LOUISVILLE — The University of Louisville men’s basketball program has retired just five jersey numbers in its gilded history. Of those five renowned players, three remain alive. Saturday night, all three of them were in the same place at the same time—watching an AAU game, of all things.
They were observing a prospect who potentially could be the bridge between the Cardinals’ past and future.
Darrell Griffith, hero of the 1980 national championship team and the ’81 NBA Rookie of the Year, sat on an aluminum bleacher near center court. Pervis Ellison, star of the ’86 title team and the No. 1 NBA draft pick in ’89, stood behind one of the benches. Russ Smith, the scoring dynamo who led the 2013 national champs*, watched from the baseline.
