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Michigan unsure if Fab Five banners can be replaced, not opposed to alternate celebration

Story was updated at 8:50 a.m.

Jalen Rose wants his banners back, Mary Sue Coleman has no interest in replacing them and Dave Brandon isn't sure Michigan could re-raise them if it wanted to.

The Michigan athletic director said earlier this week that the university is currently spending "zero time" on the topic of the Michigan basketball program's removed banners until the disassociation between the school and former Fab Five member Chris Webber ends in 2013.

And even when it does end, he's not positive he can restore the physical remnants of the famed Fab Five to the Crisler Center rafters.

"We're not even sure that we could put those banners up," Brandon said. "If you vacated wins and forfeited wins and basically cleared the record books of any activity, it's hard to believe we could put back up the banners. We've never even gauged with the NCAA to see if that were possible.

"And, truthfully, if we had to forfeit the wins, it doesn't seem appropriate."

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon isn't opposed to honoring the Fab Five recruiting class.

Associated Press

Wall Street Journal: Juwan Howard is Fab Five's last hope for a significant title

Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson are done playing basketball and all walked away from their college and pro careers without winning a championship.

Juwan Howard, the other member of the Fab Five that carried the Michigan basketball program to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1992 and '93, is 38 years old and is a backup player for the Miami Heat. Howard and the Heat have to take care of business against the Chicago Bulls to reach the NBA Finals.

The "they never won anything" knock doesn't bother Howard, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The criticism hasn't annoyed me at all," Howard said. "They're right. We haven't won before."

FoxSports.com: Jalen Rose's attack on Duke misguided and the real legacy of the Fab Five

Look past the sound bites between Jalen Rose and Grant Hill, and pay attention to the deeper battle being fought in the Fab Five's recent verbal sparring with Duke.

That's the advice of FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock.

Michigan vs. Duke game comes in middle of Fab Five controversy, but nobody wants to talk about it

CHARLOTTE -- The chant was inevitable.

“We want Duke,” Michigan basketball fans at Time Warner Arena called out in the closing minutes of the Wolverines’ stunningly easy win over Tennessee on Friday. “We want Duke.”

Today, Michigan gets that shot at the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils.

And the matchup couldn’t come at a more intriguing time, considering the war of words some of the programs’ historic figures have had over the past week.

New York Times: Grant Hill writes that 'Uncle Tom' criticism from the Fab Five 'insulting and ignorant'

Former Duke star Grant Hill, who played against Michigan's Fab Five in the national title game in 1992, is not a fan of the ESPN documentary "Fab Five."

Hill took on comments from Jalen Rose in the documentary that Duke only recruited black "Uncle Tom" players in an article on the New York Times "The Quad" blog.

Bay City Times: Ex-Duke star Christian Laettner laughs off Fab Five comments in documentary

Christian Laettner, one of the Duke college basketball stars during the Fab Five era at Michigan, told the Bay City Times that he found comments in the recent ESPN documentary, "kind of funny."

notebook: Michigan basketball motivated by Fab Five documentary, an update on Jon Horford and more notes

Soon after they received the news they’d be back in the NCAA tournament, Michigan’s basketball players sat around the television anxiously awaiting another big moment — this one more of a history lesson.

Any conversation of Michigan basketball and the postseason brings up the Fab Five. A documentary about the historic Wolverines team aired Sunday on ESPN.

“I loved it,” sophomore guard Darius Morris said. “It was a great, great story and for them to document it and to really get to see what those guys went through here while attending college here was just really special.

“It really motivated me.”

The Fab Five influence is found all across the Big Ten and college basketball

INDIANAPOLIS — The influence is everywhere at the Big Ten tournament. Every team here has baggy shorts. Michigan and Northwestern both wore black socks and black sneakers.

To understand how much the Michigan Fab Five has effected the game of basketball, all you need to do is look around. Never mind none of the players in Indianapolis are old enough to remember watching Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard play in back-to-back national title games.

They all know who they are.

Jalen Rose thought Duke basketball was full of 'Uncle Toms,' plus more on his Fab Five documentary

Jalen Rose played on the Fab Five teams at Michigan.

Now he’s helped produce a documentary about the college basketball program that created a culture shift in basketball with black socks and baggy pants. The film premieres Sunday night (ESPN, 9 p.m.).

“This will be the Bible of the Fab Five story,” Rose said on a teleconference Tuesday afternoon. “…We really went in-depth about everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, the scandal.”

Movies have been made and books have been written about the Fab Five but Rose believes this is a more complete telling of their saga, with a rare Michigan interview of former Wolverines coach Steve Fisher, along with an interview with Ed Martin’s son, Carlton.

ESPN.com: Read the transcript of the ESPN.com live chat with former Michigan guard Jalen Rose

Former Michigan star Jalen Rose helped produce a documentary on the Fab Five that will air on ESPN on Selection Sunday, March 13.

Rose stopped by ESPN.com to chat about the documentary, Michigan and other things related to college basketball.