The Louisville Basketball Greats All-Time Tournament

This afternoon from 3-7 on 1570's "The Sports Mob," Matt Jones and I will name who we think the greatest basketball players in the history of the Louisville and Kentucky programs are as we unveil our 64-player all-time greats tournament for each school.

This was not an easy task, especially considering that there are many players on this list whom I've only seen in old clips, and several others I've never seen at all. I tried to rank the players based on performance relative to the game at the time (David Padgett could probably bang with Charlie Tyra in the post if they were matched up today, but he's not going to be near him on the list), and overall impact on the University of Louisville program.

The players are ranked from 1-64, and have been paired in four regions (creatively titled "red," "white," "black," and "yellow") just like the NCAA Tournament. The players' region seed is the first number listed, and then his overall ranking is in parentheses.

I'm not sure what direction I'm going to take this as far as actually playing the tournament out, but hopefully for the time being it will spark some good conversation.

Here you go:

Red Region

1. Darrell Griffith (1)
   
16. Tony Kimbro (64)
8. Taquan Dean (32)
   
9. Phil Bond (33)
4. Billy Thompson (16)
   
13. Jack Coleman (49)
5. Lancaster Gordon (17)
   
12. Phil Rollins (48)
3. Reece Gaines (9)
   
14. Tick Rogers (56)
6. Felton Spencer (24)
   
11. Bob Lochmueller (41)
7. Marques Maybin (25)
   
10. Scooter McCray (40)
2. Junior Bridgeman (8)
   
15. Kenny Reeves (57)

1. Charlie Tyra (4)
   
16. Jerry King (61)
8. Rick Wilson (29)
   
9. Chuck Noble (36)
4. LaBradford Smith (13)
   
13. James Brewer (52)
5. Wesley Cox (20)
   
12. Larry O'Bannon (45)
3. Rodney McCray (12)
   
14. Cornelius Holden (53)
6. Bud Olsen (21)
   
11. Roger Burkman (44)
7. Allen Murphy (28)
   
10. Jerry Eaves (37)
2. Butch Beard (5)
   
15. John Prudhoe (60)

1. Pervis Ellison (2)
   
16. Ricky Gallon (63)
8. Don Goldstein (31)
   
9. Nate Johnson (34)
4. Herb Crook (15)
   
13. Manuel Forrest (50)
5. Samaki Walker (18)
   
12. Alvin Sims (47)
3. Clifford Rozier (10)
   
14. Jim Morgan (55)
6. Mike Grosso (23)
   
11. Dwayne Morton (42)
7. John Reuther (26)
   
10. Greg Minor (39)
2. Derek Smith (7)
   
15. Poncho Wright (58)

1. Wes Unseld (3)
   
16. Keith Williams (62)
8. Jeff Hall (30)
   
9. Kenny Payne (35)
4. Jim Price (14)
   
13. Ellis Myles (51)
5. John Turner (19)
   
12. Henry Bacon (46)
3. DeJuan Wheat (11)
   
14. George Hauptfuhrer (54)
6. Francisco Garcia (22)
   
11. Ron Thomas (43)
7. Everick Sullivan (27)
   
10. Charles Jones (38)
2. Milt Wagner (6)
   
15. Alex Sanders (59)