Fab 5 to Reunite

From Mlive.com
by Jeff Arnold

Jalen Rose stood at center court in Crisler Arena a year ago, vowing that he would one day reunite the Fab Five.

In time, Rose said, one of the most celebrated collections of talent in college basketball history would return to the University of Michigan to celebrate their accomplishments.

Now, 16 years after Michigan's famed fivesome helped lead the Wolverines to their second straight national title game and more than a decade after the NCAA vacated both of the seasons the Fab Five spent together, they will again come together.

Just not in Ann Arbor.

Rose, along with former teammates Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, will appear together at a charity event at the Motor City Casino in Detroit on April 4, the event's planner said Tuesday.

The event will benefit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. It is part of a weekend of festivities surrounding the Final Four, which will be held at Ford Field.

Ticket prices for the event haven't yet been finalized.

The reunion will mark the first time the former Michigan starting five has been together since they all played together in 1992 and 1993.

The NCAA erased the Fab Five's achievements after learning that former Michigan booster Ed Martin gave Webber $280,000 in illicit loans and another $336,000 to three other Wolverines' players.

And, while most believe the Fab Five's legacy was forever tarnished by the controversy surrounding the group, Rose believes, in time, all will be forgiven.

King, who serves as a Michigan basketball color commentator, said Tuesday night he is helping to organize the event.

He said at last year's ceremony involving Rose that he looked forward to a time when he could once again be together with his former teammates.

"I know everybody wishes (the rest of the Fab Five) was here," King said. "Just because I'm the only brother who's here supporting (Rose), it doesn't mean that everyone else isn't here in spirit."