Editing Chris Webber (section)

==College career==
[[File:Fab Five original crop.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Michigan Wolverines men's basketball|Michigan]]'s [[Fab Five (University of Michigan)|Fab Five]] (left to right) [[Jimmy King]], [[Jalen Rose]], Webber, [[Ray Jackson (basketball)|Ray Jackson]] and [[Juwan Howard]]|alt=five Black males in gold athletic uniforms in the foreground on the sidelines of an athletic court while a few opposing athletes in green wait in the middle of the court.]]

After graduating from [[Detroit Country Day School]], Webber attended the University of Michigan for two years. While a Michigan Wolverine, Webber led the group of players known as the [[Fab Five (University of Michigan)|Fab Five]], which included himself, [[Juwan Howard]], [[Jalen Rose]], [[Jimmy King]], and [[Ray Jackson (basketball)|Ray Jackson]]. This group, all of whom entered Michigan as freshmen in the fall of 1991, took the basketball team to the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] finals twice, losing both times. The Fab Five, sporting long, baggy shorts and black socks, became immensely popular as they were seen as bringing a [[hip hop culture|hip hop]] flavor to the game. Four of the Fab Five (Webber, Rose, Howard, and King) made it to the NBA. In their first season, the Fab Five led Michigan to an NCAA championship game against Duke, becoming the first team in NCAA history to compete in the championship with freshmen as all five starters.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/sports/ncaabasketball/kentuckys-five-freshman-looking-to-separate-themselves-from-michigans-fab-five.html|title=Kentucky's Five Freshman Looking to Separate Themselves From Michigan's Fab Five|last1=Strauss|first1=Ben|date=2014-03-29|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-07|last2=Gerstner|first2=Joanne C.|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On April 5, 1993, at Michigan's second consecutive appearance at the [[1993 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship]] game with 11 seconds remaining, Webber brought the ball up the court into a half court trap. Michigan was down 73–71. Webber attempted to call for a timeout while his team had none remaining, resulting in a [[technical foul]] that effectively clinched the game for [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]].<ref name="youtube20110501">{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QPB9NBUG2g | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/-QPB9NBUG2g| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live| title=Chris Webber's Timeout (HD) | publisher=YouTube | date=May 1, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Webber continues to receive ridicule for his time-out error; when he joined ''[[Inside the NBA]]'' in 2008, part of the humorous [[initiation ceremony]] was the question "In college basketball how many timeouts do you get in a game?" (Webber replied, "I still don't know the answer!")<ref name="youtube20080430">{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfjzOaZDx5U | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/NfjzOaZDx5U| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live| title=Chris Webber Initiation to the Inside the NBA Crew | publisher=YouTube | date=April 30, 2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref> His father has a license plate that says timeout.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-04-sp-53202-story.html Chris Webber] from ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', April 4, 1993. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-04-sp-53202-story.html]</ref> The error was later referenced in the 2018 [[sports film|sports]] [[comedy film]] ''[[Uncle Drew]]'', in which Webber played the role of Preacher.

The game marked the end of Webber's acclaimed two-year collegiate basketball career. In his second season, he was a first team [[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]] selection and a finalist for the [[John R. Wooden Award]] and [[Naismith College Player of the Year]].<ref name="LB">{{cite web |last= Jindrick | first= Mike |title=The Under-Appreciated Scapegoat: Chris Webber |url=http://www.legalball.com/NBA_Chris_Webber_Mike_Jindrich |access-date=February 26, 2007 |publisher= | website = legalball.com |url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070506112053/http://www.legalball.com/NBA_Chris_Webber_Mike_Jindrich |archive-date=May 6, 2007 }}</ref> These awards and honors have been vacated due to University of Michigan and NCAA sanctions related to the [[University of Michigan basketball scandal]]. In that scandal, Webber received over $200,000 from a local booster while playing basketball for Michigan. Webber was convicted of perjury and banned from any affiliation with the Michigan program until 2013.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/sports/ncaabasketball/03fabfive.html | work=The New York Times | title= Revisiting the Fab Five at the Final Four | first=Pete | last=Thamel |author-link=Pete Thamel | date=April 3, 2009}}</ref>

Despite the ban, Webber attended the [[2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship]] game between Michigan and Louisville. He apparently watched the game from a private suite, rather than in the grandstands near courtside, where the other members of the Fab Five watched the game together. Webber posted on Twitter before the game: "I'm here at the Georgia Dome to show my support for the Michigan men's basketball team in its quest for a National Championship. I've known some of the players on the team since they were kids and I am excited for them and all of the student athletes on the court tonight who are wearing the Michigan uniform. It has been a great season and I wish them all the best."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chase |first=Chris |date=2013-04-09 |title=Chris Webber showed up to watch Michigan after all |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/04/08/chris-webber-michigan-ncaa-championship/2065343/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=USA TODAY}}</ref>

