The Wolverines have hung numerous banners in coach Dusty May’s tenure, including ones for capturing the Big Ten regular-season title, reaching the Final Four and winning the national championship this past season.
According to May, some of the basketball program’s banners from the past could be going back up in the future.
When speaking at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Wednesday as part of a panel discussion about the 2027 men’s Final Four being hosted in Detroit, May indicated that the rehanging of the Fab Five’s banners is in the works.
“We look forward to adding another banner in Crisler with Jalen and the guys on it sooner than later,” said May, who was joined by Fab Five member Jalen Rose and others on the panel.
The Fab Five, which featured Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Rose, reached the national championship game in back-to-back seasons in 1992 and 1993. However, the team’s two Final Four banners were removed from the Crisler Center rafters in 2002 as part of the fallout from the scandal involving Webber and others accepting money from former booster Ed Martin.
May has been a vocal supporter of the Fab Five during his two years as Michigan’s coach, and he made a similar remark about the famed group’s banners after the Wolverines won the Players Era tournament in Las Vegas in November.
When asked about the possibility of raising them again during a postgame TV interview on set alongside Rose and Webber, May responded: “It’s going to happen. … We’re going to find a way.”
During Michigan’s NCAA Tournament run that delivered the program’s second national title, May touched on the impact of the Fab Five, who reunited for an alternate broadcast for the Wolverines’ national semifinal win over Arizona and lobbied to put the banners back up.
“Other than Michael Jordan, since I’ve been alive, I don’t think there’s ever been a group change the culture for the better of our sport than the Fab Five,” May said. “We’re proud to represent those guys and carry the flag for the former players at the University of Michigan.
“People have no idea all of the great players because there’s been several different coaches and there’s been different umbrellas, how many great players, how many great coaches have walked those sidelines and played on that court. Obviously, the more attention on the Fab Five, the better for us as a brand as a basketball program.”
On the flip side, the Fab Five have been equally supportive of May, and Rose praised him for the job he’s done in Ann Arbor.
“Thank you for not only bridging the gap (between generations of Michigan basketball), but delivering the goods,” Rose said Wednesday. “The way you handle yourself with class and intellect is something that we can all embody, so we’re grateful for you.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Dusty May: Fab Five banners will return to Crisler rafters ‘sooner than later’
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
