Jalen Rose on the Fab 5

[Billy Dat]

I thought this was a good thread in which to put the following Friday laugh. Jalen Rose chatted on ESPN today about a forthcoming ESPN doc on the Fab Five (~20th Anniversay) that he helped produce. Here are two Q&As that I thought everyone would get a kick out of:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat...ves-jalen-rose

Josh (Ann Arbor)
Toughest opponent you faced while at Michigan?

Jalen Rose (12:59 PM)
Duke. They arguably are one of the greatest teams in modern college basketball history.

Karl (NYC)
Jalen. You guys never beat Duke. Does that still bug you ?

Jalen Rose (1:01 PM)
Yes. I hate Duke.

[ikiru36]

I thought this was a good thread in which to put the following Friday laugh. Jalen Rose chatted on ESPN today about a forthcoming ESPN doc on the Fab Five (~20th Anniversay) that he helped produce. Here are two Q&As that I thought everyone would get a kick out of:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat...ves-jalen-rose

Josh (Ann Arbor)
Toughest opponent you faced while at Michigan?

Jalen Rose (12:59 PM)
Duke. They arguably are one of the greatest teams in modern college basketball history.

Karl (NYC)
Jalen. You guys never beat Duke. Does that still bug you ?

Jalen Rose (1:01 PM)
Yes. I hate Duke.

I appreciate his honesty on both counts. :0)

A clear example of "hate" really referring to fear, envy and respect. That brand of hate I'll accept, as it comes with the territory of being the best!

Go Duke!!!!!!!!! Go Blue Devils!!!!!!!!!!!!! GTHCGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Atlanta Duke]

The early 90s Duke teams presumably will be featured as the primary foil for 2 teams that get their own documentaries in 2 weeks

UNLV get its special on HBO on March 12
http://www.hbo.com/sports/runnin-reb...nlv/index.html

Fab Five special goes out on March 13

Two decades later those programs live on memories while Coach K rolls on

[Olympic Fan]

The Fab Five exploded onto the national scene in a December 14 game in Ann Arbor that was nationally televised by CBS.

Michigan, which won the national title in 1989, had fallen on hard times and had struggled in 1991. Three of the five freshmen started against No. 1 Duke in that early season game (Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwon Howard) and Jimmy King came off the bench to play against the Devils. The fifth member, Ray Jackson played just three minutes.

It was a great game with Webber scoring 27 points and Rose 18 for No. 23 Michigan. King had 15 off the bench. But Duke got 26 from Hurley and 24 from Laettner and won 88-85 in overtime.

The two teams met again, as I'm sure you know, in the national title game. This time Duke was No. 1 and Michigan was ranked No. 15. Michigan led at the half as Laettner had perhaps the worst half of his career (at least of his senior season). But he bounced back in the second half and Grant Hill dominated down the stretch as Duke won 71-51 ... it was closer than that, but the Devils pulled away at the end.

The next December, the Fab Five -- the preseason No. 1 team -- came to Cameron and were smashed 79-68 on Dec. 5 by Hurley, Grant Hill and company.

That was the last time the complete Fab Five played Duke. A year later, Webber had turned pro, but the Wolverines still had fourth-fifths of the Fab 5 as No. 4 Duke beat No. 3 Michigan in Ann Arbor, 73-63.

By the next year, Howard and Rose had turned pro, leaving just Jimmy King and Ray Jackson left from the Fab Five. They visited Duke (which would later collapse that season) as the nation's No. 23 team in December and lost again 69-59.

So I guess you could say the Fab Fuve was either 0-3 or 0-5 against Duke -- depending on whether you're talking about the complete Fab Five or just the Fab Five Class.

[Reilly]

The Fab Five exploded onto the national scene in a December 14 game in Ann Arbor that was nationally televised by CBS....

That was a tremendous game and resonates. I remember being out Christmas shopping in DC earlier that day, and then ducking into The Front Page to watch the game. Every year in December, when the weather has turned, maybe some snow is blowing (I think some did that day), and a city is decorated for Christmas, and there's some great sporting event on on a Saturday afternoon to watch in a warm environment, that whole scene comes back to me. Proust had his biscuit ... we have Duke victories ...

[elvis14]

The Fab Five exploded onto the national scene in a December 14 game in Ann Arbor that was nationally televised by CBS.

My best friend got married that day. He's a Duke basketball fan as well. During the reception, he and I got in a little trouble with the bride. She wasn't too happy when she found us in the kitchen of the hall watching the only TV we could find. She made him go back to the reception...she just gave me the evil eye and left me to watch the rest of the game.

