Former College Superstar, Longtime NBA Veteran Returning to Basketball Media

His voice has been missed.

Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Jimmy King. The Fab Five Fab Five / ALAN R. KAMUDA, Detroit Free Press

Jalen Rose is headed back to the broadcasting sphere.

According to Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post, the former University of Michigan Wolverines standout and longtime NBA combo forward is joining NBC. A spokesman for the network informed Glasspiegel that Rose will serve as a studio analyst for "Big Ten College Countdown," via NBC's streaming service Peacock, starting Friday.

Rose will oversee four games in his debut for Peacock/NBC, including No. 13 Purdue at No. 2 Alabama and Wisconsin hosting No. 9 Arizona. Ex-Notre Dame forward Jordan Cornette and former Georgia Tech and Memphis head coach Josh Pastner will accompany Rose in the studio.

It seems at least possible that Rose's role with NBC will expand to the NBA next year, when the world's premiere pro hoops league begins to broadcast its games on the network for the first time since 2003. Glasspiegel notes that Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle, who provided play-by-play commentary during the 2024 Paris Olympics' basketball broadcasts, are set to serve the same duties for NBA games starting in 2025-26. But Rose could be part of a studio role, or could serve as a commentator alongside the play-by-play broadcasters.

Rose had been with ESPN from 2007-2023, but was let go in a series of cost-cutting moves last year. Rose frequently sat in on NBA drafts, served as a studio commentator, co-hosted the network's morning show "Get Up!," and hosted the popular podcast "Jalen And Jacoby" alongside David Jacoby, who's now with The Ringer.

Rose was a First Team All-Big Ten and consensus All-American Second Teamer during his tenure with Michigan's starry young "Fab FIve" squad from 1991-94, a group that also included future All-Stars Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, future NBA role player Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. Those clubs advanced all the way to the 1992 — in 1992, all five were freshmen and starters, a rarity at the time — and 1993 NCAA championship games during their two seasons together. Webber left for the 1993 NBA Draft following his sophomore season. Howard and Rose were both top-13 picks in the 1994 NBA Draft following their junior seasons. Walker was selected in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

The Denver Nuggets selected Rose with the No. 13 pick in 1994. The 6-foot-8 pro ultimately suited up for Denver, the Indiana Pacers (with whom he advanced to his lone NBA Finals appearance in 2000), the Chicago Bulls, the Toronto Raptors, the New York Knicks, and finally the Phoenix Suns in a 13-year NBA career, posting averages of 14.3 points on .443/.355/.801 shooting splits, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 923 career regular season games.

More Ball Around: Kendrick Perkins Slams Zion Williamson, Reveals New Nickname For Pelicans Star