Fab Five vs. 2013 MBB starters; NBA Draft
Making this comparison, I think, puts the recent MBB run into perspective. These guys certainly didn't come in with the hype the fab five did, but in terms of NBA level talent, the teams are very comparable. I think, most of us didn't realize it at the time, but that starting five we floored against Louisville might have had more! NBA talent than the Fab Five did --
Total NBA draft picks among starting five--
2013 MBB 5, Fab Five 4
Top Ten NBA draft picks --
2013 MBB 2, Fab Five 2
First Round NBA draft picks --
2013 MBB 4, Fab Five 3
Pretty amazing, actually, especially when you consider that the fab five came out as a sophomore, two juniors, and two seniors, while 4/5 members of the 2013 crew left after their sophomore year.
I'd be pleased to be proven wrong however.
Or the length of career Juwan had.
On this I'm not sure.. personally I see Stauskas playing forever. That shot, and that quick release -- that's not going to leave him anytime in the next fifteen years, I imagine. Ray Allen is still playing, after all.
Of course, but no more premature than suggesting none of these guys will have a Howard-length career, that's all. All that stuff is just speculation at this point. But where they were all drafted -- now these are just facts!
Consider how long Juwan's career was. Here is the top 4 all-time NBA careers by number of years played:
1. Kevin Willis 21 played over 23 years
2. Chief 21 years played over 21 years
3. Kareem 20 / 20
4. Juwan Howard 19/19
...and a number of others at 19/19. Shaq, Kidd, Malone (Karl and Moses), Stockton, Buddha, Oakley.
That's a pretty Hall of Fame-ish list.
I would say it is unlikely any one of last night's draft picks has a career longer than Juwan's.
Edit: Changed 'hall of famish' to 'hall of fame-ish'
Hall of Famish, featuring...(insert culturally insensitive joke at your leisure). Pol Pot and Kim Jung Il pop to mind for me.
And that itself was worth noting, but realizing the "Hall of Famish" blunder is pretty great. I'm glad you put it in the edit, because I would have missed a nice little chuckle had I not seen it. And that is why you have earned my +1.
Is a much kinder word than the first few that come to my mind.
It's true, there is no number 1 pick in the current crop; and in fact Juwan Howard was also a higher draft pick than any of the 2013 starters. But for one, who's to say McGary wouldn't have been a similar pick if he'd stayed three years, as Howard did? And while I agree there is no Webber-caliber player in this group (McGary has a chance, I think..), top to bottom, they compare favorably.
You really should watch some Chris Webber highlights sometime. McGary is a great player who should have a good NBA career, but Webber is on an entierly different level as an athlete. Webber was first team All NBA player at one point.
Just another opportunity to watch one of my favorite MBB hype videos of the Beilein era. It's a big long, and the song from Requiem is overused...but damn if the editing with the Fab Five footage gives me goosebumps every time. This video is what had me AMPED for the past three seasons watching this team get better and better.
It's interesting and reflects well on what Beilein has done for the program, but it is so difficult to compare since the draft environment is so different today than it was 20 years ago. And the league is different. Let's see how their careers pan out, hopefully many, many successful years later.
One thing that the Fab Five rarely get credit for, is the fact that all of them except Webber eventually got a college degree (Jalen's from Maryland). Juwan did the most amazing thing, actually graduating with his class despite leaving early.
Yeah, it's really hard to compare drafts. Especially on class year. The whole draft has skewed much younger since the Fab Five left. In Webber's draft, there was one sophomore (webber), a freshman after a two-year mormon mission (Shawn Bradley) and five total juniors. The rest were all seniors.
On the other hand, there's a lot more international talent drafted these dayse.
To your first point, even if you account for the fact that Ray Jackson never played in the NBA, the average length of service in the NBA for the remaining four players comes out to about 14 years, if I did the figuring right. It will be interesting to follow the careers of the Wolverines who have come out of these last two drafts to see what sort of longevity they have in this era of the NBA.
But, the upside of the fab 5 guys was at another level, especially in terms of fit for the NBA game.
Not only did the Fab 5 have the #1 overall pick (Webber), they also had a #5 overall pick (Howard) and a #13 overall pick (Rose) which by today's standards would be in the lottary. I don't really think you can compare when they came out, as that's a clearly different standard today as it was back then.
On top of that, even for high level picks:
Webber played 15 seasons, was a 5-time All-star, 5-time All-NBA, and ROY. He was the rebounding champ one year, and up until he was a shell of his former self in Detroit, he was averaging 20 and 10 for his career. Webber is a borderline HOF.
Howard played 19 seasons, about 12 of which were at a high level. The first half of his career he averaged nearly 18 and 8. He's been an NBA All-Star and All-NBA as well.
Rose played 13 seasons (three players playing over a decade in the NBA is crazy). For his career he averaged about 14 points and 4 assists a game.
Those three players are a very high benchmark. So while the current iteration may prove to have more depth overall (may), it will be very hard for them to produce the same top talent that the Fab 5 did.
Why limit it to starters? The 2013 roster includes freshman LeVert, but the 1993 roster has senior Eric Riley, an early 2nd round pick. He was the sixth man, displaced as a starter by Howard/Webber.
I think both of these teams would have a hard time playing defense against the other. Perimeter D was the main weakness of the '93 team, while the '13 team would have serious matchup problems against the '93ers. (I think Webber and Howard would outmatch McGary and Robinson, and then you have Burke, Stauskas, and Hardaway trying to match up on Rose, King, and Jackson.)
I'd really like to see this. Wish it was possible.
Money made. Webber and Howard made a crapton thanks to getting their contracts before top-end salaries were capped. Jalen did well too. Riley got checks for many years as a backup center (the NBA equivalent of Todd Collins).
But, also lurking on the bench was Rob Pelinka -- who may end up making more money off NBA contracts than anybody Beilein produced.
Winning the final game can be more about luck and officiating than performance as we found out against Louisville.
Curious if you think Kentucky's kids underperformed this past season...