Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967 in Savannah, Georgia) is a former college and professional NBA basketball player.

Ellison was nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his play with the University of Louisville. At 6 ft 9 in and 242 lb, he started all four years as the center under coach Denny Crum. In his freshman year he led Louisville to its second national championship and was named the Most Outstanding Player—the second time a freshman had ever been awarded that honor, after Arnie Ferrin in 1944 for Utah.

Ellison was made the first overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. An injury kept him on the sidelines for 48 of 82 games of his rookie year, after which he was traded to the Washington Bullets. (A Sacramento teammate, Danny Ainge, had nicknamed him "Out of Service Pervis.") Although he was assigned as a backup in 1990-1991, the following year he became a starter and earned Most Improved Player honors after averaging 20.0 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.68 blocks per game.

Rex Everett Chapman (born October 5, 1967, in Bowling Green, Kentucky) is a retired American professional basketball player. Chapman was a college standout at the University of Kentucky and went on to play for four NBA teams through his 12-year career in the league. He later served as the vice president of player personnel with the Denver Nuggets.

A high school basketball star at Apollo High in Owensboro, Kentucky, Chapman was heavily recruited by many universities. He chose, however, to stay close to home when he signed with the University of Kentucky. Chapman was a star with the Kentucky Wildcats where he was named to the All-SEC Team during his freshman and sophomore years. Chapman and Wildcat teammate and future NBA journeyman Winston Bennett helped lead Kentucky to their 37th SEC title with a 27-6 record during his sophomore year. The Wildcats were ranked as the 6th college basketball team in the nation by the Associated Press and UPI and secured the number two seed in the South region of the 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Kentucky's talents led the team to the tournament's Sweet Sixteen, where they suffered a defeat against Villanova. Chapman scored 30 in a losing effort. Chapman amassed a total of 1,073 points in only two years at Kentucky before opting to enter the NBA Draft. According to Chapman, pressure from the university discouraging his interracial dating influenced his decision to leave early for the NBA draft.

Darrell Steven Griffith (born June 16, 1958 in Louisville, Kentucky), also known by his nickname Dr. Dunkenstein, is a retired American basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association.

Griffith starred at Louisville Male High School and was heavily recruited by colleges all across the country. He decided to attend his hometown school, the University of Louisville, much to the delight of local fans.

He didn't disappoint, delivering the school's first-ever NCAA men's basketball championship in 1980. He scored 23 points in the Cardinals' 59-54 victory over UCLA in the championship game. Due to his strong performance, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Griffith totaled 825 points in his senior season, setting a school record. For his efforts, he was named First Team All-American by the Associated Press and was given the Wooden Award as the best college basketball player in the nation. He left college as Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 2,333 points in his career. His jersey number, 35, was retired during ceremonies after the 1980 season.

Denzil E. "Denny" Crum (born March 2, 1937) is a former American men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a 675–295 record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Final Fours. Honored in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame since 1994, Crum is one of the major figures in the history of sports in Kentucky and in college basketball in general.

As the head coach at U of L, Crum is widely credited with pioneering the now-common strategy of scheduling tough non-conference match-ups early in the season in order to prepare his teams for March's NCAA tournament, where one defeat ends the season. Crum's prolific post-season play and calm demeanor earned him the monikers "Mr. March" and his most well-known nickname, "Cool Hand Luke."

Crum was born in San Fernando, California. From 1954–1956, Denny Crum played basketball at Los Angeles Pierce College. In 1956, he transferred to UCLA to play for John Wooden. While at UCLA, Crum was honored with the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Trophy for outstanding first-year varsity player. He also received the Bruin Bench Award for most improved player the following year.