===University of Michigan basketball scandal===
{{main|University of Michigan basketball scandal}}
In 2002, Webber was charged for lying to a grand jury as part of a larger investigation of a [[numbers gambling]] operation, run by Michigan basketball program booster Ed Martin, in Ford Motor Company plants in the Detroit area. The investigation, originally focused on the numbers operation and tax evasion, soon widened to include the University of Michigan basketball program. Martin was convicted on counts of tax evasion and robbery and was scheduled to testify on the financial connections between himself and Webber at a sentencing hearing, but died of a heart attack before the hearing.

As a result of evidence admitted during the course of Martin's trial, Webber pleaded guilty to one count of [[contempt of court|criminal contempt]] for lying about his role in a scandal in which four players, including himself, had accepted illicit loans from Martin. Martin had been giving money to Webber since the 8th grade. He admitted in the plea that in 1994 he gave Martin about $38,000 in cash as partial repayment for expenditures Martin made on his behalf.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2148232 |title=Judge orders Webber to pay $100,000 |access-date= January 29, 2008 |date=August 31, 2005 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> He was ordered to pay $100,000 and perform 330 hours of community service.

Due to concerns that Webber's amateur status had been compromised, Michigan forfeited its victory in the 1992 Final Four over Cincinnati, as well as its runner-up status in the 1992 tourney. Michigan also forfeited the entire 1992–93 season, removed the 1992 and 1993 Final Four banners from the [[Crisler Arena]] rafters, and deleted Webber's records from its record book. The NCAA also ordered Michigan to disassociate itself from Webber until 2013. Webber later called Michigan's decision "hurtful" because he and his Fab Five teammates "gave everything to Michigan" while they played there.

After Webber's plea, the Michigan State High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) recommended that Detroit Country Day forfeit all games in which Webber appeared (including three state championships), since according to his own admission, Webber had been accepting money from Martin since junior high school. The school conducted its own investigation, and called a press conference to announce it had found "no credible evidence" that Webber had accepted "substantial" amounts of cash from Martin while in high school, and therefore refused to forfeit any games. The MHSAA claimed it had no legal authority to force the games to be forfeited.

Webber was suspended by the NBA for a total of eight games—five for an unnamed violation of the league substance abuse policies and three for lying to the grand jury. Webber received the suspensions once he recovered from an injury that kept him out for half of the 2003–04 season.

The scandal was explored in a [[documentary]] by [[ESPN Films]] called ''[[The Fab Five (film)|The Fab Five]]'', which aired in March 2011. In it, the University of Michigan repeated its position that it would not associate with Webber until he publicly apologized for his part in the Ed Martin scandal, with the self-imposed 10-year ban on its association with the remainder of the players ending in 2013. Webber declined to participate in the documentary.

Webber made his first post-ban public appearance at the University of Michigan on November 3, 2018, when he was invited by football coach [[Jim Harbaugh]] to participate as an honorary captain for its game against [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]]; Webber was warmly received at [[Michigan Stadium]]. Of the experience, Webber said on NBA TV, "Tell you what, fellas, this was a great moment, in front of 100,000 people. I had goosebumps and chills, and definitely some watery eyes."<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2018/11/06/chris-webber-return-michigan-goosebumps-watery-eyes/1901587002/|title=Chris Webber: Return to Michigan gave me 'goosebumps,' 'watery eyes'| website= Detroit Free Press| language= en| access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref> Webber also spent time with the football program as its guest before the game. He did not meet with the Michigan basketball team or staff, but despite this, head coach [[John Beilein]] stated that "I think it was a great step in the right direction that he was here."<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2018/11/06/chris-webber-michigan-return-football-only/1902474002/|title=Chris Webber's Michigan return was football only, but a 'great step'|website=Detroit Free Press| language=en|access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref> After Juwan Howard, teammate of Webber from the Fab Five, took over as head coach in 2019, Webber indicated to TMZ that he is open to reconciling with Michigan basketball and said, "Howard is my friend.... and therefore, I put pride aside", but wants his return to the Crisler Arena to be private.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tmz.com/2019/12/07/chris-webber-michigan-basketball-juwan-howard/|title=Chris Webber Open to Reconcile with Michigan Basketball After 26-Year Beef| website= TMZ.com |language=en|access-date= 2019-12-07}}</ref>