You don't realize while you're living it that it's something that special.” Brian Dutcher Not only from the way they wore their uniforms but the way they performed on the floor together. “The Fab Five kind of changed the culture of basketball. The freshmen had done it, they had reached the title game. Webber and Jackson embraced, and Jackson and Howard went to comfort Rose. With the rock-star welcome behind them, Michigan took the Metrodome court and earned a tight 76-72 win over Cincinnati in the semifinal that left Rose sobbing at midcourt. After being swept by the Big Ten champion Buckeyes during the regular season, Steve Fisher's team got revenge with a 75-71 overtime win in the Elite Eight in Lexington, Ky. That mentality only got cemented into their psyche after boxing legend Muhammad Ali gave them a motivational speech after meeting them at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta in the NCAA's first two rounds.įour games later, Michigan's first Final Four berth since the 1989 NCAA title came after conquering a significant hurdle. The sixth-seeded Wolverines finished the regular season 20-8 and tied for third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Indiana, but they started the NCAA tournament feeling as if they could "shock the world." you know … the one to the secret room with the Banners." "Ummmmmmm soooo … whoever has the key please hit me up," Webber tweeted after NIL rules passed this summer. The question remains whether the Fab Five's place in history will ever be restored. ![]() Instead, they're hidden away and wiped from the record books since Webber and others broke the NCAA's amateur rules by being paid by boosters. If Michigan's iconic team had been allowed to profit off their NIL at that time, maybe the Final Four banners from 19 would still be hanging in Crisler Center. The Fab Five's legacy is also controversial, especially after the NCAA recently approved athletes being paid off their name, image and likeness. The preps-to-pros and one-and-done eras that followed rode the Fab Five wave. wore them during their run to Minneapolis.Ĭollege freshmen once waited their turn behind upperclassmen, but the Fab Five trailblazed a path for talented teenagers to take over in years to come. Nike even released a signature shoe (Air Huarache) in 1992 that took off once Webber and Co. The long, baggy shorts and black socks were contrary to what the NBA donned in the early 1990s and became a new hoops fashion trend. On today's Daily Delivery, Chip Scoggins and Michael Rand on why that weekend of basketball made such an impact.īeyond the hype, the Fab Five paved the way for change not just in college basketball but for the next generation of stars. Podcast 1992 Final Four rocked Metrodome right after the Super Bowl left town Little more than two months after the Super Bowl left town, the Final Four arrived. A mob cheered as they hopped off the bus. ![]() Paul Airport by hundreds and had a police escort to the Registry Hotel in Bloomington. It was these college kids, though, who were greeted at Minneapolis-St. Minneapolis was wrapping up nearly a year of hosting some of America's top sports stars. You don't realize while you're living it that it's something that special." "The Fab Five kind of changed the culture of basketball. "You look back now and you realize how big it was," former Michigan assistant and current San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher told the Star Tribune recently. Instead, the Fab Five stepped off the plane and stole the spotlight. Even the Bob Huggins-coached and Nick Van Exel-led Cincinnati Bearcats had an appealing underdog story line. And buzzworthy indeed were the defending national champion Blue Devils, headed by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill. In a star-studded Final Four at the Metrodome in April 1992 - the last in a series of mega-events that made Minnesota America's sports capital for nearly a full year - the spotlight could've easily been on two of the best college basketball coaches of all time: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Indiana's Bob Knight. The Wolverines' all-freshman starting lineup of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson changed college hoops forever in the 1991-92 season. ![]() That was the Fab Five - and Minnesota got an up-close look at these supremely talented teenagers 30 years ago. Trash talk, swagger and bravado meet boy band-level stardom. Walking billboards for hip-hop music, style and culture. We looked back at that stretch of Minnesota sports history each day this week.īaggy shorts, baggy jerseys and black socks. ![]() A Minnesota team or venue was involved in those two major events and three more in between. The 1991 Stanley Cup Final started on May 15, and the 1992 Final Four came to a conclusion on April 6. Editor's note: Final piece of our six-part series.
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