SAN ANTONIO -- Coach John Beilein said he believes Michigan will officially honor the Fab Five in the future.
Ray Jackson, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber and Jimmy King -- five key members of the Michigan squads in the early 1990s -- captivated the nation with an exciting style.
In 2002, however, the university vacated the Wolverines' two trips to the Final Four and 113 wins over an eight-year span after an investigation that unveiled payments to former players, including a six-figure sum to Webber, from booster Ed Martin.
"We love the Fab Five, and we continue to reach out to the Fab Five and that team," Beilein said Sunday at a news conference before Monday's national title matchup against Villanova. "It wasn't just five guys on that team, now. That was a team of champions as well. ... When you have the NCAA violations in there, that's a time that it takes some time to heal. But I'm looking forward to the times when we get everybody in that group together and all of that isn't under our control, if you understand that."
Rose, now an analyst for ESPN, has led the public charge for Michigan to re-raise the Final Four banners and welcome the group back to campus with a proper ceremony.
Webber and three other players tied to the scandal were disassociated from the program for 10 years, a penalty imposed by the NCAA that expired in 2012.
Webber turned pro in 1993, the first member of the Fab Five to leave school for the NBA. Per Rose, he remains disconnected from the other Fab Five players. Webber was the only member of the group who did not participate in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "The Fab Five."
Beilein seemed to reference the rift with Webber on Sunday.
"And if invitations are sent and they're not accepted, then that's OK," he said. "We just keep doing it. But one day -- was it the Supremes: 'One day, we'll be together' -- we'll get it all together at one time."
Beilein returns to the national championship game five years after losing to Louisville in the 2013 title game. Earlier this year, the NCAA vacated Louisville's national championship after a sex-for-pay scandal.
Beilein said he does not, however, want the 2013 national title by default.
"No, we didn't win that one," he said. "It was fair and square. They didn't have six guys on the court. ... We lost the game. They won it. I'm going to leave it like that, and that's the way it should be."