The “Fab Five,” were five guys that had to deal with a variety of different issues, but these five players battled their way through some tough times and will forever be remembered in the history. What made these guys so special was really their ability to compete with anybody out on the basketball court, especially Duke back when they were the returning National Champions. The Fab Five really started to change the culture of basketball right around the time hip hop started to become popular.
It started off as these five guys deciding that they hated the look of the really short shorts that they had to wear and wanted to mix it up by asking the coach if they could where a baggier type of shorts similar to the ones Michael Jordan wore at the time. The coach eventually agreed, but only if the guys win games for him. Not too long after this, eventually one of players, Jalen Rose, found a pair of black socks in his locker and thought they looked very stylish, so he told his teammates to put on black socks and keep your warm up pants on till the game started. The Fab Five had their own unique style to the game of basketball.
The style that they brought was a hip hop style. Bald heads, black socks, and baggy shorts. Many people said that the Fab Five were cocky, misunderstood, and immature. But that didn’t affect their game on the court. Their style on the court was pure street ball. (Street ball is a game style where you play like how you would at a park). The style with their shorts, socks, bald heads, and shoes influenced superstars such as LeBron James, Chauncey Billups to wear baggy shorts, black socks, and bald heads. They also talk trash a lot on the court which was a new thing during the time.
I really think just those two small things revolutionized basketball. I don’t know for sure if this is considered a stereotype, but with that being said I feel like a big problem going on in the season were people merchandising Fab Five apparel and people getting the wrong idea thinking that the guys were getting compensated for this when really they were all struggling to get by. Out of all the people unhappy about the situation I think the five themselves were the most upset, and felt kind of betrayed that people were making millions selling things that referenced the Fab Five and getting absolutely nothing in return.
The risk Michigan took with starting five freshmen was the tension it could draw to older more experienced players on the team, and coach going against his own word saying he wouldn’t ever start five freshmen. It’s really like a middle finger to the more experienced players, but at the same time these older guys were mature about the situation and accepted the fact that these guys were unbelievably talented and told themselves that they we will bring what they know to the table and help these talented players reach their true potential.
The recruiting started off with Steve Fischer spending a huge amount of time with Juwan Howard and promising him that he will not regret going to Michigan and that they will take care of him. Once Howard committed the rest was smooth sailing, as Howard recruited Jalen rose and those two recruited Chris Webber which eventually led to acquiring Ray Jackson and Jimmy King. So really the players recruited themselves to the team. By the end of their second year together, the Fab Five were routinely battered in the national media for the way they carried themselves.
Articles and television reports painted them as brash villains or worse as thugs. Many people back then thought that they were thugs because of their appearance and how they acted. Now you almost see everybody in the National Basketball Association (NBA) having bald heads, tattoos and that all originated from the Fab Five. I thought the racial tension was just the same thing we see every day. There’s no way around it and people can’t let racist people affect their mentality. I’ve been around plenty of it, with that being said I’ve never received it.
These guys truly are legends, even though they never won a National Championship. I think Chris Webber made a mistake when he made a deal to receive $250,000 as long as he pays it off when he gets to the NBA. I feel like the consequences were very severe for what he did, but at the same time Michigan has to protect the name of its institution just like any other college would. In conclusion the Fab Five changed basketball by having their own unique style by bringing the hip hop culture to basketball and how people look at the sport of basketball.
Their style influenced superstars now and young athlete to wear their basketball clothes how the Fab Five wore their basketball clothes. Also the scandal changed the way people looked at basketball. The scandal erased the Fab Five history so it seem like they didn’t exist. Ray Jackson said something like it’s possible to punish the one who did do that but the whole team and erase the whole memory that should be held up forever.
All the people who had the case, all they want is to have Chris Webber apologizes for what he did and admit that he was wrong. A man in the investigation said it would be a tremendous impact on the whole situation and can turn everything around. So the Fab Five in the records don’t exist since they have been erased but nobody will forget about them. Jalen Rose said “I would never forget the Fab Five. ” Chris Webber said “I would never forget the Fab five. ” But now till this day the Fab Five records still don’t exist but they will never be forgotten.
