An ode to Louisville basketball great players and moments of the 1990’s

Let’s take a trip back in time to perhaps the most underrated era of Louisville basketball.

Growing up I always thought that, from a distance, Freedom Hall resembled The Alamo. I’d walk through those doors and a wafting scent of cigars, whiskey, and popcorn would hit me like a right hook from Muhammad Ali. It was the 1990’s, and Louisville basketball was this little kid’s favorite pastime.

Just think about it. We had Denny Crum pacing the sidelines in his red blazer, clutching a rolled-up program, not a hair out of place. On the opposing side were the likes of Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech), Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV), Roy Williams (Kansas), and the first encounters with a young Rick Pitino (Kentucky).

The Expo Center exit strategy was horrendous, the arena reeked of bull and horse droppings after rodeos, and the lighting wasn’t all that great. But we would sit there in the upper deck from the opening tip to “My Old Kentucky Home”.

John Tong was the PA Announcer. I would get goosebumps every time he announced a Louisville basket: (“Goooooaal byyyy Holden!”). To this day I’ve never heard an announcer call out a traveling violation (“Steps called”). It was everything.

Louisville basketball had just emerged from the glory days of its existence. In fact, we were the dang team of the ’80s if you ask around. As for the new millennium, well we all can agree on how fun and how eventful it has been, highs and lows alike. But guess what span of years had the task of bridging that gap? That’s right. It was the 90’s.

Baggy clothes were becoming a trend. Michael Jordan hadn’t yet reached the mountaintop, and MTV actually played music videos. Louisville basketball needed a little flair. We just needed to perform well enough to earn our keep in the blue blood conversation. Yessir, the ’90s was an era of continuance, consistency, and overlooked greatness.

This story begins in 1989 with a player that Crum and staff should’ve landed, but never got: Allan Houston.

In ‘89 he was a senior at Ballard High School in Louisville. He had captured the ‘88 state title with Ballard and individually had taken home the prestigious 1989 Kentucky Mr. Basketball Award, given annually to the state’s best player.

His father, Wade Houston, helped break the color barrier at Louisville back in 1962, becoming the first African-American to receive a basketball scholarship at the school. At the time that his son was racking up plaques and trophies at Ballard, Wade Houston was Crum’s assistant coach and top recruiter at U of L. All signs and assumptions pointed to the hometown kid’s commitment to Louisville. So what the heck happened?

Well for starters, Wade Houston grew up in Alcoa, Tennessee, a town about 20 minutes from Knoxville. He even attended Alcoa High School and became a standout basketball player before committing to play for Coach Bernard “Peck” Hickman at Louisville.

Fast forward to the completion of the 1989 season, when University of Tennessee Head Coach Don Devoe announced his retirement from coaching (well…briefly). UT’s coaching search didn’t last long, as the Vols reached out to Wade Houston for an interview about the vacancy.

It was a golden opportunity for Houston, who was, by most considerations, a hometown hero. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse (my best Don Vito Corleone), and ultimately he accepted the position. After setting a precedent at U of L, he became the first African-American coach in a major SEC sport. Even as a fan of the school he was departing from, you just had to feel good for the guy. I mean he was, and always will be, considered a Cardinal. But what about his son? Where would he end up playing college ball?

Unpopular opinion: he made the right move. In what seemed like a last-minute decision, Allan Houston subsequently committed to his father’s team at Tennessee. In his career, he became the school’s all-time leading scorer, had his jersey retired (one of four all-time), and enjoyed a very fulfilling NBA career.

However, the teams he played on didn’t overachieve or achieve much at all. In his career, Houston Jr. never reached the NCAA Tournament.

But alas, we lost what could’ve become one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player, in school history. What a crushing blow. He was the one that got away. We blew it! Or did we? In this case, what didn’t kill us only made us stronger.

Allan Houston’s national hype and accolades had revved up the efforts of Crum and his staff on the local recruiting scene. Many Louisville-area prospects wanted a piece of the pie, having grown up rooting for the 80’s teams and idolizing the Derby City superstar.

From 1990-1993, three of the four Kentucky Mr. Basketball winners committed to Louisville. They were Dwayne Morton (Central H.S.), Tick Rogers (Hart County), and Jason Osborne (Male), with DeJuan Wheat (Ballard) being the runner-up to Rogers in the voting that particular year. Both Houston and Wheat were mentored by then-Ballard Head Coach Scott Davenport, who would join Crum’s staff in the mid-’90s.

The1989-90 Louisville basketball squad could’ve used a scoring machine like Allan Houston, but that’s not to say that talent wasn’t already on the roster.

That season featured a couple of future NBA draft picks in Felton Spencer (1st round, 6th overall) and LaBradford “L-A” Smith (1st round, 19th overall). In fact, Spencer broke the Louisville school record for the highest field goal percentage in a season that year (.681). Meanwhile, Smith broke the school record for assists in a season (226), respectively.

