Forgotten Sports Heroes

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Michigan Legends React to Wolverines’ Big Monday Night Win Against LSU

 

The Michigan Wolverines have been one of the most consistent programs in NCAA basketball over the past decade, and while they haven’t won a national title during that period, they have oftentimes outperformed expectations and made deep runs in March.

Michigan’s victory over LSU on Monday night marked the fourth time in the last four seasons the Wolverines have advanced to the Sweet 16, this time under second year coach Juwan Howard, who didn’t have the opportunity to experience March Madness for the first time as a coach in 2020 due to COVID.

The Wolverines took down LSU with a combination of unwavering patience, deadeye shooting from beyond the arc and timely defensive plays, outscoring one of the most talented seven seeds the tournament has seen in recent years in one of the most exciting games in recent memory.

Former NBA player, ESPN analyst and Fab Five star Jalen Rose, who lobbied hard for Howard’s hiring at Michigan, was succinct and celebratory following the big win.




Rose had previously dropped a bombshell about Howard during the team’s Fab Five days: he served as Michigan’s team barber for a brief period of time in college.

“As my grades started to slip a little bit because I was putting so much time into making everyone look good, I found a barber for us, I found a barber on campus that was a law student,” Howard recalled about original time in Ann Arbor.

Another former Fab Five teammate of Howard’s, Chris Webber, was also excited following the victory. Webber and Howard formed a powerful 1-2 punch on the interior during their two seasons together in Ann Arbor.



Michigan football legends also have been vocal in support of the Wolverines this season, especially football Hall-of-Famer Charles Woodson.






In addition to Michigan football legends and former Fab Five teammates of Howard’s, players from the John Beilein era, which was responsible for the last three Sweet 16 trips, have also been vocal in their support of the program.

Moritz Wagner, who is currently averaging 7 points per game for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, tweeted in support of his brother Franz, who sealed the win vs. LSU late with a line-drive three pointer, transition dunk, and putback to help give Michigan the win over a high octane LSU team.

The brothers from Berlin rented out an apartment during the offseason under Mo’s apartment to turn it into a glorified home gym, and the results have been paying off for the younger Franz.









Wagner also tweeted the following picture of another one of the game’s heroes, combo guard Eli Brooks, who scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

Finally Zack Novak, another one of the Beilein era heroes who led the Wolverines to an unlikely Big Ten regular season title in 2012, had the following to say.




Novak has long been a program supporter since his playing days in Ann Arbor, which ended with a tough loss to Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners during which the 6-4 Novak was forced to guard the future NBA star.

…And then, of course, there was University of Michigan grad and creator of video memes Swanky Wolverine, whose tweet late Monday night spoke for itself.