Michigan Gets Fresh With Rest of Big Ten : College basketball: Five first-year players account for 70% of Wolverines’ points.

The afternoon practice completed, Michigan’s players return to their Crisler Arena locker room, where it doesn’t take long for someone to pump up the stereo volume to near-painful levels.

As the rap music whomps against the concrete walls, rattling several framed photographs, forward Chris Webber, the most acclaimed freshman of the Wolverines’ celebrated recruiting class, settles into a lounge chair.

As if there isn’t enough noise already, another player presses a switch and a television set crackles to life. Moments later, Steve Austin, the original “$6-Million Man,” is seen scaling five-story buildings from a standing start.

“Hey, Chris,” yells the teammate, “even you don’t have that vertical.”

Is he sure?

At Michigan, where fans have come to expect miracles both big and small--remember the Wolverines’ improbable 1989 NCAA championship?--anything is possible. Three seasons ago, it was a national title and the story of Steve Fisher, the little interim coach who could. This season, with Webber & Co. available, who knows?

Some say Michigan’s five freshmen--Webber, guards Jalen Rose and Jimmy King, forward Ray Jackson and forward/center Juwan Howard--might be the greatest collection of young talent ever assembled. Or so say the excitable recruiting experts. Of course, they aren’t alone in elevating the Wolverines to star status.

Illinois Coach Lou Henson boldly predicted before the season that Michigan was capable of winning the NCAA championship . . . now. As near as anyone could tell, Henson was serious.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who doesn’t awe easily, already has proclaimed Webber one of the best players in the country. And Blue Devil guard Grant Hill said Michigan, an 88-85 overtime loser to No. 1 Duke earlier this season, was the best team the defending NCAA champions had played in the last two years.

Even the Wolverine freshmen understand how special this group can be. Howard described the assembled talent as “incredible” and said he felt sorry for anyone assigned to cover the hulking Webber. King said the newcomers weren’t cocky, “but we know what we can do.” Jackson spoke confidently of future NCAA championships to be won by Michigan. Webber said the freshmen were “just like a family.” Rose said he was unaffected by the many expectations, the pressure of Big Ten play or anything else, for that matter.

“We kind of take the pressure off each other,” Rose said.

It seems that everyone, including Fisher himself, has taken turns marveling at the possibilities of Michigan’s youth. They marvel because rarely do five of the best high school players choose the same school. And they marvel at the potential for greatness.

“Maybe it’s stupidity to say this, maybe it’s honesty, but they’re good and we’re going to be good,” Fisher said. “I’m hoping it’s right now.”

It is. Already the Wolverines, with a starting lineup that often includes Rose, Webber and Howard, are 10-4 and ranked No. 16.

“Can you imagine,” said Duke’s Hill to the Detroit News after the Michigan loss, “what those freshmen will be like if they stay together for a few years? It’s scary.”

If you are Michigan’s Fisher, it isn’t. If you are Fisher, it is another dream come true, much like that championship of 1989.

Back then, Fisher was an assistant coach on Bill Frieder’s staff. When Frieder took the Arizona State job before the NCAA tournament, Michigan Athletic Director Bo Schembechler was outraged. The Wolverines won the title under Fisher, he was offered the long-term coaching job and everyone lived happily ever after--that is, until last year.

Last year, Michigan finished 13-14 and was 7-11 in the Big Ten, good enough for eighth place. Another season like that and Fisher might have been asking Frieder for a job.

But then came the first of five wonderful phone calls. Howard, rated only slightly behind Webber nationally, was first to accept Fisher’s scholarship offer. Then King, ranked the 12th-best high school player, said yes. Then Jackson, considered the most athletic of the five recruits, told Fisher he was headed to Ann Arbor.

But it didn’t stop there. Webber, who nearly committed to Michigan State during the early signing period, waited . . . and waited . . . and then, after taking a late trip to Duke--he roomed with Blue Devil center Christian Laettner during the visit--decided he would wait some more.

Recruiters called constantly. The message was this: “You don’t want to go to Michigan. Too many stars. Not enough points to go around. You’ll become part of the scenery.”

Webber almost fell for it. Then he called Anderson Hunt, who had played on UNLV’s star-studded roster. Anderson told him to follow his heart. So Webber did--to Michigan.

“Basically, it just came down to staying close to home,” said Webber, whose family lives in Detroit.

It came down to more than that. Back in the sixth grade, Webber and boyhood friend Rose had talked about playing college basketball together. “That was our dream,” Webber said.

The dream came true when Rose, fresh from the Michigan state championships, decided he would join Webber.

Fisher remembers those moments. He remembers the impact of Howard’s decision, the one that helped bring King and Jackson. He remembers sweating out Webber’s visit to Duke. Most of all, he remembers when it was finished and all five signatures were on letters of intent.

“I would say I smiled inwardly,” he said. “OK, maybe outwardly.”

Fisher hasn’t bothered with the usual coaching gibberish about the dangers of playing so many freshmen. Webber has started every game. Rose has started 13 of 14 and Howard 11 of 14. King has started five games, but averages 24 minutes of playing time. Jackson has one start to his credit, but sees 13 minutes of action per game.

Such faith has been rewarded. Webber is averaging 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. Rose is scoring 18.6 points per game to lead the team. Howard is averaging 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Against Indiana Tuesday night, Howard scored 26 points.

In all, the five freshmen have accounted for 70% of the 1,136 points scored by the Wolverines this season. They also have caused Fisher to squirm in his seat, shake his head in frustration and roll his eyes in disgust. Growing pains.

At times, Rose shoots first and thinks later. Webber still is learning how to move without the ball. Howard has been hampered by a hand injury. King has more turnovers than assists. Jackson makes only about half of his free throws. This is not a team without flaws.

But if nothing else, it is a close group. The freshmen move as if they were joined at the hip. They go to movies together. They go to restaurants together. They play video games together. They leave the locker room together.

Most recently, they created a nickname: “V X’s,” as in Five Times. They hated being called “the Fab Five.” Too corny, and anyway, it belonged to someone else.

“All this means,” Webber said, “is we’re not exceptional. Just five guys.”

Or as Rose said: “We take all the compliments for what they are. We don’t go around carrying the (newspaper) clips.”

Maybe so, but the freshmen’s reputation precedes them. For instance, when the entire Michigan roster assembled for preseason drills, the competition was fierce, especially when it involved an upperclassmen against one of the newcomers.

“We weren’t going to punk out on them because we were young,” Webber said. “They weren’t going to just give up their starting spots.”

And once the regular season began, Rose said he noticed that other teams seemed to play harder against them.

“It was extra incentive for teams to play us,” Rose said. “I’d be the same way.”

There is no telling what Webber, Rose, Howard, Jackson and King might accomplish. From afar, USC Coach George Raveling, who has watched them play several times this season, said they can achieve something special.

“If they can keep their heads about them and continue to grow as a team, they have a chance to carve out a piece of history for themselves,” he said.

Utah Coach Rick Majerus says the key will be which players assume which roles and how the freshmen will blend in with the upperclassmen. Of course, the real question might be how the upperclassmen will adjust to players of Webber’s stature.

“You know what makes Webber great?” Majerus said. “A lot of players have talent at that age, but he has a mature, NBA-like body (at 6 feet 9, 240 pounds). He looks like a five-year NBA veteran.”

Whatever happens to this Michigan program and to the freshmen who represent its future, it will be a ride to cherish. Fisher already has said he wants no less than an NCAA tournament appearance this season. He might get more, especially if Illinois’ Henson was correct.

“Maybe he’s right,” Fisher said. “If our team contends for the title this year, then this is a special group.”