College basketball's 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game

College basketball’s 30 biggest cheaters that tainted the game

ATHENS, GREECE - APRIL 23: Rick Pitino, Head Coach of Panathinaikos OPAP Athens react during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Play Off game 3 between Panathinaikos Opap Athens v Real Madrid at Olympic Sports Center Athens on April 23, 2019 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Panagiotis Moschandreou/EB via Getty Images) /

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Coll. Basketball: W. Regionals. Michigan’s Chris Webber #4 w. video camera after game vs Temple. (Photo by Harley Soltes/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images) /

3. The Fab Five

It feels like any list you can make about college basketball will include the Fab Five in one way or another. The Fab Five have become one of the most discussed teams in college hoops history, and their place here is merited as well.

For those who need a refresher, the Fab Five refers to Michigan’s elite recruiting class of freshmen prior to the 1991 season: Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King. By the middle of the year, all five of them were starting, and the group made a run to the national championship game, losing to Duke.

The Fab Five were the talk of college basketball again in their sophomore year, when they got back to the title game, only to lose when Webber forgot how many timeouts his team had left, leading to a game icing technical foul. Webber left for the NBA after that, and the Fab Five era slowly came to an end without much fanfare.

The era was brought into question a few years later when a car accident exposed the program’s ties to Ed Martin, a notorious booster. Martin had spent years giving cash and gifts to numerous Wolverines, including Webber.

The NCAA found that the infractions merited vacating the 1992-1993 season, the removal of both Final Four banners from the Fab Five era, and numerous other penalties. Michigan was also ordered to disassociate itself with Webber until 2013.