Derek Harper earned second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1983 after leading the University of Illinois to the NCAA Tournament. Following his outstanding junior season, Harper declared himself NBA eligible and was the 11th overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, who retired his No. 12 jersey in 2018. During his 16-year NBA career, Harper played with the Mavericks, Knicks, Magic and Lakers, playing in 1,199 games, scoring 16,006 points and averaging 5.5 assists per game. Harper is entering his 11th season as the Mavericks television color commentator.

Jimmy King, a former Mr. Basketball in his home state of Texas, was part of the University of Michigan’s Fab Five, along with Ray Jackson, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber and Jalen Rose. The group reached the 1992 and 1993 Men’s NCAA Championship Games as both freshmen and sophomores, and King was ultimately a starter for Wolverine squads that reached the tournament four times. Selected by the Toronto Raptors in the second round (35th overall) of the 1995 NBA Draft, King played in 62 games for Toronto during the 1995-96 season. On July 24, 1996, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Popeye Jones. King ended up playing most of the 1996–97 season with the Quad City Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and then signed with the Denver Nuggets for brief stint. Returning to the Thunder, King won a CBA Championship in 1998, as well as being named league MVP. King also played a few seasons in Europe, and played for the U.S. National Team, helping them win a bronze medal in the 1998 FIBA World Championship.

Morlon Wiley was a four-year starter for Long Beach State and first team All-Big West. Selected in the 2nd Round of the 1988 NBA Draft with the 46th pick by the Dallas Mavericks, Wiley had a 5-year playing career in the NBA, coached for another 7 years in the NBA, and for 3 years served as the Orlando Magic’s Director of Player Development. Wiley is the current treasurer of the Dallas Chapter of the NBRPA.

Willie Davis played his collegiate ball at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) and was drafted with the 81st pick overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1968. Instead of playing in Chicago, Davis opted to go overseas to play in France where he was the French League’s leading scorer in 1969. Davis then spent the 1970-71 season in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the Texas Chaparrals. Davis is currently the president of the Dallas Chapter of the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA).