SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Michigan Wolverines basketball team plans on staying loose leading up to the championship game tonight against Villanova. How will they stay loose? Some of it begins with a brotherhood that began last summer by some of the younger players that are now known as the "Drip Boys."
Michigan freshman Jordan Poole, who famously hit the game-winning buzzer-beater against Houston in the Sweet 16, was one of the original members of the group.
"Me and (freshman guard Ibi Watson) came out of the shower one day after a workout and our hair was wet, it was dripping, it was running everywhere, and he had the exact same problem," Poole said.
Watson now deems himself one of the co-founders of the group.
"We're looking to build a brand a little bit, you know?" Watson said.
The group consists of Poole, Watson, freshman guard Eli Brooks, freshman forward Isaiah Livers and sophomore forward Brent Hibbitts. The group is about the hair, but it's also about the lifestyle.
"It's a blessing, it really is," Hibbitts said. "They added me for maybe a little diversity, maybe just a little more swag, but whatever it was I'm just happy to be a part of it. A part of the gang."
The brotherhood is also about keeping things light throughout the long season. It doesn't matter to them who makes the shots or who wins them the games, as long as they are the ones hoisting the trophy together at the end of Monday night.