PAT CAPUTO: Michigan basketball rises to No.1 and regains relevance

What stood out about the footage of the Fab Five was how ancient it appeared.

The tight, high-fade haircuts, the wide lapels on the sport jackets of coaches and how blurry video was during the analog age.

They interviewed rapper Ice Cube about the cultural ramifications of the Fab Five. Back then, he was "Straight Outta Compton." Since, he has morphed into Nick Parsons in the not-so-classic comedy capers, "Are We There Yet?" and "Are We Done Yet?"

It was a much different world former Wolverines star Jalen Rose portrayed in his controversial ESPN documentary in 2011 about HIS Fab Five. It was a far cry from the one the current Wolverines are running in.

It was also the last time Michigan basketball was close to this relevant, even in the collective minds of the ever-fickle, too-often snobby Wolverines' faithful.

They have generally treated basketball as if were a wayward step child, one they could care less if it returned to big-time status since the teams Bill Frieder and Steve Fisher built in the 1980s and 1990s, especially with Tom Izzo subsequently turning Michigan State into a genuine national power.

Today, the Wolverines sit atop the college basketball world as the No.-1 ranked team in the nation for the first time in 20 years.

The dysfunction of the Brian Ellerbe era and the frustration of coming close, but not getting into NCAA tournaments, during the Tommy Amaker years, have been pushed into a forgettable past. It's like the bridge to nowhere linking these Wolverines to the Fab Five.

You are not hearing cries about how the Wolverines' freshman class is overrated. If anything, Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary and Nik Stauskas have exceeded their considerable advanced billing. Trey Burke was brilliant as a freshman, but has been even better as a sophomore. Could he be the national player of the year? Tim Hardaway Jr. has been equally impressive.

A home game against Ohio State (the only team to beat Michigan) and road trips to Indiana and Michigan State loom for the Wolverines in the next couple weeks, which could make retaining the top spot in the polls difficult, but getting there is an undeniable accomplishment considering how staggeringly far Michigan basketball had fallen following the Ed Martin scandal.

Thoughts of the Fab Five invoke a mixed reaction. They were truly great. They did have a major impact on college basketball. They did portray Michigan in a way that was ultimately regretful. But the Fab Five, along with the Wolverines' improbable national championship run in 1989, represent the salad days of Michigan basketball.

With all due respect to Cazzie Russell, Rudy T, Phil Hubbard and the many great players of their respective eras, Michigan basketball was never like it was before the late '80s and early '90s, particularly during the Fab Five era. It sure has not been remotely like it since.

This team is much different in style. It isn't so much about swagger as quiet confidence.

Indiana has its best team in eons, too, and the Spartans are just chomping at the bit for the Wolverines to visit East Lansing on Feb. 12. A word to the wise: Don't sleep on the Spartans -- Izzo has cast his team perfectly in his image.

But right now, Michigan is not only the best team in the state, and the Big Ten, but also the nation, No.1 with no shock value other than just how good coach John Beilein and his squad have become.

When it was the unthinkable just a few, short years ago.
