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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. /
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Glen Rice, Michigan basketball /

1. G Glen Rice (1985-1989)

Rice is the final member of the Michigan basketball all-time starting five. The fact Rice is the all-time leading scorer in Wolverines’ history makes his inclusion a no-brainer but there was still plenty to love about Rice.

During his college career, Rice started from his sophomore year on, setting a litany of offensive records for the Wolverines that still stand to this day. Rice’s finest hour came in 1989 when he was the star of Michigan’s national championship team.

The Wolverines wouldn’t have won that title without Rice, who averaged 25.8 points per game as a senior, shooting 58 percent from the floor and an absurd 52 percent from beyond the arc. Rice was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1989 Final Four after scoring a record 184 points in tournament play, including a 34-point outburst against Seton Hall in the championship game.

That scoring output remains the most points in a single NCAA Tournament in history, and Rice was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1989 as well as earning a spot as a second-team All-American. Rice went on to have a very productive NBA career, making three All-Star teams and winning an NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.

Michigan retired Rice’s no. 41 in 2005, an honor that was well deserved for the player who had one of the most dominant seasons in college basketball history. Putting Rice in the same lineup as Russell, Webber, Rose and Tomjanovich is a frightening proposition for opposing fans.

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