I moved to the Triangle area in 1991. My best friend still lives in Greenwood, SC. We DVR Duke games and watch them together using speaker phones and synchronizing our DVR's. He's still married somehow!

[dairedevil]

My Dad (graduated in '47) was in the hospital, and the doctor had told us it would be a good idea to call the family together, as he didn't know if Dad would make it. We gathered around his bedside, put the Duke-Michigan game on. Dad drifted in and out, but always wanted to know if Duke was winning... he pulled through and was home for Christmas. I think he wanted to be around for those first 2 championships!

[pamtar]

FWIW, Jalen is one of the best analysts on TV. He's the Bilas of the NBA. Im sure the "I hate Duke" comment was tongue in cheek. Though, he does probably harbor some resentment for the beat down we gave them, I'm sure he literally hates UNC.

[wsb3]

Remember the Dec 1992 game and they were woofing about playing Duke and one of them said they wish the NBA would let Christian come back and play.

End result. They woof, They lost to Duke...Again..

[rthomas]

Fab 5 legacy:

Weren't the Fab 5 illegally recruited, NCAA found out, then Steve Fisher fired, Michigan went on probation, then Tommy Amaker was hired to bail them out, but the probation was too hard to overcome, so he was fired too?

[BobbyFan]

Remember the Dec 1992 game and they were woofing about playing Duke and one of them said they wish the NBA would let Christian come back and play.

End result. They woof, They lost to Duke...Again..

The Fab Five sure could run their mouths. Webber talked trash after dunking on Laettner in the regular season game in 1991, but Laettner returned the favor later in the game.

And as you noted, prior to the 1992 game, the FF had plenty to say - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...45/1/index.htm

[wsb3]

The Fab Five sure could run their mouths. Webber talked trash after dunking on Laettner in the regular season game in 1991, but Laettner returned the favor later in the game.

And as you noted, prior to the 1992 game, the FF had plenty to say - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...45/1/index.htm

Great Link. Thanks for sharing.

[dukemsu]

On ESPN's new Fab Five promotional video, Rose assails Duke, stating that "Duke recruits only Uncle Toms". Absolutely unbelievable. Will Duke respond to this? dukemsu

[Curt]

On ESPN's new Fab Five promotional video, Rose assails Duke, stating that "Duke recruits only Uncle Toms". Absolutely unbelievable. Will Duke respond to this? dukemsu

Jalen who?

[superdave]

On ESPN's new Fab Five promotional video, Rose assails Duke, stating that "Duke recruits only Uncle Toms". Absolutely unbelievable. Will Duke respond to this? dukemsu

Is that race-baiting or racist? I'm not quite sure how to categorize what Jalen Rose said. Let's just go with he's an idiot and Espn should probably suspend him for a week.

[Lord Ash]

Wow. Seriously, that was the language he used? Stunning. Wonder how our African American players feel about that.

[RelativeWays]

On ESPN's new Fab Five promotional video, Rose assails Duke, stating that "Duke recruits only Uncle Toms". Absolutely unbelievable. Will Duke respond to this? dukemsu

Current Jalen Rose or 91-93 Jalen Rose? If its the latter I can see that because that was Duke's reputation in regards to their black players, with Grant Hill being the epitome of the "safe black athlete its okay for whites to like" image. I'm not saying thats the reality back then, but that was the image thrust upon Duke at the time by dumb outsiders. Other than Battier, we haven't had a player that comes close to that image. Brand, Maggette, Jones, JWill, Gerald, Nolan and Kyrie are certainly not uncle toms by those standards even if some of them came from affluent backgrounds.

[superdave]

Here's a link that has the whole story. Unwise to say but not as bad as it first came across.

[devildeac]

Is that race-baiting or racist? I'm not quite sure how to categorize what Jalen Rose said. Let's just go with he's an idiot and Espn should probably suspend him for a week.

Why only a week?

[kong123]

This is the sort of thing that will cause Duke trouble in recruiting some kids. Whether it is right or its wrong, its a stereotype that has been developed over time. Duke has always recruited kids that seem to have their heads on straight. Kid's that seem to be disciplined and seem to be extremely smart and coachable. That's the good side. The other side of the coin is it keeps a lot of kids, like Jalen Rose, from identifying with your players. Maybe you could careless if a Jalen Rose kid identifies with Duke, but every once in a while you will lose a kid because of this. Ultimately, Duke does well with who they get because of their coach and their system. UNC casts a wider net than Duke and therefore has more luck identifying with a broader range of recruits. Both schools usually get the players that they want and both schools are among the best in the country, year in and year out. So, there is more than one way to do it. Duke's way isn't wrong, but as Jalen said, it leaves a bad taste in some peoples mouths. Especially after you beat them for a NCAA Championship.