Fab 5 and James Voskuil

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March 14th, 2011 at 10:24 PM
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ItsaDamnGame
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Joined: 01/06/2011
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Fab 5 and James Voskuil

I just finished watching the Fab 5 and enjoyed every minute of it.  James Voskuil was one of those upperclassmen that lost playing time.  Some of you may know more about his pro career in Europe and subsequent profession, but I was on Calvin Christian's JV Team when James was a senior. 

He took the time, after one of the varsity practices, to correct my shooting motion and checked in on me for the rest of that season to make sure I was working on what he had taught me.  He also took the time to encourage me - a sub on the jv team - after some of our games.  I was so happy for him to be on that '89 team and a part of those Fab 5 years, because he was(and is) a good person.

Feel free to fill in any information you may have on James, I just felt that he is one of those "Michigan Men" that we always hold high on this site.

-The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

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March 15th, 2011 at 8:29 AM | I fail to see how this is an (Score:1)
Baldbill
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Joined: 04/09/2009
MGoPoints: 2008

I fail to see how this is an issue.

Semper Fidelis

March 15th, 2011 at 10:05 AM | How is it NOT an issue? (Score:1)
profitgoblue
Joined: 09/01/2009
MGoPoints: 19415

I suspect that losing his hair has had a very big impact on James's life.  As such, how can you think it is not an issue?  I wouldn't know personally because I have an incredibly lustrous head of hair, but I imagine it must be rough . . .

Disgruntled former moderator.  I got a lot of problems with you people!

March 14th, 2011 at 10:41 PM | jmho (Score:1)
energyblue1
Joined: 03/19/2010
MGoPoints: 281

Riley, Voskul and pelinka....   should have been a bigger part of the team then they were, and I still think that is the reason the fab5 wasn't more successfull...  Those guys were on a national championship team and I think they cost themselves by not making the other guys a big part of the team...particularly after they all became starters......  

 

I bet they all know it now and wish they did it a bit different with those guys but it's past now

March 14th, 2011 at 11:19 PM |  I still think that is the (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 28972

 I still think that is the reason the fab5 wasn't more successful

You know, they did win 56 games in two years and go to two national-title games.  You might be setting the bar a tad high.

March 15th, 2011 at 6:36 AM | details (Score:1)
bvb24
Joined: 09/09/2010
MGoPoints: 79

The North Carolina- timeout game was in the final four.  NC went on to beat Kansas in the National Championship game.

March 15th, 2011 at 6:46 AM | You are kidding, right? The N.Carolina game was the NC game.... (Score:1)
section44
Joined: 10/13/2009
MGoPoints: 86

North Carolina beat UM for the national title not Kansas.

UM beat Kentucy and North Carolina beat Kansas in the final four.

March 15th, 2011 at 7:41 AM | Yeah.... (Score:1)
ReadYourGuard
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Joined: 08/21/2008
MGoPoints: 6192

Details, brah.

"the Spirit of Michigan...is based on a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways....and a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours" - Fielding Yost
March 15th, 2011 at 8:33 AM | bvb24 (Score:1)
shawnducati
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Joined: 10/14/2010
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get  your facts straight!

C/O 1996 BABY!

March 15th, 2011 at 10:17 AM | Oops. (Score:1)
Carcajous
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Joined: 07/05/2009
MGoPoints: 1577

Oops.

March 15th, 2011 at 11:50 AM | what? (Score:1)
SysMark
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Joined: 11/15/2008
MGoPoints: 5566

what?

March 16th, 2011 at 12:01 AM | Were you thinking after (Score:1)
M-Wolverine
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Joined: 10/04/2009
MGoPoints: 38880

The 2nd UNLV-Duke game?

"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk

March 15th, 2011 at 8:13 AM | Well, that was Coach K's assessment so you're in, er, good (Score:1)
MGlobules
Joined: 11/17/2008
MGoPoints: 5163

company?

March 15th, 2011 at 8:32 AM | energyblue1 (Score:1)
shawnducati
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Joined: 10/14/2010
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you are an idiot. 

those 3 guys played great roles in the team, and were not in the Top 5 players, that is why they didnt start!

you sound like bill walton..saying they were overrated!

do you know they were 5 freshman and went on to national championship game?

do you know they were 5 sophomores and whent back to do the same?

go to msu site punk.

C/O 1996 BABY!

March 15th, 2011 at 10:43 AM | Timing of Walton's comments (Score:1)
jackrobert
Joined: 07/09/2009
MGoPoints: 84

My recollection is that Walton made the comments on Roy Firestone's show shortly before the 1993 NCAA tournament.  So by this time the Fab Five had taken Michigan to the Final Four.  I remember the timing of Walton's comments because it made Michigan's comeback win over UCLA in the second round of the 1993 tournament that much bigger--Walton would have been impossibly insufferable if UCLA had pulled off the upset.

