​The first member of the Fab Five to appear on our list lands at No. 8 among the top-25 Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989. He was the vocal heartbeat of the group, a hometown icon, and to this day remains a recognizable face of the University of Michigan and its basketball program—the great Jalen Rose. Before we press ahead, we’ve stayed faithful to our scoring model for this entire series. I was pleased with about 95 percent of the results, but Rose was slightly undervalued. He deserves a higher ranking for the profound impact he had during his Wolverine tenure and for the ongoing advocacy and support he provides to the program. If we were listing all Michigan men by brand, impact, and philanthropy, Rose would likely sit at No. 1.
When ranking the Fab Five within this framework, there are seven players above him who, on the court, you could argue deserve the top spots; however, if I stepped away from the model, Rose would likely land in the top five. The model emphasizes statistics, individual awards, and team success, and because the Fab Five never won a Big Ten championship or a Big Ten Tournament title (those events didn’t exist for them in their era) and because Rose collected fewer personal honors until his final season, his score took a hit, leaving him at No. 8.
A Detroit native, Rose started for three seasons and finished as the Fab Five’s leading scorer. He set the freshman scoring record at the time with 597 points, averaging 17.6 points per game. In their inaugural national title run, Rose delivered a standout performance, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a Sweet 16 matchup against Oklahoma State. He followed that by pouring in 20 points in the Elite Eight overtime thriller versus Ohio State. Although Michigan fell to Duke in the National Championship, Rose earned a place on the All-Tournament Team, while not securing other conference or national honors.
Rose’s freshman season marked the dawn of an iconic era for Michigan, with him at the center of it all. He started every game as a sophomore but saw his scoring average dip slightly from 17.6 to 15.4 points per game in that second year. Under the influence of the Fab Five, Michigan became must-watch television, known for their distinctive style—baggy uniforms, black socks—and their on-court dominance, finishing that season 31–4.
One of the most memorable victories of the Fab Five era came in the Final Four against Kentucky. The Wildcats, entering the game on one of the greatest runs in NCAA Tournament history and winning their first four games by an average margin of 31 points, were fancied as the favorites to win it all. Yet Michigan limited Kentucky to a tournament-low 78 points in an overtime affair. Rose was central to that win, scoring 18 of Michigan’s 81 points and delivering two crucial free throws after a defensive stop in the final seconds.
Once again, the Wolverines fell just short of capturing a national title, losing to North Carolina. The departure of Chris Webber signaled the end of the Fab Five era, but the remaining four members continued to contribute on the court and help with the program’s profile long after their college days.