When the Fab Five played against Iowa

Sunday night's "Fab Five" documentary on ESPN stirred up a lot of memories for this sportswriter.

Jan. 10, 1992: Michigan 80, No. 16 Iowa 77 (OT):

IOWA CITY -- Freshman Jalen Rose was benched for the first few minutes of this game because he was late for a team AIDS seminar earlier in the week.

He then scored 34 points in his first Big Ten game.

"He's unstoppable," said Iowa 's Wade Lookingbill. "We couldn't stop him. He hit the three. He took it to the hole. He played terrific."

I wrote:

"Jalen was brilliant," said Michigan Coach Steve Fisher.  "For those who have seen him play, you know he's got a feel for how to play -- maybe as well as any player we've ever had at Michigan."

But another player who had a terrific game was a Wolverine who wasn't part of the Fab Five freshmen. Junior guard Michael Talley had a game.

It's been freshmen-this, freshmen-that. A collection of 1991 high school All-Americans have converged on Ann Arbor to remake Michigan from mediocre to menacing.

You can believe the hype, as frosh Jalen Rose's 34 points attested Thursday night in the Wolverines' 80-77 overtime win over Iowa. Others among the well-regarded rookies, specifically Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard, all had their moments in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Yet, it was a graybeard who had much to do with Michigan not coming unhinged in the overtime. (Michael) Talley tallied the basket that gave the Wolverines a lead, then made it stand up.

After driving for a lay-in that gave Michigan a 75-73 lead, Talley dazzled with ballhandling and defense. He snared a loose ball in the backcourt and raced downcourt in a 1-on-1 war with Troy Skinner. He then made a behind-the-back pass that Rose converted into a three-point play and 78-73 Wolverine edge.

"When I got the ball I saw Jalen trailing," Talley said. "I kept the ball till I got in the paint. The behind-the-back pass was the easiest pass in that spot."

The lead dwindled to 79-77, and Iowa had the ball with :11 left. Kevin Smith drove, then stopped for a jumper from the foul line. Talley blocked it and Rose recovered.

The block was Talley's second of the night, equaling the total of Iowa swatter-extraordinaire Acie Earl.

The more-athletic Wolverines batted away seven Hawk shots. They played suffocating defense on many occasions. They often ran the fast-break with graceful precision.

Through it all, Talley was there. He played 36 minutes, had 16 points, was 7-of-9 from the field, had six assists to just two turnovers, and was the cool- headed old hand to the louder, flashier, less-consistent freshmen who surrounded him.

But through all last winter and spring, summer and fall, it's been Webber-Howard-Rose-King-Jackson. Fab Five. Instant dynasty. Well, the frosh certainly were fabulous at times, but they were too fresh at others. Talley kept things from ever going kaput, which seemed ever-possible for the kiddie corps.

"I think these guys deserve all the publicity they've gotten," Talley said to one reporter as Rose spoke to a media flock.

"On the other hand," Talley succinctly noted, "I don't think you should forget the veterans, either. I understand why the new guys got a lot of publicity. But you've got to have veteran leadership on a ballclub."

The rookies rule, though. Rose, whose last name had been a four-letter word at Michigan after its football team was humbled in Pasadena by Washington, was magnificent in his Big Ten coming-out party.

"I don't look at these guys as freshmen," Talley said. "I just look at these guys as basketball players. Like they're looking at me."

Feb. 12, 1992: No. 17 Michigan 79, Iowa 74

ANN ARBOR -- Iowa rallied from a 62-50 deficit for a 67-63 lead with 5:13 remaining.

But 6-foot-9 Webber then made a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and the Wolverines got their mojo back.

"He has no fear," Fisher said.

King made two free-throws with 19 seconds left for the game's final points.

Rose had a team-high 18 points, two when he drove the lane and rammed a dunk over the 7-foot Earl, the Big Ten's leading shot-blocker. Earl had 21 points.

Jan. 31, 1993: No. 11 Iowa 88, No. 5 Michigan 80

Twelve days earlier, Hawkeyes junior forward Chris Street had died in a car wreck in Johnson County. This was Iowa's first home game after his death.

"We said one thing before the game: Let's try to take the crowd out of it," said Michigan's James Voskuil. "The thing that hit me as soon as we said that, I don't know if it's possible."

