The Fab Five (film)
Encyclopedia
The Fab Five is a 2011 ESPN Films
documentary about the 1990s Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
players known collectively as the Fab Five
: Chris Webber
, Jalen Rose
, Juwan Howard
, Jimmy King
, and Ray Jackson
. It chronicles the recruitment, glory years, notorious time-out fiasco
, cultural impact and the scandal that followed these players who are described as iconic figures in the media. The film originally aired on March 13 on a national broadcast on ESPN
. The film was noted as the highest-rated ESPN documentary of all time.
The film spawned critical commentary in a broad spectrum of media outlets which include leading newspapers such as The New York Times
, The Wall Street Journal
and The Washington Post
; leading periodicals such as Forbes
; online forums such as Slate
; and leading news outlets such as MSNBC
. In particular, the film sparked a verbal war between Jalen Rose and Duke University
's Grant Hill
through the media regarding issues of race in sports and education. Coincidentally, the following week, 2011 editions of Michigan
and Duke
met in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
.
had chronicled the Fab Five in a book entitled Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream, and Fox Sports had attempted to review the group. The press regarded this as the first complete recounting of the fabled group. Rose describes this film as "almost like the Bible of the Fab Five Story". An ESPN commentator describes the five players as the greatest incoming college basketball
recruiting class ever. He notes that they were presented to the world as the embodiment of what was wrong with college sports because they wore revolutionary baggy shorts and black socks and blasted hip-hop music while talking a lot of trash. The film documents the "formation, rise, scandal and epilogue of the team". It documents the 1991–92 and 1992–93 teams, the University of Michigan basketball scandal
, and related off the court issues such as hate mail. Forbes
notes that the legacy of the quintet, which includes successive appearances in the championship game of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
, was overshadowed by the scandal, which necessitated the removal of Final Four banners and vacating of games. The film is noted for presenting the inside story a group of players who the contemporary media derided as thugs and villains, while enterprise rode them as a multimillion dollar merchandising juggernaut.
The film chronicles a group of athletes who influenced a nation of basketball fans – some of whom became professional basketball players. It includes commentaries from former Michigan coaches Steve Fisher
, Brian Dutcher, and Perry Watson
, and rap icons Ice Cube
and Chuck D
. It also extends to details such as: "Howard discussing his grandmother's death the day he signed his letter of intent
, to Ray Jackson talking about being 'the fifth wheel' and considering a transfer, to Jimmy King's brutal honesty about his disdain for Christian Laettner
-- in somewhat unpalatable verbiage, to Rose talking about the loitering ticket he got in the Detroit 'crack house.'" The film also presented numerous other highlights of the era as well as some from the high school days of the featured players. Webber was considered notable for his non-involvement in the production, while the rest of the Fab Five were credited as executive producer
s. Rose approached ESPN Films about the project and brought the other players into the fold. His production role came through his own company, Three Tier Entertainment.
At first, only three of the freshmen started. Although they all played when the season opened on December 2, 1991 against the , they did not all play at the same time until December 7 against and did not start regularly until February 9, 1992. In that first game starting together as a regular unit, the five freshmen accounted for all the team's points in a 74–65 victory against . The film presented the opinions of upperclassmen Eric Riley
and James Voskuil when they were replaced by freshmen in the starting lineup. Both fought off impulses to transfer.
The film's initial airing established a record as the ratings leader among all ESPN documentaries with a 2.1 rating according to Nielsen Company, surpassing two of the 30 for 30
films, each of which posted a 1.8 rating: Pony Exce$$ (aired December 11, 2010, focusing on SMU football
of the 1980s, a decade that culminated in scandal
) and The U (aired December 12, 2009, detailing the University of Miami football team
in the 1980s and 1990s). The Fab Five aired at 9 p.m. ET, drawing an average of 2,088,000 households and 2,746,000 viewers, both bests among ESPN documentaries; it surpassed the previous high marks set by Pony Exce$$, when it was seen by an average of 1,843,000 homes and 2,517,000 viewers on ESPN. The Fab Five was rebroadcast at 11 p.m. on ESPN2
. In excess of 11 million people watched part of the movie on one of the two original national broadcasts on the day of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament selections.
