Michigan Ranked #5 In Preseason USA Today Poll

The first rankings of the 2012-2013 season have been released and they have been very positive for Michigan.  The Wolverines have been ranked #5 in the preseason poll, which is their highest preseason ranking since 1993.  This means that this is the highest preseason ranking for Michigan basketball since the Fab Five era.  When you're talking about an almost two decade span since this type of ranking, it's a pretty significant achievement for the team and program.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed, even with this type of ranking, but as I discussed in my 2012-2013 Expectations post, there is a lot of hope when a team is ranked in the Top 5.  For instance, four of the teams ranked in the Top 5 last season made it to the Elite Eight.  Really, only one of the teams had a letdown year, but they still had a pretty good record and made it to the NCAA Tournament.  If that's the floor for success, that's a pretty good sign for a program like Michigan that's still somewhat in the building stages.

The Fab Five Wins A Championship?

In fitting end to the NBA Finals, both Lebron James and Juwan Howard won their first NBA titles.  Lebron had struggled under enormous pressure to win the title, just as Howard and the Fab Five had suffered under intense scrutiny at Michigan.  This accomplishment will be something that plays an enormous factor in shaping both of their legacies.  It's an incredible event for basketball, but why am I bringing this up?

The main reason I'm discussing this is because of its place in the Fab Five's legacy.  When the Fab Five originally formed on Michigan's campus in the fall of 1991, they had high hopes.  They were one of the first groups of freshmen that composed the entire starting lineup for a team.  Not many teams in college, even now, start five freshmen at once.  The Fab Five redefined the role of freshmen forever when they did this very thing.  But it wasn't that they started them that made the difference, but the fact that they did well when they started five freshmen, going to two straight national championship games.