Caron Butler (Photo. Kevin Ou)

Will Louisville vs. UConn become the next great Big East rivalry? Since UL defected from Conference-USA a couple years ago, they’ve gone 2-2 in matchups with the Huskies — UConn swept the series two seasons ago, while the Cardinals swept last year — with tonight’s meeting (ESPN, 7 p.m. EST) being the first of ‘07-08. Led by Hall of Fame coaches Jim Calhoun and Rick Pitino and regularly bringing in top-flight recruiting classes, they should be Big East powers for the foreseeable future, one having to go through the other to claim the conference crown. And really, both Louisville and UConn have only become nationally elite over the past 20-something years: the Cardinals won two national championships in the 1980s, the Huskies captured titles in ‘99 and ‘04, with both schools making a handful of Final Four appearances in between.

Historically, Louisville’s best talent has come from those Denny Crum-led teams of the ’80s, while UConn has produced its greatest more recently. How do the alumni match up?

UCONN (player, position, last year in school)
Ray Allen, SG, 1996 — One of the best shooters the game’s ever seen, Ray is second on the NBA’s all-time list for three-pointers made and sixth all-time in free throw percentage. A seven-time All-Star with a 21.3 career scoring average.
Rip Hamilton, SG, 1999 — Has consistently dropped 17-20 points per game over the course of his career that includes and NBA championship and two All-Star appearances.
Caron Butler, SF, 2002 — Over the last season and a half, Caron is proving himself to be one of the most complete players in the NBA. He should make his second All-Star Game this year.
Cliff Robinson, PF, 1989 — He played forever in the League, currently ranking 7th all-time in games played and 15th all-time in minutes played. Robinson played with five teams during his 18-year career, making one All-Star Game (’94), winning Sixth Man of the Year (’93), making two All-Defensive teams (’00, ‘02) and logging 141 playoff games.
Emeka Okafor, C, 2004 — UConn’s all-time leader in blocked shots and Final Four MOP in ‘04 is still a key building block of the Charlotte Bobcats’ franchise.
BENCH — Khalid El-Amin (PG, 1999); Rudy Gay (SF, 2006); Ben Gordon (SG, 2004); Donyell Marshall (PF, 1994); Charlie Villanueva (PF, 2005).

LOUISVILLE
Jim Price, PG, 1972 — Price has one NBA All-Rookie, one All-Defensive, and one All-Star selection to his credit. He averaged 10 points, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals while playing with the Lakers, Bucks, Buffalo Braves, Nuggets and Pistons.
Darrell Griffith, SG, 1980 — “Dr. Dunkenstein” led UL to a national title before copping Rookie of the Year and having a good 11-year run (16.2 ppg) with the Jazz.
Rodney McCray, SF, 1983 — Two-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection averaged 11.7 points and 6.6 rebounds over a 10-year career with the Rockets, Kings, Mavs and Bulls. McCray won a championship with Chicago in ‘93.
Pervis Ellison, PF, 1989 — While he never lived up to the hype following Louisville’s national-championship run his freshman year, “Never Nervous” did put up 20 points, 11 boards and 2.7 blocks a game for the Bullets in ‘91-92, winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Wes Unseld, C, 1968 — Beast in college (20.4 ppg, 18.9 rpg), beast in the pros (10.8 ppg, 14 rpg), Unseld is the gold standard for rebounding fundamentals and outlet passing from the post. The NBA’s 10th all-time leading rebounder won the league’s MVP as a rookie in ‘69, won a championship and Finals MVP in ‘78, and holds a spot in the Hall of Fame.
BENCH — Butch Beard (G, 1969); Junior Bridgeman (F/G, 1975); Franciso Garcia (G/F, 2005); Derek Smith (F/G, 1982); Felton Spencer (C, 1990).