The Fab Five also garnered high TV ratings during their playing days; they were one of the featured teams in both of the two highest rated NCAA Men's Basketball Championship games ever played. The film aired almost precisely twenty years after the legendary group was assembled. In an attempt to meet the same college basketball fan viewer interest on the tournament selection weekend, HBO produced its own hour-long documentary titled Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV on Jerry Tarkanian
and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
teams of the 1972–92 era. Fox Sports
also aired an hour-long special featuring sports agent
Rob Pelinka
, a Michigan teammate of the Fab Five, called Pelinka Chips In on March 14, but the special had low ratings. Pelinka had a cameo in the Fab Five film.⋅
Jason Reid noted that the film went out of its way to present the inappropriate racial commentary by Jalen Rose
when he described Duke basketball head coach
Mike Krzyzewski's recruits as Uncle Tom
s. Among those critical of the racial commentary was Duke player Grant Hill, who was cited in an Associated Press
story that ran in major national media outlets. Hill blogged on The New York Times with a response naming a litany of Dukies castigated by Rose's general aspersions. His response was at the top of The New York Times
by nearly 100,000 people within its first few days. King responded to Hill in The Wall Street Journal
. In the midst of the media exchange, the 2011 editions of the teams advanced to meet on March 20 at 2011 NCAA Tournament West Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina
, at the Time Warner Cable Arena with Duke ranked as a #1 seed and Michigan as an #8 seed. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski did not respond until after both team's were eliminated from the tournament, but he noted that he felt the statements were insulting and gave specific reasons why each of the Fab Five members did not go to Duke.
The Detroit Free Press
Mark Snyder regarded The Fab Five as a "Warts and all" depiction. He went on to describe it as a ". . .a tour de force of information from coaches. . .to the scorned upperclassmen. . ., then-Free Press beat writer Greg Stoda and the Detroit News' Bryan Burwell, and even rappers Ice Cube and Chuck D reflecting on the style elements. . ." The article concluded by summarizing the film as "riveting, brutal in its honesty, realistic in its language and stunning in its archival footage". One reviewer, however, felt that the reserves were a bit overlooked.
A Michigan writer from The Grand Rapids Press described the film as "youthful nostalgia that must be felt by a whole generation", but noted that the film was lacking in terms of outside perspective. He noted that fans would have welcomed voices of Bobby Knight, Dick Vitale
, Jimmy Jackson
, or Christian Laettner. He also noted the absence of Webber's voice as leaving the film with a hole. However, he noted that as much as the Fab Five revolutionized basketball in the American culture, this film remade the image of the Fab Five. Nonetheless, some questioned why Webber declined to participate and speculate on various reasons.
Another Michigan writer from the SB Nation described the film as thorough in its ability to provide the viewer with the answers to natural intrigues such as: "How was the recruiting class assembled? Who pushed for the baggy shorts? The black socks? How did a stodgy University of Michigan culture react to this bold, brash and outspoken team?" Other columnists were also satisfied to learn that Rose came up with the shorts and Jackson came up with the socks. He also commended the film on its detail surrounding Chris Webber's infamous timeout in the 1993 NCAA championship. The same reviewer enumerated his five biggest omissions from the film: Michigan athletic director
Bill Martin
, 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
, Michael Talley and Webber. He was also critical of Mitch Albom's involvement with the Fab Five.
Rivals.com
spoke against the tone of the film, which shows a lack of respect for team values. However, in describing the payment scandal, Webber's related legal problems and the removal of the Fab Five's banners from Crisler Arena
, and the infamous timeout gaffe at the end of the 1993 national championship game at the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
the documentary was considered fearless.
Another controversy arose from the film when the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball teams
of the late 1980s with Kendall Gill
and Stephen Bardo
claimed to be the originators of baggy shorts in basketball. All of the Wolverines who took part in the production of the film described how they felt they originated the baggy shorts as a result of Rose's request. Even rapper Ice Cube described his recollection of them as the originators.
ESPN Films
ESPN Films is a production company owned by ESPN that produces and distributes sports films and documentaries.-History:...
documentary about the 1990s Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association . The Wolverines play home basketball games at the...
players known collectively as the Fab Five
Fab Five (University of Michigan)
The Fab Five was the nickname for a 1991 University of Michigan men's basketball team recruitment class that is considered by some to be "the greatest class ever recruited." The class consisted of Detroit natives Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, Chicago native Juwan Howard, and Texas high school...
: Chris Webber
Chris Webber
Mayce Edward Christopher "Chris" Webber, III , nicknamed C-Webb, is a retired American professional basketball player. He is a five-time NBA All-Star, a former All-NBA First Teamer, a former NBA Rookie of the Year, and a former #1 overall NBA Draftee...
