NEW ORLEANS - They've become the most famous recruiting class in college basketball history, five players who set out to together to change college basketball. They wore baggy shorts, played with swagger and energy, and ruled the college game for two years.
By the time the 1993 national championship game rolled around, virtually every basketball fan in America had memorized the names of Michigan's Fab Five: Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Chris Webber. They made the national championship game the year before, five freshmen starters who didn't know that there was supposed to be a learning curve. And even though they got blown out by Duke in that game, everybody assumed they'd be back, and even better, in 1993.
Boy, were they right. They entered the title game with a 31-4 record, having been ranked No. 1 for half the season before ending the year ranked No. 3. Even though their opponent, North Carolina, was equally as talented, this game was supposed to be a coronation, the moment that the Fab Five turned Super Sophs finished their ascent of college basketball.
North Carolina had other plans. The Tar Heels lead 42-36 at the half, and of Michigan's talented starters, only Webber was playing a good game. Michigan hung tough, and were trailing 73-71 with 19 seconds left when Webber rebounded a missed free throw.
Then, the fairy tale came to a screeching halt.
Not able to find a guard to pass to, Webber nearly traveled (acutally, he did travel, but it wasn't called) before dribbling up court. Perhaps flustered by his lucky break, he dribbled into the corner by Michigan's bench, got trapped by two Tar Heels, and called time out.
A time out Michigan didn't have.
And just like that, the dream of the Fab Five was over. The technical foul gave North Carolina two free throws plus the ball, allowing them to put the game away. Webber went pro after that game, becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Howard and Rose joined Webber in the NBA the next year, and all three had all-star caliber careers.
Years later, it was revealed that Webber had received illegal payments from a Michigan booster, starting when he was in high school, that added up to more than $200,000. More Michigan players were implicated, though none of the other four members of the Fab Five were shown to receive any money. Eventually, the NCAA stripped Michigan and Webber of all their accomplishments from 1993; the official NCAA record book shows no team finishing second in 1993.
Perhaps the promise of the Fab Five was too good to be true. Perhaps we should have been suspicious about how a school that wasn't a traditional basketball power could get this much talent in one class.
But maybe they got their just reward. They had come painfully close to their dream, 19 seconds from a championship, only to have it all taken away. Starting with a simple time out.
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