While East Carolina University is historically much more renowned for producing professional football players, the men's basketball program has successfully developed a select group of talented athletes who reached the highest professional level in the National Basketball Association. The most famous and accomplished professional alumnus is Theodore "Blue" Edwards, who enjoyed a productive decade-long career in the NBA after being selected in the first round of the 1989 draft. Other notable historical players who reached the professional league include guard Oliver Mack, center Jonathan Kerner, and versatile wing players who carried the Pirates basketball pedigree onto the professional stage.