Ellis on Potential Transfer Decision: 'I Love Louisville'
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Now that the Louisville men's basketball program has officially tabbed Kenny Payne as their next head coach, some tough roster decisions are going to have to be made over the coming days and weeks by members of the Cardinals' roster.
Players can either decide that they want to stay on board with the new staff, or they can take advantage of the transfer portal and have a fresh start elsewhere. One such player with this option is El Ellis.
The former JUCO transfer admits that prior to Payne's hire, he didn't know much about him. But after a nearly hour-long meeting between him, Dre Davis, Jae'Lyn Withers and Payne, and then watching Payne during his introductory press conference, Ellis is intrigued about the prospect of playing for him.
"He's really just been down to Earth, just trying trying to get to know me, trying to get to know us, asks us how things went," he said.
Louisville has already had one player enter the transfer portal in reserve big man Gabe Wiznitzer, but Ellis is not in a rush to hit the portal. In fact, coming back for a second year with the program is very much on the table for the combo guard.
"Of course I'm going to think about coming back. I love Louisville," he said.
Soon, Payne will meeting the team in their entirety, as well as conduct one-on-one meetings with each player. For Ellis, the relationship he forges with Payne will play a huge role in deciding if he will definitively come back to the Cardinals.
"Right now, I'm going to try and build that relationship with coach Kenny," he said. "I'm just going to take it day-by-day, continue to talk to him, and maybe I don't have to enter the portal. If I build a good enough relationship there, I probably don't need it."
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard finished the 2021-22 campaign as Louisville's third-leading scorer, averaging 8.7 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting and 36.0 percent on three-point attempts. While his wild and erratic play style led to inconsistent results, he was one of the Cardinals' most exciting players to watch over the course of the season.
The Durham, N.C. native was just as electric during his JUCO stint, being named the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year in both of his years at Tallahassee Community College. During his sophomore campaign, he averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, and was named an NJCAA First Team All-American.
(Photo of El Ellis: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)
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