0 0' 1We're on a mission' -Juwan Howard The FUTURE of Michigan Basketball by Albert Lin Each year, a college team loses players, either seniors who graduate, or athletes who leave for other reasons. The lifeblood of a school's program is recruiting - the ability to replace those departed athletes with new, if not better, substitutes. The college basketball world has seen great incoming classes in past seasons. Indiana's class of 1976 - including Tom Abernathy, Quinn Buckner, Jim Crews, Scott May and Bobby Wilkerson - is generally considered the best graduating class of all time. These players culminated their careers by winning the 1976 national championship. Two years ago, Indiana coach Bobby Knight brought in a class that threatened to rival his 1976 group. The six players (including one redshirt)-led by Calbert Cheaney - were spoken of as possibly the greatest group ever. But only Cheaney has developed into a superstar. Center Chris Lawson's transfer to Vanderbilt this past summer ended all claims that group had to the title of best ever. One scant year later, Dean Smith brought to North Carolina another group of athletes which laid claim to the title. With four players in the top 15, plus one. more top 50 recruit, there was little doubt in most experts minds that this was indeed the best class ever. Eric Montross led that five in playing time at only 18 minutes a game, contributing six points and four rebounds per contest. The other four played sparingly, as Smith adhered to his 'frosh don't play' principle. And once again, a transfer - this time Cliff Rozier to Louisville - broke up this potentially greatest-ever class. But now, Michigan coach Steve Fisher has assembled a group experts truly believe will go down in history as the best single collection of talent. Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose. When Webber and Rose announced after their respective state title games that they would join Fisher's already strong class, the college basketball world was stunned. The level of talent amassed was unprecedented. The Michigan five was comprised of four of the top 12 players in the country, including two of the top three, and another in the top 100. There was no doubt this was the best class of all time. Fisher had proved he could recruit as well as THE BEST CLASS EVER? uwan Howard 6 9 pts. 26.9 rebs. 8.4 Ray Jacksc pts. 23.0 pts. 25.5 rebs. 9.2 assts, 3.4 assts. 5.9 assts. 4.0 blks. 1.9 blks. 3.0 rebs. 8.4 blks. 3.5 Jalen Rose 671 GIF I pts. 19.5 rebs. 7.7 assts. 4.6 - blks. 3.1 from now we will have that same talk and feeling among the media and the people that evaluate," Fisher said, "that they have continued to progress and be as good at our level as they were at the high school level. It's a quantum leap for all of them." U- U U Chris Webber receives the most publicity of all the newcomers. He figures to get immediate playing time and most likely will be in the starting lineup. Street and Smith called him "an NBA lottery pick whichever year he chooses." Jalen Rose is the most versatile of the Wolverines, and could see time at three positions. Fisher considers him a guard - equally adept at one or two - but he can also swing into the frontcourt. "Jalen Rose really knows how to play," Fisher said. "fle's got that sense about him. ... He's got a great feel for how to play. He's one pass ahead all the time." Webber and Rose have known each other since middle school. They were teammates the first time Webber played basketball, on a local AAU team, Superfriends. Both recall they were not instant friends. "When you don't know somebody, you don't really care to know them until you find out what kind of person he is," said Rose, the son of former Providence College and Detroit Pistons star Jimmy Walker. "We didn't really like each other," Webber said, "because he used to talk a lot of junk, and I used- to talk a lot of junk, and we used to always try and compete and see who's better." But since they played together during the summer, working toward reaching the same goal - winning - they became good friends. When it came time for high school, both wanted to attend Southwestern. Rose did, but Webber went on to Country Day. Although they intended to be teammates in college one day, "being young, you know, you don't really mean things like Rookies Continued from page 5 "Freshmen teams can't win the (Qig Ten) title - but they can win a lot of games. "You go on the road, and want younger players to dominate - you just can't expect that. Freshmen don't perform consistently enough to win the title." .But most Big Ten coaches feel that this unit is different. At the Coaches' Conference, Michigan was frequently mentioned as the third- or fourth-place conference team. "I think Michigan has the possibility, if they would click, to win (the Big Ten)," Illinois coach Lou Henson said. Part of the mystique of this group is the closeness each member feels for the others. There are no ego problems, and it does not appear likely that, like the classes before it, a transfer will prevent this bunch from making its claim in history. "Our relationship is crazy," Jackson said. "I can't explain it, because we got along so good, so quick. I don't understand it." "If you see one, you're going to see the other," C loward said. "You usually see two of us together, if not three or four or five. And I feel that we all have a relationship like brothers. Whenever one's down, we alvY iys talk to them, keep their spirits up. "We could not be any closer, and when I say that, 4'm not just exaggerating, trying to give you something," Webber said. Fisher has not noticed a clash of personalities with the rest of the team either. "Our freshmen have been outstanding. They have not sat back and not competed, but they have not walked in like they were everything they were written up to be," he said. "They're good listeners, they work extremely hard, and they fit nicely. "They're highly touted, highly recruited, highly publicized, but above all, they're nice young men that I enjoy having around." Only time will tell if this group of rookies can achieve the status predicted for it - whether it will go down as the greatest recruiting class of all time. The players will face tremendous pressure every time they step on to a basketball court, but they expect that they will succeed. "We're shooting for a (national) title," Webber said. ""That's a realistic goal. If no one thinks that, just let them stay at home and watch the game on TV. "If your goal's not to win the championship, why play at all? Everybody wants to win the championship, all the way from the Bad News Bears to the Chicago Bulls, so we just want to play the best we can." "You have to have a goal to win the national championship," Rose agreed. "You've got to look forward to that, or what are you really playing for? You've got to play to be the best. "If you try hard and lose, it's one thing, but if you're not trying and you lose -- I can't accept that for myself." Fisher is more reserved about the team's immediate prospects, but has no doubt his group will eventually succeed. "We're hoping that this will start the decade of the '90s in great fashion, or get us into the '90s, where they're going to be real good," he said. The future of Michigan basketball has arrived. F Chris Webb 6'9° FIC pts. rebs. assts. blks. 28.0 13.0 3.3 4.1 Statistics as high school seniors - if not better than - his predecessor, Bill Frieder. "This is the class all others will be measured by," recruiting guru Bob Gibbons said. . "It's the best I've seen in terms of athletic ability," Dick Vitale wrote in his new book, Time Out, Baby! The Wolverines have been picked in the top 25 of most preseason polls, and in many top 20s. With the graduation of last year's leading scorer, Demetrius Calip, it is obvious that experts have placed most of this year's expectations on the shoulders of the incoming frosh. Fisher knows his rookies will have a tough time living up to these lofty predictions. "We're hoping that four years F m C 9 RESTAURANT 11 A WHAT'S HAPPENING FA ST HOT FREE DELIVERY! 5 pm - 10 pm (limited delivery area) HOTLINE: CALL 769-8830 CHEF JAN 27 years d experience TOP GOLD MEDAL WINNER OF DETROIT COBO HALL NATIONAL CONTEST Sponsored by Michigan Restaurant AssociatIonI Michigan Chefs De Cuisine Association BLUE RIBBON BEST CHEF AWARD IN WASHINGTON DC RECREATIONAL SPORTS Thanksgiving Break Hours Wed. Nov. 27 Thurs. Nov. 28 Fri. Nov. 29 and All buildings will close at 5 pm All buildings are closed Sat. Nov.30 CCRB* 9 am - 7 pm Pool Hours: 9 am -1 pm; 4 pm-7 pm OUR 18th YEAR! No tricks, No gimmicks. 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