Report: Former Louisville Guard El Ellis Withdraws From NBA Draft Process

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - El Ellis will indeed play for a different school next season.

The former Louisville men's basketball guard, who was the Cardinals' leading scorer this past season before entering the transfer portal last month, is withdrawing his name from the 2023 NBA Draft, according to CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

The senior guard originally declared for the NBA Draft in late March while maintaining his collegiate eligibility, but then also opted to enter his name into the portal in early April and subsequently commit to Arkansas. He has one year of college ball remaining thanks to a COVID waiver year of eligibility that he can use at his disposal, which he is opting to use with the Razorbacks.

The decision to finish his career elsewhere was complete shift in Ellis' mindset from earlier this year. Ahead of Louisville's Senior Day, he admitted that his intent was to test the NBA waters, but that if he was to come back to college, it would be with the Cardinals.

"I just don't feel comfortable going to another school. I feel like Louisville is the place for me," he said back in March. "Even through everything that's been going on - the coaching change, the records, everything like that - I feel like if I'm going to come back and go to college again, I'm going to come back to Louisville because I didn't finish the way I wanted to. I want to leave as a winner, a that's something I didn't get to do. If college is going to be the next option for me, then I'm coming back to Louisville."

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard was a bright spot on an otherwise bleak season for Louisville. His 17.7 points per game finished third in the ACC behind Wake Forest's Tyree Applyby and NC State's Terquavion Smith, and his 4.4 assists per game came in at eighth in the league. He also shot 41.0 percent from the field, 31.9 percent on three-point attempts and 81.0 percent from the free throw line. He was named an All-ACC Honorable Mention as a result.

A former two-time JUCO All-American at Tallahassee Community College, Ellis joined Louisville for the 2021-22 season, and had an immediate impact. He averaged 8.7 points per game to finish as Louisville's third-leading scorer, averaged 1.6 assists per game, and was UofL's top three-point shooter by shooting percentage at 36.0 percent.

Ellis was one of seven players to enter the transfer portal following head coach Kenny Payne's first year at the helm, in which Louisville went 4-28 for their worst season in program history. Only Mike James, J.J. Traynor, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor are the scholarship returners for year two under Payne. Hercy Miller is also back, but has been reverted to a walk-on.

Conversely, Payne and his staff have been hard at work this offseason attempting to flip the roster and bring in fresh talent. They are set to bring in transfers Skyy Clark, Tre White and Danilo Jovanovich; 2023 prospects, Dennis Evans, Trentyn Flowers, Kaleb Glenn, Curtis Williams Jr. and Ty-Laur Johnson; plus JUCO transfer Koron Davis. According to 247Sports, their high school recruiting class comes in at No. 5 nationally, while their transfer class is 27th.

(Photo of El Ellis: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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