Ellison, Pervis
Basketball
b. April 3, 1967, Savannah, GA
Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" by his teammates at the University of Louisville, Ellison was named the most outstanding player of the NCAA Division I tournament in 1986, the only freshman ever to win that honor. He was the top rebounder with an average of 9.5 a game during the tournament, helping to win the national championship for Louisville.
During his four years as the school's starting center, the 6-foot-10, 225-pounder scored 2,143 points and had 1,149 rebounds in 136 games. The Sacramento Kings made him the first pick overall in the 1989 NBA draft.
After missing most of his rookie year with an injury, he was traded to the Washington Bullets. He spent the 1990-91 season as a backup, but became a starter the following year and was voted the league's most improved player after averaging 20.0 points a game. Used mostly at forward by Washington, Ellison also occasionally played center.
From that point on, he was dogged by injuries and never came close to playing a full season in the NBA. He missed the last the 29 games of the 1992-93 season with a strained left knee that required arthroscopic surgery in May. That kept him out of the first 15 games the following season, and he also missed the last 15 games with a bad right knee.
Ellison joined the Boston Celtics as a free agent in 1994. He wasn't activated until the 20th game of the season because he was still rehabilitating the knees. Then he missed most of the 1996-97 season with a broken toe and he was on off the injured list a good part of the following season with continued knee, ankle, and toe problems.
After playing in only 63 games over the next two seasons, the Celtics let him go and he joined the Seattle Supersonics as a free agent for the 2000-01 season. He retired after appearing in only 9 games.