In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, host Draymond Green interviews former Michigan basketball star Jalen Rose. Rose explains why completing his college degree mattered to him, recounting his academic pride, a high‑school encounter with Magic Johnson, and the logistical hurdles that led him to earn his diploma from the University of Maryland University College rather than Michigan. The conversation shifts to the Fab Five’s legacy, criticizing the University of Michigan’s refusal to restore banners or otherwise honor the group despite recent changes to NCAA name‑image‑likeness (NIL) rules. Rose argues that the lack of recognition reflects broader racial inequities in college sports, where Black athletes have historically been denied the ability to profit from their own brands while schools and sponsors reap the benefits. He discusses missed opportunities for trademarking the Fab Five name, the limited financial gains for former members, and the superficial nature of current NIL deals that often favor institutional partners over individual athletes. Throughout, Rose balances nostalgia for his playing days with a critical view of institutional decisions, while expressing hope that future leadership at Michigan will finally acknowledge the Fab Five’s contributions.
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you ended up going back to finish your degree. Why was it so important for you to go back? You Jalen Rose, you're the 13th pick.
Yep.
You going into TV. Like, why was it so important for you to go back and finish your degree?
Because school was actually always important to me. I never wanted to be considered a dumb jock. I hated that term. I used to see people get called that and I was like, I'm gonna make sure nobody ever called me that. And then, you know, the whole stigma like, oh, you play athlete, you're an athlete, you talented. So now people hooking you up with your grades or people doing your work for you and that type of stuff. So then I was like, you know, I started to take pride. And one of the funny things that happened in high school is I got a chance to take some accelerated classes because I was an honor roll student. And I heard that if you got if you had a certain GPA and your attendance was this, that you got a chance to meet a special guest that was gonna come to the school at the end of the year for a seminar. And then I found out that guest was Earvin Magic Johnson.
Oh wow.
Right? So I couldn't be on the basketball team, an All-American, and Magic come to the school and I can't go to the gym and see him.
That part.
You know what I'm saying?
That part.
That would not have been a good look. So I really started to buckle down on my academics. Same when I was in Michigan, was a Dean's List student at Michigan. And so at that point, I done went to school for 3 years in the middle of winter. You know, it's cold outside. I might as well finish.
Absolutely.
You know what I'm saying? I might as well finish at that point. I'm in the league taking correspondence courses. I'm like, I'm gonna finish. And Michigan at the time, and this showing my age, wasn't even offering the classes I needed for to allow me to graduate unless I went on campus. I'm like, I can't, I can't go on campus. So I eventually took my courses online at the University of Maryland University College, and that's actually where I got my degree from.
Wait, so your degree today is not from the University of Michigan?
Correct. They didn't even offer the classes that I needed. And I love Michigan and I hope somebody hear this. They should be getting at me to give me some sort of honorary degree and putting the banners back up. Like I go to games, fam. I go ahead. Correct. I, I, I didn't grad— I didn't, they didn't offer the classes that I needed.
Just so you know, just so you know, just so we're clear. Mistake you made in life, that would've never happened at Michigan State. I'm just saying.
I know.
Would've never happened at State. That's ridiculous.
You know what? I know. And let me just be real with you. You know I love Izz.
Absolutely.
And I took a visit to Michigan State. I looked up to Magic. I looked up to Steve Smith, 6'8" big guards.
Motor City Smitty.
No doubt, I idolized them, but I couldn't turn down the chance to be the 5th member of the Fab Five.
That part.
That's why I changed my number. I didn't wear 5 in high school, I wore 42. I changed my number 'cause I was the 5th member of the Fab Five to sign. That's why I changed my number.
That's interesting because like I said, it's almost like you took it over though. Like the 5-5, it became your thing. But it would make sense because you essentially made it the 5-5.
Yes.
But that's, I find that very interesting. So a lot of laws have changed in United States of America. Drug laws have changed. We've seen people that you and I know who had life in prison get out because laws changed and they're no longer subject to that time. The things that y'all got in trouble for, kids can now do.
Correct.
