Fansided

Michigan basketball: All-time starting 5 – Fab Five well-represented

By Mike Phillips

8 Mar 1992: Michigan Wolverines forward Juwan Howard, guard Jalen Rose, and forward Chris Webber (l to r) look on during a game against the Indiana Pacers.
8 Mar 1992: Michigan Wolverines forward Juwan Howard, guard Jalen Rose, and forward Chris Webber (l to r) look on during a game against the Indiana Pacers. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Best Michigan basketball players
Rudy Tomjanovich (Photo by JOHN GRESS/AFP via Getty Images) /

4. F Rudy Tomjanovich (1967-1970)

He may be better known to modern fans for his time as an NBA head coach, but Rudy Tomjanovich was one of the most prolific scorers in the history of Michigan basketball. Over the course of his time in Ann Arbor, Tomjanovich averaged 25.1 points per game, the second-highest scoring average in Wolverines’ history.

Tomjanovich was also a terror on the glass, grabbing 1,039 rebounds in his collegiate career, which still stands to this day as the most rebounds in Michigan history. The Wolverines had tremendous success with Tomjanovich, who started piling up personal accolades from the moment he entered the lineup.

Tomjanovich was named to the All-Big Ten second team in 1968 before reaching the first team in the next two years. There was also plenty of national recognition for Tomjanovich, who received All-American honors in both 1969 and 1970, peaking with a second-team selection in his senior season.

Tomjanovich went on to have a productive pro career for the Houston Rockets, who selected him second overall in the 1970 NBA Draft. Houston saw Tomjanovich play for them for 11 years, where he made five All-Star teams before moving into the coaching ranks upon his retirement.

Tomjanovich eventually became the Rockets’ head coach in 1992, where he helped lead Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston to consecutive titles in 1994 and 1995. Both Michigan and Houston have retired Tomjanovich’s number, a sign of the impact he had at both the collegiate and professional levels.