“The Fab Five ruined the program.” – Jim Nantz of CBS said during Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game in the Big Ten semifinals, suggesting that Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Juwan Howard and Ray Jackson are the reason hasn’t been the same since they ended their career there. Led by the Fab Five, the Wolverines were the first team to reach the NCAA title game in 1992 with five freshmen starting.

With the Fab Five, fans either loved or hated them.

Got to disagree with Mr. Nantz.

What Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson did at Michigan in the 1990s was give players the freedom to be themselves, inspired the great players of today and made it cool for the top prep players to go to the same school.

Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio State and other programs have benefited big time from that last one.

They took the interest in college basketball to heights it hasn’t reached since and unfortunately for them, showed how corrupt big-time college basketball can be. So I can’t wait to check out the special on the whole thing at tonight at 9 on ESPN.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers will their summer league roster began playing in the Las Vegas Summer League beginning Tuesday. Going into his third season with Cleveland, power forward J.J. Hickson is scheduled to play as is forward Danny Green, who just finished his rookie season with the Cavaliers. 

The Cavaliers 2009 first-round pick, forward Christian Eyenga of the Congo, is also listed on the roster. The 6-foot-5 Eyenga didn’t play last season after deciding to remain overseas and play. 

The team also has some familiar names like Rashard McCants, who starred on the 2004 national championship for North Carolina and rookies Jerome Dyson of Connecticut and Manny Harris of Michigan.

Erie BayHawks coach John Treloar is also working as an assistant for the Cavaliers, who are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks along with the Toronto Raptors.

 Two things to notice about the schedule is the Cavaliers play against the Miami Heat, who LeBron James chose to sign with instead of the Cavaliers earlier this week, and the Milwaukee Bucks, who have Darnell Jackson, a player Cleveland let go this past season. Jackson is scheduled to play for the Bucks this summer.

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Evan Turner lead Ohio State to the 2010 Big Ten Tournament title last week.

 I like that guy Evan Turner. 

Yep. That guy who hit that 37-footer to beat Michigan in the Big Ten Tournamet Ohio State eventually won last week. The Chicago native is fun to watch and can flat out ball. 

Erie BayHawks forward Ivan Harris agrees. 

The Ohio State graduate and I talk about him all the time before practice. There was a time people were debating if Turner was even the best player in the Big Ten after he came back from injuring his back. 

Now he’s considered one of the best players in the country. 

“He is the best player,” said Harris about Turner, who is averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists this season. “There’s no debate about that. Six-foot-seven. Playing point. He’s got an overall game. I just feel like he’s the man right now.” 

OK. Ivan. I agree. 

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A few years ago, Mike Gansey led West Virginia to the Eilte Eight of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

“Marshall? Oh man.”

That’s what Mike Gansey said after spotting the Marshall University skull cap I was wearing Tuesday. It was all good.

See, Gansey, who just joined the Erie BayHawks last week, was a star player at West Virginia and years before that, I was a sports editor at Marshall University.

Marshall and WVU are state rivals.

We both laughed about it and although I was planning to talk with new BayHawk about his first season in the D-League, I decided to interview him about WVU and what’s going on with his former coach at WVU, Michigan head coach John Beilein.

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Pittsburgh. Oklahoma. Louisville. Washington.

Sam Young (23) and the Panthers will win it all (if DeJuan Blair can stay out of foul trouble).

Ya’ll know me.

I just go by gut feeling on these picks.

So as much as I think North Carolina has the most talent of any team in the country, just unsure about Ty Lawson’s injury. If he was healthy, I’d have the Tar Heels winning it all

As far as picking Pittsburgh to win it all, it’s just time for the Panthers to cash in on all the talent they have. It all hinges on their big man, DeJuan Blair. If he stays out of foul trouble, Pitt will cut down the nets at the Final Four in Detroit.

If not, the Panthers will fold, early.

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