No problem. They can make money off their likeness. They got endorsement deals. There's kids in college making a million dollars a year, which I'm happy about. Like, get your money. It's great. I wanna talk to you about the NIL too. But now that making money is legal in college, Why hasn't those banners gone back up if you're being punished? As I was thinking about this, about you guys, the Fab Five, I was thinking about this about Reggie Bush. Like, these are— y'all worked to become the Fab Five and accomplish what y'all accomplished. Reggie Bush worked, and it got snatched away because some poor kids needed some money. Now that those laws have changed, why haven't all of those banners gone back up?
It's a good question. So, and by the way, that's a Michigan thing at that point, not an NCAA thing, 'cause they can do it right now. Just like UMass did it for Coach Cal, and Memphis did, just like Maurice Claret at Ohio State, they could do it right now. For whatever reason, it just hasn't happened. And now that Juwan's leading the program, I have faith that it will happen. But to be honest, and I probably shouldn't say this, but it's true. Since we didn't win it, I don't really care about those banners. I feel like it should be one banner with all of our numbers on it, or like retire our numbers, or like give us a statue or something. Like truly immortalize what we've done. And When you talk about what we got disciplined for, let me tell you what's crazy. It was a thing that's happened in sports because it's a remnant of slavery. And I know as soon as I say this, people that don't look like us sometimes shoulder shrug and like, oh, here we go. But here's what happens. The Black sports, predominantly football and basketball, You're put in a position as an athlete where they can profit off of you longer.
Mm-hmm.
And you get paid less. If you notice in tennis, in golf, in NASCAR, in hockey, in all gymnastics, whatever, golf, whatever other sports, it ain't no restrictions after high school.
Mm-hmm.
Ain't no restrictions. They can have sponsors, they can go play, they could do what they love and they could earn money. And by the way, you've been on a college campus, just 'cause you wasn't getting paid, guess what? The people from the student council was.
Absolutely.
They was getting paid. Other students could have jobs. So the remnants of those sports make it to where they could profit off of us as long as possible while paying us the least. And so when you have a high profile team like UNLV, or John Thompson's teams at Georgetown that all of a sudden play with an attitude. Oh man, we gotta muzzle them. We gotta, we gotta allow them to perform, but we don't want our kids dressing and looking like them.
Mm-hmm.
Like I remember being one of the most hated athletes. Now Jalen is a common name. Like literally. And so what happens is it's one thing for Ray, it's one thing for Draymond Green, Chris Paul, and Jawan to go on and play long careers in the NBA and make the kind of coins that we did. It break my heart when I look at UNLV and Anderson Hunt, the Final Four MVP, didn't profit off of his likeness. Or Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. Members of the Fab Five. Huaraches were a shoe that we popularized. We popularized Black socks. They didn't even sell Black socks at the mall. Imagine if we had the trademark for long shorts.
Yeah.
Imagine if we had the trademark for Fab Five then. You see what I'm saying? And so with all of that taking place, it just hurts me that those gentlemen ain't able to profit off of what blood, sweat, and tears that they've been able to do. But I know, and it makes me smile that the young people now can, because I remember being a champion for that for like 30 years. And people looking at me like, "Oh, you should just be happy you got a scholarship. If I had a scholarship, I would da da da." No. But you ain't talented. And making the school money. And therefore they're profiting off of you or selling your jersey and selling tickets and doing all of that and making money off the shoe company. You know this, you sign a letter of intent, you might as well sign a shoe deal. You can't go to Michigan State and whatever, wear whatever shoe you want. You gotta wear whatever you can't. And here's the, here's the dirty secret about the NIL. It ain't true market value.
Mm-hmm.
Here's why. None of your sponsors could compete with the ones that the school already have.
And they got the best ones.
Correct. Correct. So they already getting top dollar from the radio, from TV, from the advertisement, from the shoe company. And so now you could get like, all right, you know, we gonna get you something at the local gym. You know what I'm saying? We gonna get you a membership for the next 12 months. That type of stuff. And we've seen some quarterbacks, you know, get paid. And, and the young lady, Paige Buckets from Connecticut, get paid. It's been some individuals, but for the most part, if you notice in totality, it ain't become the mushroom effect for players getting paid to then want to go play in college like the headline is, because you're really getting a secondary market for the sponsors.
What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward. Thank you.