, Jalen Rose
Jalen Rose
Jalen Anthony Rose is a retired American professional basketball player, who currently works as a sports analyst for the sports television network ESPN...
, Juwan Howard
Juwan Howard
Juwan Antonio Howard is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . The Heat were his eighth different NBA team. He was drafted fifth overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets...
, Jimmy King
Jimmy King
Jimmy Hal King is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA.-College career:He was part of the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with Ray Jackson, current NBA player Juwan Howard, and former NBA players Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, that reached the 1992 and...
, and Ray Jackson
Ray Jackson
Ray Jackson is a retired American college and professional basketball player. He was part of the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with former NBA players Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose and current NBA player Juwan Howard that reached the 1992 & 1993 NCAA Men's Division...
. It chronicles the recruitment, glory years, notorious time-out fiasco
1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, cultural impact and the scandal that followed these players who are described as iconic figures in the media. The film originally aired on March 13 on a national broadcast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. The film was noted as the highest-rated ESPN documentary of all time.
The film spawned critical commentary in a broad spectrum of media outlets which include leading newspapers such as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
; leading periodicals such as Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
; online forums such as Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
; and leading news outlets such as MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. In particular, the film sparked a verbal war between Jalen Rose and Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
's Grant Hill
Grant Hill
Grant Hill is the name of:* Grant Hill, American basketball player* Grant Hill , Canadian politician* Grant Hill, San Diego, California, an urban neighboorhood in central San Diego...
through the media regarding issues of race in sports and education. Coincidentally, the following week, 2011 editions of Michigan
2010–11 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team
The 2010–11 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represents the University of Michigan during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the Crisler Arena, which has a capacity of 13,751, for the forty-fourth consecutive year...
and Duke
2010–11 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team
The 2010–11 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Returning as head coach was Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. The team played its home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina and are members of the...
met in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2011 tournament:First Four*March 15 and 16**University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OhioSecond and third rounds*March 17 and 19**Verizon Center, Washington, D.C....
.
Story
Previously Mitch AlbomMitch Albom
Mitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
had chronicled the Fab Five in a book entitled Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream, and Fox Sports had attempted to review the group. The press regarded this as the first complete recounting of the fabled group. Rose describes this film as "almost like the Bible of the Fab Five Story". An ESPN commentator describes the five players as the greatest incoming college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
recruiting class ever. He notes that they were presented to the world as the embodiment of what was wrong with college sports because they wore revolutionary baggy shorts and black socks and blasted hip-hop music while talking a lot of trash. The film documents the "formation, rise, scandal and epilogue of the team". It documents the 1991–92 and 1992–93 teams, the University of Michigan basketball scandal
University of Michigan basketball scandal
The University of Michigan basketball scandal or Ed Martin scandal was a six-year investigation of the relationship between the University of Michigan, its men's basketball teams and basketball team booster Ed Martin...
, and related off the court issues such as hate mail. Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
notes that the legacy of the quintet, which includes successive appearances in the championship game of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, was overshadowed by the scandal, which necessitated the removal of Final Four banners and vacating of games. The film is noted for presenting the inside story a group of players who the contemporary media derided as thugs and villains, while enterprise rode them as a multimillion dollar merchandising juggernaut.
The film chronicles a group of athletes who influenced a nation of basketball fans – some of whom became professional basketball players. It includes commentaries from former Michigan coaches Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher is an American college basketball coach currently at San Diego State University.Fisher attended Illinois State University, where he helped lead the Redbirds to the 1967 Division II Final Four. After school, he became a high school coach in Park Forest, Illinois. In 1979, he accepted...
, Brian Dutcher, and Perry Watson
Perry Watson
Perry Watson is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at the University of Detroit Mercy. Watson took an indefinite medical leave of absence. Watson resigned on March 5, 2008. Perry Watson was an important character witness in the University of Michigan...
, and rap icons Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
and Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
. It also extends to details such as: "Howard discussing his grandmother's death the day he signed his letter of intent
National Letter of Intent
The National Letter of Intent is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating NCAA colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manages the daily operations of the NLI program while the Collegiate Commissioners Association provides...
, to Ray Jackson talking about being 'the fifth wheel' and considering a transfer, to Jimmy King's brutal honesty about his disdain for Christian Laettner
Christian Laettner
Christian Donald Laettner is a retired American professional basketball player and entrepreneur. He had a distinguished college and national career, and played in the National Basketball Association for thirteen seasons, from 1992–2005. He is presently a minority holder for the Major League...
