The Michigan Wolverines are back in the NCAA Tournament championship game for the first time since the famous "Fab Five" played against North Carolina in 1993. In that title game, the team's biggest star, Chris Webber, called the most infamous timeout in tournament history when Michigan didn't have any remaining, allowing the Tar Heels to clinch the championship in the final minute.
Twenty years later, Webber is apparently the last holdout preventing a Fab Five reunion at the Georgia Dome on Monday when the Wolverines take on the Louisville Cardinals, according to Jalen Rose.
A former member of the Fab Five and current ESPN analyst, Rose spoke with Grantland's Bill Simmons on his podcast on Sunday and discussed his relationship with Webber.
"The elephant in the room has been Chris Webber," Rose told Bill Simmons on his podcast on Sunday. "While he loves us like brothers and vice versa there has been a communication separation that has basically taken place since we all were teammates. I think the time out had a lot to do with it. I think he wants to disassociate himself with that moment and with that school, in theory with us, to kind of rebuild his life mentally to say, 'My career really started my rookie year in the NBA, but that's really not how it works.'"
Rose then pleaded to Webber, who Simmons pointed out lives in Atlanta, to join him, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard in the stands for the national title game.
"He was the person eventually that ended up having the unfortunate timeout. He was the person involved with the Ed Martin situation that led to the banners being taken down and the wins being vacated. He was the person that chose not to participate in the Fab Five doc," Rose continued. "Now hopefully he's not the only person that chooses not to participate in celebrating Michigan basketball being back on top 20 years after we played in the final game. It would mean so much to the university, so much to the current players...The world knows that he's going to be in Atlanta, so it's almost like a flagrant omission if he decides not to come."
Rose went on to say that Webber "hasn't done any interviews all week." But C-Webb wasn't entirely silent before Michigan took on Syracuse in the Final Four.
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