That said, the nay-sayers had some ammunition in that Michigan did not win the Big Ten title their sophomore year (got swept by Indiana and lost in overtime, I believe, to Iowa), plus they had several close calls to perceived lesser teams (the OT win at Illinois was featured on the documentary . . . there were a couple others).  There were a lot of haters during the 1992-1993 season.  That's why the win over Kentucky was so huge.

March 15th, 2011 at 11:03 AM | larger picture (Score:1)
Jasper
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Joined: 12/30/2010
MGoPoints: 995

To  people like Walton, nothing of value occurs between NYC/Boston/Philly and California.

"500 channels and nothing but cats."

March 14th, 2011 at 10:43 PM | Good points about the (Score:1)
AlwaysBlue
Joined: 11/23/2008
MGoPoints: 538

Good points about the forgotten guys.  It's funny, the Fab Five were looking for respect and in some ways still are and yet they forget who was brushed aside in their quest.  No question they were better then the role players but I wonder why some a question the university or rules being bigger than them.  It's just the natural order of respect when it comes to knowing ones place.

March 14th, 2011 at 11:38 PM | One of the best stories of (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 28972

One of the best stories of all was Freddie Hunter, the former IM player who made the team in 90-91 when we were hurting for players and ended up starting several games.  I think he was the team captain in 91-92.

March 14th, 2011 at 11:42 PM | Yep, he was team captain as a (Score:1)
Bando Calrissian
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Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 7919

Yep, he was team captain as a walk-on, and was going to get the last scholarship if Fisher only took 4 freshmen.  Had to wait until midway through the season for a transfer so he could be on scholarship.

March 15th, 2011 at 9:22 AM | Freddie and the Seven Dwarves (Score:1)
northkent40
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Joined: 09/04/2009
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I still have my jersey from that team.  Tony, Scott, Mark, Eric, Gerard, any of you guys out there?

March 14th, 2011 at 10:52 PM | His nephew (Score:1)
MMarchingband243
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Joined: 12/16/2009
MGoPoints: 64

I'm in his nephews class in high school. And was good friends with him. He's a b-ball player himself, just not as tall

Go Blue!

March 14th, 2011 at 11:05 PM | And now Pelinka is the (Score:1)
WolvinLA2
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Joined: 11/13/2009
MGoPoints: 17719

And now Pelinka is the wealthiest one of them all.  Looks like Ed Martin picked the wrong guys to invest in.

March 14th, 2011 at 11:43 PM | Yeah, I was just about to (Score:1)
Bando Calrissian
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Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 7919

Yeah, I was just about to post this.  Pelinka probably is just about as loaded as Juwan, Jalen, or Chris.  Gotta love that.

March 15th, 2011 at 10:11 AM | I was wondering about this (Score:1)
Mat
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Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 1506

I don't know how many clients Pelinka has (besides Kobe) but it would take a lot to get what an NBA player makes over 10-15 year career.  I imagine Pelinka makes more now, since Chris and Jalen are on TV and Juwan is on a minimum contract, but those guys started with a big head start on him.

March 15th, 2011 at 7:10 AM | Didn't Pelinka go to the same (Score:1)
Tubes
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 647

Didn't Pelinka go to the same high school in suburban Chicago as Matt Vogrich?

Athens, GA

March 14th, 2011 at 11:31 PM | Riley (Score:1)
umchicago
Joined: 02/05/2009
MGoPoints: 3533

was pretty damn good by the time he graduated.  he couldn't miss that 10 ft bank shot. plus he blocked a lot of shots and grabbed his share of rebounds.

he had trouble holding on to the ball early in his career but improved every year.

in fact, i believe he had a much longer NBA career than 2 of those fab 5.

March 15th, 2011 at 12:34 AM | Pelinka (Score:1)
Kilgore Trout
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Joined: 02/20/2009
MGoPoints: 1863

From the first row of the upper deck, my view of Webber's time out was distant to say the least.  But that image is burned in my memory.  Pelinka was WIDE open on the other wing.  If Webber had seen him and he'd knocked down the shot, he would be a legend.

March 14th, 2011 at 11:21 PM | I remember him coming off the (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 28972

I remember him coming off the bench to have a big game against Cincinnati in the Final Four.  After the game, the Bearcat players were like,  "Who was that?"

March 14th, 2011 at 11:28 PM | What is James Voskuil up to (Score:1)
yoopergoblue
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Joined: 02/11/2010
MGoPoints: 1978

What is James Voskuil up to these days??

"They will meet a dastardly fate here for that! There isn't a Michigan Man who wouldn't like go out and scalp those Buckeyes right now."

