Louisville basketball: Ranking the top 100 players of all time
By Alan Thomas
3: Charlie Tyra (49 points)
Charlie was a man of firsts. He was the school’s first All-American (1957), the first player to have his jersey retired at Louisville (#8), and he was also on the school’s first major national champion (1956 NIT). Back in his day, the NIT was widely considered the most important and most prestigious title in college basketball. He was awarded tournament MVP in ’56.
He is the all-time leading rebounder and eighth on the scoring list. Tyra wanted the ball all the time. In his third and fourth seasons at Louisville, he averaged over 20 ppg and 20 rpg. This stat would be staggering for any time period.
Had freshmen statistics counted towards total career statistics, Charlie may have gone down as the greatest player in Louisville history. Who knows what could’ve been? His son, Vince, is the current University of Louisville Athletic Director.
2: Pervis Ellison (56 points)
“Never Nervous Pervis” was the prized piece of Coach Denny Crum’s 1986 incoming freshman class. In his first year, he led Louisville to their second NCAA Championship. He was named the 1986 NCAA Tournament MOP and First-team All-American.
Ellison was the starting center in every season for the Cards, leading the team in rebounds in all four years. He is the #3 all-time scorer at Louisville and the #4 all-time career rebounding leader. He is second all-time in career dunks and is the university’s all-time leader in blocked shots.
Pervis was the greatest big man in school history. He was a quintessential stat-stuffer with his toned, towering build. He and Darrell Griffith had practically identical college careers, and his #42 jersey is retired at Louisville.
The GOAT: Darrell Griffith (59 points)
He’s the reason we call ourselves “The Doctors of Dunk”. Dr. Dunkenstein himself had a mind-boggling four-foot vertical and he sailed for high-flying dunks, rebounds, and blocked shots with that incredible leap all four of his years at Louisville.
Darrell was the team captain and leading scorer of the 1980 NCAA Championship team, winning NCAA Tournament MOP and was awarded First-team All-American honors. He is the all-time leader in scoring and field goals made. He averaged 18.5 ppg. in his career (22.9 as a senior). He is second all-time on the career steals list. He ranks 3rd all-time in career dunks.
Next. The most underrated players of the 21st century. dark
Griffith’s style of play was extremely successful. He was the go-to scoring option for all four years here. He shot over 52% from the field in his career. He is still heralded as one of the greatest college basketball players that ever lived. His number 35 jersey is retired at The University of Louisville.