Chauncey Billups reveals untold story of Fab Five 2.0 at Michigan: "KG didn't pass the test"

The 1991-92 Michigan Wolverines turned the basketball world upside down with their athleticism, style, and charisma. The team had five freshman starters, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, collectively known as the Fab Five. Despite never winning the NCAA title, they are one of college basketball's most remembered teams.

Three years later, five high school superstars from the Class of 1995 nearly joined forces at Ann Arbor. Had the stars aligned, they could have been the Fab Five 2.0. But according to Chauncey Billups , it wasn't meant to be.

"We felt like we had maybe the best McDonald's class ever," he said . "We would argue that Class of 95, we argue that with anybody. So there was at one point that we said we should do a Fab Five, a new Fab Five at Michigan. And it was crazy. KG, Marbury, Paul Pierce, myself, and 'Tractor' Traylor was already going from Detroit."

KG didn't pass the test

Billups, Kevin Garnett , Paul Pierce, and Robert Traylor were teammates on the 1995 McDonald's All-American West team. Meanwhile, Stephon Marbury played for the opposing East squad in one of the most star-studded McDonald's All-American games ever.

The West won 126-115, with Pierce putting up a team-high 28 points. Meanwhile, the East was led by Ron Mercer's 19 points and Marbury's 11 points and 10 assists. But the star of the show was KG, who won MVP honors after putting up 18 points and 11 rebounds. However, he was also the one who spoiled the group's grand plan by failing his SAT.

"So nobody really committed early because of that," added Billups. "Most people don't know the story, and KG didn't pass the test, so he would have to go prop, so he ended up going pro, so everybody just kind of dispersed. But yeah, man, we had a lot of little things on the wire. We were very, very close to it. We were just waiting for that last chip to fall, but we were all like, 'Oh man.'"

Different paths

Billups and Marbury visited Georgia Tech, but Stephon got the lone spot on the Yellow Jackets team. As a result, Chauncey ended up going to the University of Colorado. Meanwhile, Pierce headed to Kansas, while Traylor was the only one who ended up going to Michigan.

Meanwhile, Garnett declared for the 1995 NBA Draft, where he was picked fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He became the first prep-to-pro player since Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby in 1975.

If KG had passed his test, college basketball history could have been very different. Ultimately, things worked out for everyone involved, with Garnett, Billups, and Pierce having Hall of Fame careers and Marbury and Traylor leaving their mark in the league as well.

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