How El Ellis went from unknown recruit to prized Louisville basketball signee

From being overlooked out of high school to potential ACC starter, Louisville basketball guard El Ellis discusses his slow rise and tight bond with the coaching staff.

Louisville basketball combo guard El Ellis became the second top-rated JUCO player in as many years to commit to head coach Chris Mack and the Cardinals.

While last years prized recruit- current Clippers guard Jay Scrubb- bolted for the league, Ellis is on campus and ready to take on a major role in Louisville.

Last season, Ellis averaged 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists for Tallahassee Community College. Now, he appears primed to take his game to the next level.

This week, I spoke with Ellis to learn more about his background and how he wound up in a Louisville basketball uniform.

An underdog mentality

“Coming up it was really hard for me,” Ellis said. Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, home of Duke University, El wasn’t getting the attention he had hoped for early on in his athletic career.

“(I was) being overlooked a lot. I wasn’t looked at as one of the best players on the team. To have to go through that and playing behind guys, it was just a lot growing up for real,” Ellis said.

Though he tried his hand in other athletic avenues, at the end of the day, there was only one true passion.

Any game that’s close to home is gonna be a personal game for me.

-El Ellis on being overlooked by North Carolina schools

“In high school, I tried soccer a little bit. I played baseball in middle school, but I didn’t try to many different things. Basketball was really my thing that I stuck with,” Ellis said. Luckily, he had a strong supporting cast in his corner.

“My mom was the one who actually pushed me everyday to keep going and keep battling, and that it would work out sooner or later,” Ellis said.

Ellis worked hard on and off the court, but seemingly to no avail.

“I didn’t have the scholarships I wanted,” he said. Nevertheless, Ellis had the confidence to continue honing his craft in attempts to attract the eyes of top-tier college programs.

“Honestly I stayed in the gym more than most guys and I had a really good coaching staff the last two years (at Tallahassee Community College) that really pushed me and helped me grow as a player,” Ellis said.

Upon arrival, Ellis was admittedly raw in some areas.

“When I first got (to Tallahassee) as a freshman, it was really rough for me to transition from high school to college ball, so it was a lot for me,” Ellis said. “But I really had a good group of teammates that pushed me every day.”

The more we talked, the more El struck me as one of Chris Mack’s “everyday guys”. He enjoys the grind and embraces adversity.

Watching Donovan Mitchell, Russ Smith, Terry Rozier, guys like that. I paid attention to Louisville basketball a lot growing up.

-El Ellis on his first impressions of Louisville basketball

One night in Tallahassee

Ellis was on a collision course with Louisville basketball. The only variable was time.

Even being a kid from Tobacco Road, Ellis was quite familiar with the lore of UofL.

“I knew a lot about Louisville basketball,” he told me. “Watching Donovan Mitchell, Russ Smith, Terry Rozier, guys like that. I paid attention to Louisville basketball a lot growing up. Especially being in North Carolina, that’s ACC territory.”

Only a short time into his JUCO career, Ellis was beginning to turn heads. The seeds of hard work were starting to reap rewards.

“Making a name for myself at Tallahassee was the biggest part of my basketball career,” said Ellis. “Just showing everyone how good I was and not being the underdog no more. I was having people coming at me every game.”

The Louisville coaching staff took notice.

“My freshman year when (Louisville) came to play (at) Florida State, Dino Gaudio, when he was here, came to watch me in practice,” Ellis said. Although the Cards dropped that game to the Seminoles, he began to form a strong bond with the entire staff from that point forward.

“Me and coach Mack that following week got in touch. Everything was instant from then. We talked almost every day,” Ellis said.

Over time, Ellis was made a priority recruit by Mack. Thinking aloud, it’s a pretty special thing for Louisville to be able to go get such a talented guy from the home of Duke, and playing in the home of FSU, right from under their noses.

Neither Duke nor Florida State offered Ellis. “Any game that’s close to home is gonna be a personal game for me. I can’t wait honestly,” Ellis said.

A new leader for Louisville basketball

Other than skill, and work ethic, Ellis shed some light on his leadership and team-building capabilities.

“I’m the guy that makes everybody laugh, trying to keep the guys together and just try to have fun. That’s big off the court and that builds chemistry, just trying to have fun with your teammates and bond,” Ellis said.

Spoken like a potential future team captain.

If there’s any question as to whether or not that’s an obtainable achievement, Ellis seems up to the challenge.

Ellis had no Division I offers coming out of high school. By the time he signed with Louisville basketball, he had at least 22. If his overcoming of past obstacles is any indication, the best is yet to come.

Another sharp shooter in the arsenal

Ellis begins his DI career as part of a hot three-point shooting bunch for Louisville basketball.

Joining Matt Cross, Jarrod West, and Noah Locke, Ellis makes a quartet of transfers who all shot 40 percent or better from the field last season.

2020-21 will mark the first time in school history that Louisville will field a team with more than three players who averaged greater than 40 percent from deep. Louisville head coach Chris Mack channeled his inner Thanos to add the transfer portal infinity gems needed after a woeful shooting season in 2020-21.

Ellis attributes his eye-popping stats to his work ethic. “I know that’s going to help the team, just playing hard and just trying to help us win,” he told the media on Wednesday. “That’s gonna be the main thing. “Everything else will come together if I just do that.”

Next: Looking at options in the college basketball transfer portal