Jalen Rose, Fab Five, and Kobe

Jalen Rose joined the show ahead of the Fab Five altcast for Michigan-Arizona in the Final Four, and the conversation moved from nostalgia to the state of this current Wolverines team to one of the most memorable Kobe Bryant cameos ever put on camera.

Rose started with the reunion itself. Since 1993, the Fab Five has been in the same place at the same time roughly three times. A 2002 celebrity game in Chicago when Michigan played Louisville and Trey Burke got a phantom foul Rose still remembers like a Bill Laimbeer call against Kareem in 1987. Another time when Juwan was coaching. And now, this weekend.

Looking at the classic Fab Five photo, the number five guy with the bald head and bad skin and bad teeth, Rose said, was hazardous to his health. Fearless. The word he used to describe what he sees now: love. Love from the University of Michigan, love from standing on the shoulders of John Thompson's Georgetown and Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV.

On whether this 2026 Michigan team is the greatest Wolverines team ever, Rose demurred like an older sibling. Glenn Rice, Terry Mills, Loy Vaught, Rumeal Robinson, Sean Higgins, six pros on the 1989 roster that actually won it all. That is the greatest for him. But if Dusty May's group cuts down the nets, the conversation belongs on the table. He loves Dusty May. He loves Yaklich. He needs Vladislav Goldin to stay out of foul trouble and put up 10 rebounds and block a couple more shots.

Rich brought up the Elite Eight win over Tennessee, the largest regional final margin of victory since the 1989 Wolverines drilled Virginia on the way to Seattle. Rose sees the Arizona matchup as a true problem. The Wildcats have depth. Koa Peat has been one of the most dynamic freshmen in a freshman-heavy year. A veteran at point guard in Jaden Bradley. Carter Bryce reminds Rose of Devin Booker as a shooter and scorer. Tommy Lloyd has nurtured the roster into shape. Rose believes Michigan and Arizona are the two best teams left, with all due respect to UConn and Illinois.

The Eli Lilly tie-in came through organically. The Final Four brings generations together, which fits Lilly's 150 years of advancing science. Rose, drinking his water with ginger, lime, turmeric, and cucumber, said he wants to live until he is 150. He spoke earlier in the day to Darryn Peterson of Kansas and Caitlin Clark, and came away impressed by the discipline and responsibility of the young players.

The last piece was television history. Rose was the creator and star of the 2017 show Jalen Versus Everybody, which lost a development slot to Black-ish, and he got Kobe Bryant to appear as himself. The detail that made the scene work came from a night Rose saw Kobe and Vanessa at dinner in Vegas. Waiters had not cleared two empty martini glasses from the table before the next round came. That image stuck with Rose. He and the writers built it into a scene celebrating Kobe's 81-point game. Rose sent the script. Kobe trusted him. Kobe showed up at the Palms in downtown LA, nailed the scene in one take, dropped the mic, and left. Rose said Kobe literally told the room he was not staying 30 minutes.

The close was warm. Rose thanked Rich directly for representing Michigan and for doing the job with real skill, calling out that a lot of people in podcasting and radio lack talent and Rich does not. Hail to the victors, both ways.