-- in somewhat unpalatable verbiage, to Rose talking about the loitering ticket he got in the Detroit 'crack house.'" The film also presented numerous other highlights of the era as well as some from the high school days of the featured players. Webber was considered notable for his non-involvement in the production, while the rest of the Fab Five were credited as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s. Rose approached ESPN Films about the project and brought the other players into the fold. His production role came through his own company, Three Tier Entertainment.
At first, only three of the freshmen started. Although they all played when the season opened on December 2, 1991 against the , they did not all play at the same time until December 7 against and did not start regularly until February 9, 1992. In that first game starting together as a regular unit, the five freshmen accounted for all the team's points in a 74–65 victory against . The film presented the opinions of upperclassmen Eric Riley
Eric Riley
Eric Riley is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2nd round of the 1993 NBA Draft. Riley played for the Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics in five NBA seasons, averaging 3.1...
and James Voskuil when they were replaced by freshmen in the starting lineup. Both fought off impulses to transfer.
Ratings
ESPN built up the film with nearly a month of previews and promos. The week before the initial broadcast, ESPN aired clips of the film during some of its other programming; they featured the team's feelings about Duke prior to the 1992 championship game. These clips started what would become a national controversy.The film's initial airing established a record as the ratings leader among all ESPN documentaries with a 2.1 rating according to Nielsen Company, surpassing two of the 30 for 30
30 for 30
30 for 30 is the umbrella title for a series of documentaries airing on ESPN and its sister networks. The series, which premiered in October 2009 and concluded in December 2010, chronicles 30 stories from the "ESPN era," each of which detail the issues, trends, people, teams, or events that...
films, each of which posted a 1.8 rating: Pony Exce$$ (aired December 11, 2010, focusing on SMU football
SMU Mustangs football
The SMU Mustangs football program is a college football team that represents Southern Methodist University . The team competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member Conference USA...
of the 1980s, a decade that culminated in scandal
Southern Methodist University football scandal
The Southern Methodist University football scandal was an incident in which the football program at Southern Methodist University was investigated and punished for massive violations of NCAA rules and regulations. The most serious violation was the maintenance of a slush fund used for "under the...
) and The U (aired December 12, 2009, detailing the University of Miami football team
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
in the 1980s and 1990s). The Fab Five aired at 9 p.m. ET, drawing an average of 2,088,000 households and 2,746,000 viewers, both bests among ESPN documentaries; it surpassed the previous high marks set by Pony Exce$$, when it was seen by an average of 1,843,000 homes and 2,517,000 viewers on ESPN. The Fab Five was rebroadcast at 11 p.m. on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. In excess of 11 million people watched part of the movie on one of the two original national broadcasts on the day of the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament selections.
The Fab Five also garnered high TV ratings during their playing days; they were one of the featured teams in both of the two highest rated NCAA Men's Basketball Championship games ever played. The film aired almost precisely twenty years after the legendary group was assembled. In an attempt to meet the same college basketball fan viewer interest on the tournament selection weekend, HBO produced its own hour-long documentary titled Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV on Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian , also known as "Tark the Shark", is a retired college basketball coach known as one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history...
and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are a NCAA Division I men's basketball team who play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Their most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011 when they received an at–large bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning an 8-seed in...
teams of the 1972–92 era. Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
also aired an hour-long special featuring sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
Rob Pelinka
Rob Pelinka
Robert Todd Pelinka, Jr. is an American lawyer, National Basketball Association sports agent and former college basketball player from Lake Bluff, Illinois . He is best known as Kobe Bryant's agent and President and CEO of The Landmark Sports Agency, LLC...
, a Michigan teammate of the Fab Five, called Pelinka Chips In on March 14, but the special had low ratings. Pelinka had a cameo in the Fab Five film.⋅
Critical review
The New York Times described the film as a "flashback to a time when baggy basketball shorts, hip-hop music and black shoes were considered controversial and an affront to hoops purists". Washington Post columnistColumnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
Jason Reid noted that the film went out of its way to present the inappropriate racial commentary by Jalen Rose
Jalen Rose
Jalen Anthony Rose is a retired American professional basketball player, who currently works as a sports analyst for the sports television network ESPN...
when he described Duke basketball head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
Mike Krzyzewski's recruits as Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people....
