A great underdog story, El Ellis played two years at Louisville after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons at a junior college in Florida. As a senior at Louisville, Ellis averaged 17.7 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.6 RPG, 1 SPG, and 3.8 TOPG on splits of 41/32/81. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: El Ellis
Height/Weight: 6’3/175
Wingspan/ standing reach: N/A
Hand size: N/A
Position: Guard
Pre-Draft team: Louisville
Tools: Quickness, shot creation
Pros:
- Smooth handles with excellent shot creation ability
- Quick first step and strong overall quickness
- Beats bigs on switches with ease
- Great body control
- Quick feet defensively
- Good open-floor athlete
- Foul-drawing ability should translate due to quickness
- Reliable runner/floater
- Improved playmaker in his 2nd year at Louisville
- Can shoot coming off of screens
Cons:
- Needs to add more weight
- Has to reduce turnovers
- Needs to be a more consistent shooter
- Needs to improve shooting base balance
- Must get better at shooting off the dribble
- Questionable decision maker (see end of FSU game)
- Below the rim finisher; inconsistent at the rim
- Age will be used against him; turns 24 in December
Swing Skills:
- Jump shooting translating
- PG skills
Summary:
El Ellis is a scoring combo guard with outstanding speed, making him difficult and unpredictable to defend.
One thing El Ellis has going for him in the playmaking department is that he was asked to be both a true point guard full-time, while also having to play off-ball & be a score-first guard. This simultaneous task for a combo guard can often be overwhelming, inflating inconsistent decision making, which could be a reason for his turnover rise. In the NBA, he is likely to be a limited-minutes guard that won’t have to run an offense by himself, and can focus on playing to his strengths offensively.
Defensively, Ellis’ quick footspeed will allow him to generally stay in front of offensive players one-on-one, but he needs to add more weight to hold his own against bigger players. Additionally, he must improve his off-ball defense, something that has become more important every year in the NBA.
Ellis plays the most saturated position in basketball right now as a guard, but has standout traits that could elevate him into becoming a rotational guard. With quickness, quick handles, and a growing jumper, the tools are there to be a successful backup guard that can push the tempo. Finding the right team will be key for Ellis. At the moment, El Ellis is committed to Arkansas if he withdraws from the NBA Draft, which could be a great spot for him to rebuild some value as a fifth year senior.
Similar to: Kira Lewis, Devonte’ Graham, Rodney Stuckey
Projected draft range: 50-undrafted
Expected role: Quick tempo guard off the bench with microwave scoring ability and strong shot creation for both himself and others.
Unplayable if: Jump shooting and decision making will entirely determine El Ellis’ fate in the NBA. With opposite FT% and 3P% spikes in his two years at Louisville, plus a heavy increase in turnovers make him a difficult evaluation in those two regards.
Exceeds expectations if: Jump shooting becomes consistent, and a low-usage role helps him reduce mistakes with the ball in his hands. If he can add a smooth pull-up mid range game, he has three level scoring potential with lightning fast speed.
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