Fansided

Chris Webber will not talk about Jalen Rose (Listen)

By Cody Williams

Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; TNT broadcasters Reggie Miller (left), Chris Webber (center) and Kevin Harlan during the NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; TNT broadcasters Reggie Miller (left), Chris Webber (center) and Kevin Harlan during the NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Chris Webber was asked to talk about Jalen Rose and it did not go well at all

Chris Webber and Jalen Rose were teammates on the prolific Fab Five team for the Michigan Wolverines in the early 1990s. They were part of a team that changed the culture of basketball forever and part of a team that has also incurred numerous allegations regarding NCAA violations.

After both Webber and Rose went on to careers in the NBA, the two have grown apart and are both enjoying life after basketball. Rose works with ESPN in a number of areas while Webber is an analyst on NBA TV. Webber is also going to be teaching a masters class at Wake Forest start next fall, which he went on Doug Gottlieb’s radio show to discuss.

The interview as a whole was interesting as they discussed Webber’s new venture and basically his career in basketball and the media. However, things took a turn for the bizarre when Gottlieb asked Webber about his current relationship with Rose (the question is asked around the 14-minute mark):

After being asked “Where are you with Jalen?” by Gottlieb, Webber seemingly lost it. He blasted Gottlieb for bringing it up and repeatedly stated that he was not going to talk about Jalen Rose in this interview. He says that he talked about it once on Dan Patrick’s show, but this interview wasn’t about that and Rose would not be something he was going to talk about.

As you might expect, Gottlieb seemed completely caught off guard by how defensive Webber got over the question and tried to explain himself, but Webber was pretty much over it at that point and seemed like a man who wasn’t going to be reasoned with.

Rose has said on a number of occasions that he and Webber haven’t been in contact with one another very frequently, if at all, over the years and that Webber has distanced himself from the whole Fab Five era. This was never more evident than when the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary covering the Fab Five was made and Webber declined being a part of it despite his integral role with the team.

For whatever reason, Webber seems bitter about the entire part of his life that concerned playing basketball at Michigan. Whether that’s because of his infamous timeout that cost his team a National Championship, the allegations against him and the team, or something else, we may never know. Because Webber pretty clearly and vehemently doesn’t want to talk about Jalen Rose or Michigan basketball.

H/T to Deadspin