Remember Michigan’s basketball team from 15 years ago?

Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and company were known as the Fab Five, leading Michigan to two straight NCAA championship game appearances.

Since then, Michigan basketball hasn’t had much to brag about. But everyone remembers the Fab Five from those two golden years.

Well, after covering the NIU wrestling team all year, I’m going out on a limb and proclaiming that this year’s team has its own Fab Five.

Allow me to introduce you to Mike (Mr. Hustle) Grimes, Johnny (Pure Talent) Galloway, Pat (Mr. February) Castillo, Danny (Mr. Consistency) Burk and, last but not least, Duke (Mat Rat) Burk. Consulting on their nicknames was NIU head coach Dave Grant.

These five wrestlers have dominated their opponents for most of the season. However, no one around campus really knows how good they are because, let’s face it, wrestling isn’t the most closely followed sport. But anyone who actually made their way to the Convocation Center at one point or another this season has had the opportunity to see the in-your-face textbook style wrestling presented by the Fab Five.

Currently, all of the Fab Five are nationally ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes, with the exception of Danny Burk. However, Danny, the elder of the two Burks grappling for the Huskies, just might jump into the national rankings after his weekend upset over the nation’s 19th-ranked wrestler.

Plus, it’s not like these guys are getting into the rankings by beating opponents from the University of Southwestern DeKalb county.

They have wrestled against opponents from five teams ranked in the top 25, three of which were ranked in the top ten at one point. Granted, NIU as a team lost four of those five meets with a tie mixed in there. But individually, the Fab Five took down some of the best wrestlers from these powerhouse programs.

Remember when Grimes won the Midland Championships tournament in late December? Most don’t, but he tore through three wrestlers from the big bad Big Ten to claim that title. Not to mention Grimes is the only NIU wrestler to have ever won said tournament.

The MAC Championships in Buffalo are coming up in a couple weeks. Galloway, Grimes and Castillo are all No. 1 seeds in their respective weight classes, while the Duke brothers are seeded second.

“These guys have been the core of our program,” Grant said. “When we need wins, they are our go-to guys.”

Don’t be surprised if each member of the NIU Fab Five win their respective weight classes at the MAC tournament, once again answering the call of their coach.