Pervis Ellison

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 eve... more

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. Since then, Carmelo Anthony has also achieved the honor, winning it as a forward with the Syracuse Orange in 2003. 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... less