Chris Webber on the Fab Five Reunion

Chris Webber came on for his weekly Rich Eisen Show spot during Final Four week, and the conversation moved fast across three tracks. Duke-UConn women's classic, the men's Final Four matchups, and the biggest personal news: the Fab Five reuniting on an alt-cast of Michigan-Arizona.

On the Duke-UConn ending, Webber got up from his couch screaming. He felt for Cameron Boozer after a strong season. His real point was about the last possession. Webber said the best player should always take the shot, but in the crunch the best shot needs to be taken. Caravan having the awareness to kick it back to the freshman three-point shooter with two defenders on him was a savvy, unselfish move. Passing up a bad shot you have the right to take is just as important as making the good one.

On Illinois, Webber has been preaching the Illini all year. He called Will Riley, Tomislav Ivisic, and the San Antonio alumni pipeline connection to Nikola Jokic's agent. He named Kasparas Jakucionis and noted the lineage. He pointed at Kylan Boswell. His framing: you never want to fight someone crying before the fight starts. Illinois is not giddy-happy-to-be-here. They believe they have more work to do. That is the dangerous team in a Final Four. Against UConn, he said, it will be a slugfest.

On Michigan-Arizona, Webber was calm about the nerves. He said being nervous is how you know the juices are flowing. He respects Arizona. Tough, big, plays defense, does not rely on the three. He praised the player development on Michigan. Yaxel Lendeborg finishing a move late in the year that he could not have made earlier is the kind of detail Webber flagged. His concern: foul trouble. Two early fouls on a physical Arizona team can sit a star for most of a half and cool him in the locker room. Michigan will need to get out in passing lanes and score easy early.

Then the big reveal. Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson are reuniting for a Turner alt-cast of Michigan-Arizona. Adam Lefkoe hosting. Webber said they have been working on it for a while and the five of them are on a group text that goes back to the cell-phone era. He recapped how he engineered the reunion in real life by going to the worst team in the league, the Washington Wizards, just to play with Juwan.

The text chain is still alive. They roast each other about old players and old teams. Webber called the group sincere and true friends. The alt-cast, he said, would be five guys hanging out watching a game with the world watching them do it. That is the whole pitch.