Oliver Miller (1970–2025), nine-year NBA veteran

Oliver Miller was a University of Arkansas star and Southwest Conference Player of the Year who went on to a nine-year career in the NBA.

David “Smokey” Gaines (1942–2020), former Harlem Globetrotter and college coach

David “Smokey” Gaines was a basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters before going on to coach at Detroit Mercy.

Fred “Curly” Neal (1942–2020), Harlem Globetrotters legend

Fred “Curly” Neal  was a legend, delighting crowds for 22 years with his ball handling skill and big smile. Neal played basketball at Johnson C. Smith University, averaging 23 points a game. He played on the Globetrotters from 1963 until 1985 and was a fan favorite. He would dribble through the other team, daring them to steal the ball and was a dead-on shooter. He was nicknamed “Curly” after the bald headed member of the Three Stooges. He appeared in the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon in the 1970s and a TV movie with the cast of “Gilligan’s Island.” His number 22 was retired and hung in the rafters at Madison Square Garden in 2008.  

Connie Hawkins (1942–2017), basketball legend from the schoolyard to the Hall of Fame

PHOENIX (AP) — Connie Hawkins, basketball's dazzling New York playground legend who soared and swooped his way to the Hall of Fame, has died at 75.

Meadowlark Lemon (1932–2015), Harlem Globetrotters "Clown Prince"

Meadowlark Lemon, whose half-court hook shots and basketball-spinning antics as a member of the touring Harlem Globetrotters entertained fans worldwide for more than two decades, has died. He was 83.

Bob Denver, aka Little Buddy

Bob Denver is synonymous with a single name: Gilligan.