More than 30 years after they changed college basketball, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were back together Saturday on TNT Altcast as Michigan beat Arizona 91-73 in the Final Four.
The Wolverines' win in Indianapolis sent Michigan to Monday's national championship game against UConn, but the night also belonged to the five former teammates who once turned a college program into a national talking point. Webber called it “a great night” and said “spending it with these guys has been special” after the game.
Webber said TNT brought the idea to the group and they accepted. He said they were hoping it would happen and that it was an honor to return to college basketball on a platform that would allow it. The reunion ran for more than two hours, with the five trading stories and jokes in a way that fit the group’s old reputation.
Read Also: Napoli Vs Milan: Line-ups and key absences ahead of a crucial run-in
That reputation was built long before Saturday. The Fab Five were the first all-freshman starting lineup in a national championship game in NCAA tournament history, and the group became one of the most famous recruiting classes the sport has seen. Four of the five recruits were McDonald's All-Americans, with Jackson the exception, and they later became known for black socks, long shorts and swagger.
The broadcast leaned into that history. Jackson, King and Howard wore Fab Five sweatshirts, while Rose showed up in a South West High hoodie to promote his show, South West High, which is streaming on Tubi. Webber said the group knew there would be no attempt at being “politically correct,” and that when they get together they joke, talk about each other and dog each other. “It’s like we’re 18 again,” he said.
Read Also: Tarris Reed Jr powers UConn’s run toward another national title
Jackson had the final word on that mood, telling Webber, “Your knees are 85 years old,” and later joking, “It was louder because your breath was bad.” The lines landed because they fit the same loose, competitive energy that made the Fab Five such a force in the first place, and the same chemistry that still gives the reunion weight more than three decades later.
