“We reminded ourselves the hood is watching”: Michigan icon Chris Webber talks about 1991 Fab Five’s cultural impact
LSU star Flau'jae Johnson discussed the cultural impact of the 1991 Fab Five with Chris Webber on Friday's episode of her podcast "Best of Both Worlds with Flau'jae." Ray Jackson, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Webber made for one of the strongest recruiting classes in basketball. Apart from making winning plays as freshmen, they garnered a massive fan base with their flashy style and fearless gameplay in the 90s.
Chris Webber highlighted that Michigan's Fab Five sparked a lot of trends that are still followed in the world of basketball today. He also claimed that the group's persona stemmed from their neighborhoods and the similarity in their mindsets.
"At that time you didn't know players' names, you didn't know anything but the school let you know about," Webber said. "We were the first that I ever heard that played hip-hop music in any line, not NBA or anything. We had to fight to get this and things like that.
"It wasn't a bunch of people at that time speaking out or just, not speaking out, living out life. That's all we did was live the life with our friends that our friends would live at home and on TV."
"And before we played every game we remind ourselves, our mommas watching, the hood is watching, because we know we were an extension of that and so the best compliment you can get is to go home and your boys say you fresh and so, we were just an extension of our neighborhood."
Chris Webber and Michigan's Fab Five had a multidimensional impact
The Fab Five embraced the early 90s fashion culture, bringing long and baggy shorts to court. At the time, tighter and shorter shorts were the norm in college and big-league circuits. They paired it with black socks and black Huarache sneakers, which were also widely emulated in the basketball space.
In terms of basketball, their impact began when Chris Webber and his freshman teammates were given the starting role in the middle of the season. Their games immediately began filling stadiums and bringing massive media attention to Michigan basketball. In the 1992 NCAA finals against Duke, the Fab Five became the first all-freshman lineup to compete in a national title game.
Their dominance continued in their second year together as well. As sophomores, the Fab Five led the program to a 31-5 record and reached the national finals. They lost to another blue-blood school, North Carolina, in the 1993 finals, making it their last game together.
Together, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King accounted for 59.7 points and 26.8 rebounds in their first year. Their production increased to 69 points and 31.2 rebounds in their sophomore season.
The crew broke up in its junior year when Chris Webber was drafted as the first pick by the Orlando Magic in 1993. He became the first sophomore since Magic Johnson to become the first overall pick in the big league.