The “Fab Five” has nothing on this year’s Michigan squad — at least according to forward Yaxel Lendeborg
Following the Wolverines’ 90-77 Sweet 16 victory over Alabama on Friday, Lendeborg claimed that his team could be the best Michigan team of all time.
“I feel like we are the best team in college basketball. We might be the best Michigan team ever,” Lendeborg said alongside his teammates in a sideline interview following the game. “We’re gonna try to go for that.”
Former NBAer and fellow Michigan alum Jalen Rose — who was a part of the infamous “Fab Five” squads of the early 1990s — weighed in on Lendeborg’s comments shortly after on the TNT broadcast.
Rose said that if this year’s team wins the NCAA Tournament, they will be in “conversation” with Michigan’s 1989 championship-winning squad for the greatest in program history.
“It’ll be a conversation then,” Rose said. “The one thing about Michigan being a football school…if you look our history, we’ve won it once or twice in football and once in basketball. Yet we are required to be top 10 in both.
“So if they go and win it all, of course, it’s time to have that conversation between ’89 versus this team.”
Lendeborg added that he believes that the only thing standing in Michigan’s way going forward in March Madness is itself.
“We’re going to continue to play our brand of basketball and we are going to keep on winning,” he added.
Lendeborg led the way for the Wolverines during Friday’s win, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 8-of-12 from the field.
Michigan, which was down by two at halftime, went on a tear to close out the game, outscoring the Crimson Tide by 15 in the second half.
“We got to dictate our tempo,” Lendeborg said of what changed after halftime. “We let them control the game for the first half. We can’t get into an offensive match with these guys, they are all too talented.”
Michigan is now set to face off against either Tennessee or Iowa State in an Elite Eight matchup on Sunday.