Louisville finished the season 27-8 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. They would lose a hefty amount of talent, but a slew of high school commits had been brewing behind the scenes.

Louisville Basketball’s coaching staff was kicking tail and taking names in the recruiting world. Davenport, Jerry Eaves, Dana Kirk, Robbie Valentine and Scooter McCray were all on board for the bumrush. High school recruiting has always been a thriving business. Here in The Ville, the business was booming.

Morton and Clifford Rozier (‘90 Florida Mr. Basketball) were 1990 First-team Parade All-Americans, alongside future NBA greats Chris Webber and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Keith LeGree was a 1991 Hoop Scoop list standout next to the likes of Jalen Rose. In 1994, Louisville had 4 of the top 70 recruits in the nation (Samaki Walker, Alex Sanders, Eric Johnson, and Tyrone Nesby). In today’s recruiting website hysteria, that would’ve probably landed them in the top 5 or top 10 as a class.

Even Shaquille O’Neal almost committed at one point after an official visit to the school. Yes, THAT Shaquille O’Neal. Actually, the only reason he didn’t sign is because Crum wouldn’t go all in on Shaq’s request for a predetermined starting position, which the coach had never guaranteed to an incoming player.

The teams did not underwhelm either. Louisville made the NCAA tournament eight times in the 1990s, which is tied for the most in any decade with the glorious 1980s. They reached the NCAA Second Round twice, made it to three Sweet 16’s, and even one Elite 8.

In the ‘95-96 season, the Cardinals lost a heartbreaker to a Tim Duncan-led Wake Forest team on a controversial blown “shooting” foul, followed by a missed travel on the big man. Including their 22-12 record that year, they compiled five 20-win seasons in that decade.

Perhaps the pinnacle of the era was the 1996-97 campaign. Crum’s boys advanced to the Elite 8 where they faced a stout North Carolina team in Dean Smith’s final year as head coach. But the Cards were depleted.

Star senior point guard and leading scorer DeJuan Wheat had sprained his ankle in the Sweet 16. He had done everything he could to ready himself for the big game only two days later, having never missed a career start (136).

Louisville trailed by a large second-half deficit but rallied to cut it to 3. Wheat couldn’t put much pressure on his injury, and eventually, the Tar Heels pulled away. But man, what if DeJuan doesn’t sprain his ankle…? I mean who knows? The possibilities were limitless.

With the departure of Wheat, something big had to happen recruiting-wise. Boy did it ever.

Denny’s staff had added Clarksville, Tennessee standout guard Marques Maybin previously, and Maybin could flat out fly. For it’s final act of this period, Crum’s staff brought in a great one.

Some of you may know the name, Reece Gaines. He was the #52 ranked high school player in the USA in 1999. At 6’6”, the hot-shooting point guard, along with Camden Connection forward Nate Johnson, and Maybin, to name a few, would be key pieces of the transition team into the 2000s and the Pitino tenure.

Who could forget the great plays we had back then. How about Louisville product Brian Kiser’s late 3 to upset defending champion UCLA, or Keith LeGree’s half-court shot to beat a Shaq-led LSU team? Or what about Alvin Sims’ thunderous throwdown against Texas in the1997 Sweet 16. Do you remember DeJuan’s steal and breakaway dunk vs. Cincinnati?

Perhaps you’ve seen the Morton-to-Rozier behind-the-back, over-the-head, off-the-glass alley-oop to Clifford Rozier that played on ESPN program intros for years. Oh wait, I have a really good one. What about “The Run” when we outscored UNC 10-0 in front of a ruckus Freedom Hall crowd? That’s right. The Doctors of Dunk were still here. Louisville basketball was still alive and well.

So what happened when the smoke cleared? What do the record books say? Where are they now?

DeJuan Wheat remains Louisville’s #2 all-time leader in scoring to this day (2,183 pts.). Clifford Rozier has the second-best field goal shooting game in NCAA history (15-15, 100%). Marques Maybin had the highest scoring U of L career debut (22). Samaki Walker recorded 11 blocks against Kentucky on 1-1-95, which was part of a triple-double. There have only been 4 triple-doubles in school history. Four of the top 20 scoring leaders played in this era.

Big man Troy Jackson went on to play professional streetball on the And 1/Mixtape Tour. He went by the nickname “Escalade”. Alex Sanders became a Harlem Globetrotter. Tony Williams now owns a local mortgage company. DeJuan Wheat (Valley) and James “Boo” Brewer (Bardstown) are now currently coaching high school basketball in the area. Derwin Webb is now JUDGE Derwin Webb. Marques Maybin has his own radio show on 93.9 The Ville.

Seven NBA draft picks suited up in the Cardinal red during that time frame, and Denny Crum was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

13 of the Bleacher Report’s Top 50 Louisville Players of All-time played in the 1990s. Although it was overlooked, the millennium’s final decade was one of unbridled consistency and achievement. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going home to see if they show us on SportsCenter.