Knight and The Fab Five

[-jk]

I don't know what happened to mine but I still have the Duke Takes the Bite Out of Tark's Sharks shirt.

I still have my '84 "Majoring in Smartass" Ken Denlinger T. Might be the cheapest/flimsiest t-shirt I ever got, but I had to have it. Instant classic.

-jk

[greybeard]

Couple of things. John Thompson's teams did change the game, in some remarkable ways, including taking kids who never would have gotten into and made it at Georgetown and proved that they could become outstanding men and play a game that had never before been played--90 feet of presure, playing an unheard of deep bench, with many players who knew the game as any kid in college ball and were superb in playing 90 feet of pressure probably in as many different ways. They conducted themselves like gentlemen and it was Thompson's iron fisted way of the highway.

The Fab Rive were something entirely different. They were the show, they had some remarkably talented players, Webber had to be the best forward prospect ever, and Jalen at what, 6'8" could do it all and was/is sharp as a tack. Juan, 15 years in the pros says it all, doesn't it? King surprised me by not making it as an NBA start, but he had to be among the very best athletes in the game in his time playing the shooting guard. Jackson, a block of granite with grite to go with it, and a very nice 3-ball and ability to play off the bounce.

What made them the streets was that they played and carried themselves that way, including the big three. Webber went to a preppy prep school, so what. He dazzled and pranced and blocked shots and dribbled and through passes unseen since Magic and posed like inner city to me. These kids came in to make a particular statement and did. They were not Jackie Robinson, not even close. He had to hold his tounge and try to disappear, to hide the rage inside. John Thompson converted those players, including in the Ewing era into a disciplined, highly discipline, no affect, killing machine. He was Bobby Knight with more genuis, with a greater vision and place in history than just basketball.

The Fab Five had guys who could really play and did on that Championship team mentioned sitting on the bench and, from all appearances, being fine with it. What they were seeing, what we all were seeing, was nothing short of remarkable. Five Freshman and then sophomores playing against mature teams, mature men, and getting to the Championship game twice, outplaying Duke that first half (I don't care that it was a 1 point game, Michigan was running things, and then playing Carolina down to the very end, a one point loss.

Indiana and Ohio state had two of the very best college ballplayers in the country and were coached by two very tough-minded men who were driven to win. They did, but again, besides the stars, Channey and Jackson, who else do you remember. The Fab Five were about remembering, they were shooting for it all and came closer than most teams can ever dream of getting, and did it while they were kids among men. They did it playing street ball, which we were all shown on the biggest stage possible was nothing like the game that the media portrayed it. The game that they represented was bright, intelligent, talented beyond imagination, they outside name brands like Nike and Adidas, and they played as a team on their terms and made it work.

Calipari did not copy the Fab Five, the Fab Five just unraveled the hypocracy, the myth, that the black player did not deserve a big piece of the pie because it needed the structure that the suits had created to sell product. They sold the game, they destroyed that hog wash, and the NCAA crushed them beyond what was just and fair when they caught their hand in the same cookie jar that ALL of Wooden's championship team had reached into. We should know why the ceiling fell in on those kids, why their very existent was wiped not only from the books, but also from the school they brought so much attention to. Jalen came back and told the story and again showed me at least that these young men were beyond smart and talented, and that they could make the fat cats look like the exploiters that they were and are once again.

Some see it differently, and I'm not mad at your view. It is the view of convention, and it makes sense in that world, many parts of which I long for like you guys and hate to see any of it that is left threatened. But, once you make the marriage that the NCAA and its member particpants into a marketing arm for the NCAA, shoe and apparell industries, the sports media industry that feeds off their, the kid's talents and labor, then I have to side with those who stand up to such hypocracy and exploitation that says that the players do not deserve their fair share, not a small stipend, but their fair share.

Webber, Juan, and Rose, after they made their statement, made their point, went out and did just that. They deserved every penny. Just the way I see it. Not putting down the other view, just think that the ship of the old days has sailed. It was that that Calipari finds legitimacy in, can stand up and legitimately say that he is playing it the only way that serves these kid's interests and doing it well. I think that the Fab Five paved his way, and he and others like him will start bringing down the walls that seperate the dough they bring and the lack of it that the players get. The Fab Five made stylin as a team the show, and they had reason to think that all five of them would get their money when the time came after a couple of years. Too bad it didn't work out for the other two that way. They had earned it in my book.

[oldnavy]

You're not disagreeing with me. It was a cherry on top at the time. The scourge and trail of deception left by Ed Martin devastated the program and I'm still a bit bitter about their treatment of Tommy. Honestly, I too celebrated their demise as a Duke fan and family member to many Ohio State fans.

They didn't win any title but they won quite a bit and considering that freshmen hadn't been doing that too often - they won in a major way. They helped change recruiting and they made coaches and programs be more honest with the public and themselves. They also helped start a trend that carried over to Michigan State with the star players staying at home. Their impact has been far reaching.

Michigan was a full participant in the chaos and profited greatly off the backs of those student athletes and thusly I could care less about how they were affected. But hey - if Michigan itself can come around then so can I...

Actually this just gave me a thought for a thread...

The University was fully complicit in the violations and I have no sympathy for UM at ALL. They got what they deserved.

As far as the "Fab Five" goes, my feelings are... ehhh, they were a very solid group of basketballers, and a team you really didn't want to face come March (although it worked out ok for us and UNC), but that's about were my feelings end. Not impressed with all the other things they did. They have a place in history for sure because they did make an impact, but when you really look at the impact including the bad parts, the total body of work was less than impressive to me. I can see how others would feel differently, and that is what makes the world interesting!