to be the plan EVERY year at Kentucky, now that Calipari is running things.  It'll be interesting to see if he ever comes close.

[Marquette Mama]

The banners will be back up in 2013 as the new A.D. (who wasn't around for any of the fab five/post-five fall out) has already been back in touch w/Rose and them. You can count on it.

Niv, you make a lot of interesting points re Fab Five. This one regarding Dave Brandon, the new A.D. is a bit off the mark in my opinion.  Brandon is a UM alum, played football under Bo and was a UM Regent through the NCAA investigation/sanction era. He also worked and lived a stone's throw from the UM campus.  So he most definitely was around during the "fall out."  I find it hard to believe those banners will ever fly again...

[tower912]

Being from Michigan, I chose Sparty as my team in the early 80's (hated Magic Johnson, Kelser, et al).   I disliked the Wolverines for years before the fab 5 arrived.    I loathed them.  I rejoiced at Chris Weber's timeout.  Watching it  reminded me of my antipathy toward them. 20 years later, I still do not root for Michigan.    But I have come to appreciate what the fab 5 did, who they were as basketball players, and the tide change in college athletics they symbolized.   Not all good.   They let several genies out of the bottle.    But they were kids.    For better or for worse.   And they could play.   

[Niv Berkowitz]

Marquette Mama, I've heard a few Rose i-views comments where he's said the new administration and him have been in touch and based on those meetings/conversations, he said he thinks the fab five will be embraced again in the near future. The school (Brandon anyway) seems they are ready to turn the page on this...at least with four of them.

Regarding the Fav Five letting the genie out of the bottle, I think the bottle was already open. It just took a few players to realize all the money they were missing out on by staying in school and poof. They were gone.

As a Michigan fan, I remember Rose and Webber acting like they were screwing the MSU logo at halfcourt one game, much to the horror/anger of Sparty.