The Wolverines did score the game's first nine points. But all that did was make the Hawkeyes more determined. I wrote:

IOWA CITY - Chris Street was in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday afternoon.

Sadly, you didn't see his flailing arms, expressive face and boundless energy, nor will you ever again.

But Street's spirit soared throughout the arena Sunday, imbuing the Iowa men's basketball team and its fans with the will to accept nothing less than victory against one of the nation's very best squads.

Fifth-ranked Michigan played a fine game. It had to just to stay in the gym with Iowa. The Wolverines' 88-80 loss should do nothing to dim their great expectations. There wasn't a team in the country that could have defeated the Hawkeyes in their first home game since Street's death. You can call that statement melodramatic if you like. It's also the truth.

Street's presence was visible in all 11 of the Hawks who played. Michigan Coach Steve Fisher had it right when he credited Iowa's "stick-to-it-iveness."

"To a person, they would not allow Michigan to win," Fisher said.

You also saw and heard Street in the fans, who began the day loudly supportive, and only grew more so.

Perhaps more than anything, you saw Street in the joyous, uninhibited scene on the court after the game.

You saw him in Val Barnes, who flung the ball almost all the way to the roof as the final horn ended his second consecutive brilliant game.

You saw him in Acie Earl, who raised his arms and danced at midcourt amid a mob of Iowa students that gleefully stormed the floor.

You saw him in Kevin Smith and Jay Webb, in Mon'ter Glasper and James Winters, each of whom were vital to the effort.

Most of all, you saw Street in Russ Millard.

Who was that guy mixing it up inside with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, pounding the boards, swinging an elbow that accidentally caught Michigan's James Voskuil in the nose and knocked him out of the game? Who was that wide-body from right here in Iowa?

It was Millard, seemingly picking up in his second collegiate game where Street left off two weekends before at Duke.

The Wolverines barely knew who Millard was before the game. Now they know.

"I was really pumped up," Millard said. "I wanted to show the fans how Russ Millard can play.

"Basketball just flows. I think it's a game that's played with feelings. It feels great to be out there, and I'm gonna let it show."

After the game ended, Millard was the first of many Iowa players and coaches to embrace Street's parents, Mike and Patty. They and daughters Sarah and Betsy watched the game from their customary front-row seats directly cross-court from the Iowa bench.

"I didn't even think about it," Millard said about his beeline to the sideline. "It just happened.

"Chris and I were friends. We were on AAU teams together and were on the Iowa Select Team. I'm really close with his parents. I stayed with them for two or three days over the summer when I worked a basketball camp at Chris' (Indianola) high school.

"I could hear Mr. Street yelling over to me during the game. I think he's gonna be a help to me."

In a self-described moment of stupidity last May, Millard took what he said last autumn were "20 to 30" pills of prescription medicine. He had his stomach pumped, spent a day in a Cedar Rapids hospital and underwent therapy.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department called it a suicide attempt, though Millard was never in a near-death situation.

"I look at it as a cry for help," Millard would say. "I just needed some help and I didn't know how to go about getting it."

Whatever problems Millard had, he now knows they're minuscule compared to a friend dying in a car accident.

"Chris brought it to our attention that you've got to live life to its fullest," Millard said.

Millard was living large Sunday, as were his teammates and their fans.

There may be championships won and mighty upsets achieved in Carver-Hawkeye as the years turn into decades. But Sunday's game was a keeper.

It showed what can happen when people feed off each other's desire. It contained a lot of hollering, a lot of smiling, and a few tears. It was life.

It was vintage Chris Street.

March 2, 1993: No. 4 Michigan 82, No. 15 Iowa 73

ANN ARBOR -- "We played hard, that's what counted," said Ray Jackson, who grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for the Wolverines. "People said we usually don't play hard. We came out tonight and proved we can play hard."

Michigan raised its records to 23-4 overall and 12-3 in the Big Ten despite Webber scoring a season-low six points before fouling out with 6:37 left in the game.

Howard scored 19 points, Rose 16 and Jackson 13.

Iowa led the nation in rebounding entering the game, but Michigan had a 41-33 edge in this category.

"I think it's clear they're a better rebounding team than we are," Iowa Coach Tom Davis conceded. "I wouldn't have any problem with that at all."