March 14th, 2011 at 11:31 PM | James Voskuil was a classmate of mine (Score:1)
Gameboy
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Joined: 11/28/2010
MGoPoints: 498

What was really unique about Voskuil was that he was an Aerospace major. I doubt that NCAA in its entire history had more than 2 or 3 Aero major for any of its major sports.

He was a nice guy too if I remember correctly...

March 15th, 2011 at 9:32 AM | Yes, a very nice guy.  One of (Score:1)
Blue In NC
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Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 511

Yes, a very nice guy.  One of my favorite Wolverine B-ball players based on that alone.

March 15th, 2011 at 10:34 AM | France and software (Score:1)
akearney50
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Joined: 09/26/2008
MGoPoints: 147

I played with him several times in the summer about 7 years ago.  He played professionally in France for a long time and started a software company in France.  From what I remember, the software company was very successful and he stayed in France for operations.

I'm hungry.  Time to eat.

March 14th, 2011 at 11:49 PM | Voskuil (Score:1)
DY
Joined: 07/01/2008
MGoPoints: 150

Was immortalized in mural form on the wall by the door of the old Touchdown's Cafe (now Blue Lep), hanging in mid-air, making a double-clutch runner against Duke from the '92 title game.  I always thought it was hilarious that his likeness was on the wall and not one of the other guys.

March 15th, 2011 at 12:42 AM | Calvin Christian Representing (Score:1)
West is Best
Joined: 03/14/2011
MGoPoints: 45

I too attended Calvin Christian, although many years later (class of 2006).  I did stats for our basketball team throughout high school and always got mini sports history lessons from the announcer or scoreboard guys.  Even though I don't have any vivid memories of the Fab 5 years of my youth, I got to know about Voskuil and am proud CCHS could hang with the big boys as an important role player.

From Grand Rapids to the Rocky Mountains, champions of the West.

March 15th, 2011 at 12:50 AM | I knew James pretty well my senior year. (Score:1)
ColoradoBlue
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Joined: 09/14/2008
MGoPoints: 34

He was a terrific guy.  His girlfriend was quite possibly the hottest girl on campus.  She was batshit crazy, but very hot.  Last time I spoke with him was years ago when he was playing ball in France.

March 15th, 2011 at 1:21 AM | Voskuil was the best shooter on that team. Period. (Score:1)
Section 1
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Joined: 06/29/2009
MGoPoints: 14314

Jalen was a good shooter, and clutch.  James Voskuil was a better pure shot, almost every day of the week.  I think Jalen would agree.

 

 

March 15th, 2011 at 7:54 AM | Don't forget Pelinka.  He was (Score:1)
jmblue
Joined: 11/07/2008
MGoPoints: 28972

Don't forget Pelinka.  He was money from downtown.  He made a couple in the Carolina game.

March 15th, 2011 at 6:31 AM | Calvin Christian (Score:1)
bvb24
Joined: 09/09/2010
MGoPoints: 79

I had no idea there were so many Squires on this site.  I was very young when James played at CCHS but remember him better from his Michigan days.  Just a side note but didn't James finish second in the Mr. Basketball voting his senior year to South Christian's Matt Steiginga?  Who went on to play for State.

March 15th, 2011 at 6:47 AM | Chicago House (Score:1)
ILL_Legel
Joined: 08/13/2010
MGoPoints: 824

I lived in Chicago House.  Several of the basketball players lived there as freshmen.  James was very down to earth and all around good guy,

March 15th, 2011 at 10:57 AM | I lived in Chicago House (Score:1)
Ihatebux
Joined: 09/11/2008
MGoPoints: 5

I lived in Chicago House too.   James was a great guy, so was Rob, but he wasn't as outgoing as James.   EZ was very shy frosh year, but if you could get him out of his shell, he was a hoot.   I still remember EZ walking on his hands with his feet on the ceiling.   Do you remember James' roommate.  He was about 5'2", a football cheerleader and powerlifter.   I think they weighed about the same. 

March 15th, 2011 at 7:14 AM | I'm kind of aurprised by all (Score:1)
the_white_tiger
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Joined: 02/07/2009
MGoPoints: 5227

I'm kind of aurprised by all of the Calvin Christian talk as well (I go to Grandville).

Maize n Brew

March 15th, 2011 at 4:02 PM | Representing (Score:1)
G-Man
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Joined: 10/21/2009
MGoPoints: 228

I know of at least 3 Bulldogs on this board, myself included.

 

This information is useless to you, I'm sure, but your post made me think and post it anyway.

March 16th, 2011 at 6:49 AM | I was just surprised that (Score:1)
the_white_tiger
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Joined: 02/07/2009
MGoPoints: 5227

I was just surprised that there were so many Calvin Christian grads. I live right down the street from Calvin.

Maize n Brew

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