DENVER -- When Jalen Rose was asked yesterday if he'd like the opportunity to play alongside his Fab Five teammates from Michigan again, the Denver Nuggets rookie guard looked skyward and smiled.
"If either one of them was in Denver with me," Rose said, "I'd be in heaven."
Rose will be reunited on the court with two of this Fab Five teammates tonight -- but as opponents, not teammates -- when Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and the Washington Bullets face the Nuggets at McNichols Sports Arena.
The Bullets will be without Don MacLean, the starting small forward who complained about soreness in his knees after Thursday's game when he played a season-low 12 minutes. He flew home yesterday and will be examined by doctors.
"After the [Dallas] game he said, 'This is no good,' " coach Jim Lynam said. "It's been bothering him off and on the last 10 days."
Calbert Cheaney is expected to start in MacLean's place tonight in a game in which the focus will be on Rose, Webber and Howard.
The three were part of the Michigan team that started five freshmen in the 1992 national championship game. Their following was cult-like, so their reunion is enough to worry Denver coach Dan Issel.
"All I told Jalen is that I was going to call his house every half-hour [last night] to see if he's in," Issel said, trying to keep a straight face. "I don't think this city will be the same with Jalen, Webber and Howard in it at the same time."
Rose, who has spoken to Webber and Howard during the past week, said the get-together will be relatively low-key. He hasn't seen Howard since the night of the NBA draft and hasn't seen Webber since he left for Denver.
"We'll get a chance to see each other, go out to dinner, sit around and talk," Rose said. "I'm probably more excited than they will be."
Webber, after Thursday's win in Dallas, had a big grin when he spoke of the next game.
"Now we can go into Denver, where we can beat Jalen," Webber said.
As the Bullets were leaving practice last night at the University of Denver Fieldhouse, Rose was outside in the cold waiting to greet Webber and Howard. Both skipped the ride on the team bus, driving away with Rose.
"He's probably my closest friend in the world," Webber said. "He's like a brother to me."
The three would be seniors had they stayed in school and might have won the NCAA title that eluded them in two trips to the national championship game.
Webber established himself as a top-notch professional last year, when he won Rookie of the Year. In their rookie seasons, Rose and Howard have shown flashes of being solid professional players.
Howard is coming off his best game since joining the Bullets, getting 15 points, 11 rebounds and four steals in the win over the Mavericks. Webber pulled Howard aside before the game and gave some advice to his teammate, who had struggled.
"He just said play my game, play hard," Howard said of the talk. "He said, 'Start the season right here.' He told me not to get rattled, that he experienced the same thing last year."
Rose, Denver's first-round pick, is being brought along slowly on a team that has a lot of depth. The 6-foot-8 point guard is averaging 6.8 points and 16.8 minutes.
"I made the adjustment smoother than I thought," Rose said. "Michigan did a lot to prepare us to the pros. When I get to these big arenas, I'm not nervous because we played in big arenas and played in big games."
Rose said he was on the way to a game when he found out that Webber and Howard would be teammates in Washington.
"I don't know how to describe how I felt," Rose said. "I know how much fun they're going to have. It means a lot to have a companion with you off the floor."
With Webber and Howard together with the Bullets, and Jimmy King and Ray Jackson still at Michigan, Rose is the only member of the Fab Five who's on his own.
"Sometimes I do feel lonely because in college we weren't just teammates, we were like brothers," Rose said. "We ate the same time; we lived in the same dorm; we'd all go to the store together.
"It's a hard adjustment, but I'm making a little money now," Rose said, smiling. "So I don't mind working in Denver."
So how will tonight play out?
"It's not going to be any crying, but it'll be an emotional moment," Webber said. "It's something that we've waited a lot of years for. I'm sure our mothers will be watching the game."
Added Howard: "It'll feel a little different playing against him. I see the highlights and watch him passing off to Dikembe Mutombo, and I remember the times he'd do the same thing for me and Chris."
While last night was filled with remembering good times, all three said it'll be business when the game starts tonight.
"I'm playing for the Nuggets, and I'll do whatever it takes to help us win," Rose said. "But hopefully we'll have a lot of fun out there."
NOTES: Gheorghe Muresan (injured list, strained left knee) worked out with the team yesterday and will work out a bit more extensively after today's shoot-around. He could be activated as soon as Monday. . . . F Kenny Walker (left knee) also worked out.
BULLETS TONIGHT
Opponent: Denver Nuggets
Site: McNichols Sports Arena, Denver
Time: 9
TV/Radio: HTS/WTEM (570 AM)
Outlook: This is the first of two meetings between the teams. Washington's last visit here was a 132-100 loss last March. Denver, idle since Tuesday's 102-95 win over Minnesota, has won three straight to improve to 9-6. C Dikembe Mutombo leads the league in blocks (4.0) and is second in rebounds (12.9). G Robert Pack, who has replaced Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in the starting lineup, is third in assists (9.6) and fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.500). The Bullets, playing the second of four straight on the road, are coming off Thursday's 124-121 win in Dallas. F Rex Chapman (18.4 ppg) and F Chris Webber (17.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg) lead the Bullets, who got a big lift from rookie F Juwan Howard (15 points, 11 rebounds against Dallas).