s. Among those critical of the racial commentary was Duke player Grant Hill, who was cited in an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
story that ran in major national media outlets. Hill blogged on The New York Times with a response naming a litany of Dukies castigated by Rose's general aspersions. His response was at the top of The New York Times
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
by nearly 100,000 people within its first few days. King responded to Hill in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. In the midst of the media exchange, the 2011 editions of the teams advanced to meet on March 20 at 2011 NCAA Tournament West Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, at the Time Warner Cable Arena with Duke ranked as a #1 seed and Michigan as an #8 seed. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski did not respond until after both team's were eliminated from the tournament, but he noted that he felt the statements were insulting and gave specific reasons why each of the Fab Five members did not go to Duke.
The Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
Mark Snyder regarded The Fab Five as a "Warts and all" depiction. He went on to describe it as a ". . .a tour de force of information from coaches. . .to the scorned upperclassmen. . ., then-Free Press beat writer Greg Stoda and the Detroit News' Bryan Burwell, and even rappers Ice Cube and Chuck D reflecting on the style elements. . ." The article concluded by summarizing the film as "riveting, brutal in its honesty, realistic in its language and stunning in its archival footage". One reviewer, however, felt that the reserves were a bit overlooked.
A Michigan writer from The Grand Rapids Press described the film as "youthful nostalgia that must be felt by a whole generation", but noted that the film was lacking in terms of outside perspective. He noted that fans would have welcomed voices of Bobby Knight, Dick Vitale
Dick Vitale
Richard J. "Dick" Vitale , also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well-known as a college basketball broadcaster and for the enthusiastic and colorful remarks he makes during games. He is known for his...
, Jimmy Jackson
Jim Jackson (basketball)
James Arthur "Jim" Jackson is an American retired professional basketball player. Over his 14 NBA seasons, Jackson was on the active roster of 12 different teams, tying the league record. He is currently a basketball analyst on the Big Ten Network.-High school and college career:Jackson was a 6'6"...
, or Christian Laettner. He also noted the absence of Webber's voice as leaving the film with a hole. However, he noted that as much as the Fab Five revolutionized basketball in the American culture, this film remade the image of the Fab Five. Nonetheless, some questioned why Webber declined to participate and speculate on various reasons.
Another Michigan writer from the SB Nation described the film as thorough in its ability to provide the viewer with the answers to natural intrigues such as: "How was the recruiting class assembled? Who pushed for the baggy shorts? The black socks? How did a stodgy University of Michigan culture react to this bold, brash and outspoken team?" Other columnists were also satisfied to learn that Rose came up with the shorts and Jackson came up with the socks. He also commended the film on its detail surrounding Chris Webber's infamous timeout in the 1993 NCAA championship. The same reviewer enumerated his five biggest omissions from the film: Michigan athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Bill Martin
William C. Martin
William C. "Bill" Martin was University of Michigan Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Director from 2000 to 2010.Martin is president of the United States Sailing Foundation and also served as president of the U.S. Sailing Association, the national governing body of the sport of sailing from...
, 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
The 1992–93 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina in the 1992-93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 34-4 overall, won the ACC regular season title with a 14-2 record and...
, Michael Talley and Webber. He was also critical of Mitch Albom's involvement with the Fab Five.
Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
spoke against the tone of the film, which shows a lack of respect for team values. However, in describing the payment scandal, Webber's related legal problems and the removal of the Fab Five's banners from Crisler Arena
Crisler Arena
Crisler Arena, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, is the home arena for the University of Michigan men's and women's basketball teams. Constructed in 1967, the arena seats 13,751 spectators. It is named for Herbert O...
, and the infamous timeout gaffe at the end of the 1993 national championship game at the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 1993, and ended with the championship game on April 5 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
the documentary was considered fearless.
Another controversy arose from the film when the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball teams
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at Assembly Hall, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign....
of the late 1980s with Kendall Gill
Kendall Gill
Kendall Cedric Gill is a retired American professional basketball player, now a sports analyst for Comcast Sports Net and the Big Ten Network.-Early life:...
and Stephen Bardo
Stephen Bardo
Stephen Dean "Steve" Bardo is a retired American professional basketball player, in the shooting guard position.-Basketball career:...
claimed to be the originators of baggy shorts in basketball. All of the Wolverines who took part in the production of the film described how they felt they originated the baggy shorts as a result of Rose's request. Even rapper Ice Cube described his recollection of them as the originators.