How One Meeting Helped Louisville's El Ellis Adjust from JUCO to D1

A sit down meeting with head coach Chris Mack helped aid the combo guard in his adjustment to the Cardinals and the ACC.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - El Ellis had always been used to being "the guy".

Like most Division I college basketball prospects, this was certainly the case at the high school level for Ellis. Not only did he average 16.7 points, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game during his senior year at Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C., but he left the school with 2,382 career points scored.

Ellis then went the Junior College route, and during both his years at Tallahassee Community College, he was the focal point of the team, and it showed. He was named the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year twice, as well as a First Team All-American by the NJCAA for his efforts during his sophomore campaign. That year, he averaged 17.7 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 41.7 percent on three-point attempts.

Needless to say that when he got to Louisville as the No. 1 JUCO transfer, there was a bit of an adjustment period. After all, not only was he no longer going to be "the guy", he wasn't even going to be a starter, as D1 transfers Jarrod West and Noah Locke took up both spots in the backcourt.

That being said, whenever the 6-foot-3, 175-pound combo guard did touch the floor, in spurts, we saw what made the Louisville coaching staff want to pursue him. Top notch athleticism, shooting ability, and an incredible ability to finish at the rim with an acrobatic flair - almost akin to Russdiculous himself. He was doing things that no other player on the roster could do.

But on the other side of that coin, there was a reason he was not a starter. He wasn't as consistent as West, Locke, or even fellow reserve guard Mason Faulkner. Ellis would have a great outing only to follow it up with a lackluster one, such as pouring in a career-high 22 points at Michigan State then scoring only one field goal two games later at DePaul. He would make great passes, as well ill-advised ones. And above all else, he was an extreme defensive liability.

Part of this, according to head coach Chris Mack, was due to Ellis' transition from Junior College to the Division I level. He had been used to being the star of the show for so long that Mack thought Ellis was "taking coaching the wrong way," and perhaps wasn't used to a bit of adversity.

"He's had nothing but success in high school and junior college, and this level is way different," Mack said. "I think that when when you get knocked back, or you're not playing as well, you tend to get defensive on things. There's no shame in being coached and being pushed, the shame is when you don't necessarily accept it. Not that he was overly defiant, but he just he wore his emotions a little bit too much on his sleeve like he was a victim."

So Mack set out to help Ellis change that. One day before Louisville was set to host Pitt in their first home game of the new year, the two met just before the team's scheduled practice that day. They met for around hour, discussing what Ellis could do to not only earn more playing time, but earn more trust from the coaching staff.

The meeting paid near-instant dividends.

The next day, Ellis was the driving force between Louisville and a potentially NCAA Tournament resume-wrecking loss to Pitt. He finished with 18 points, including 14 in the second half to help the Cardinals pull away with a 75-72 win over the Panthers. In Louisville's latest game at Florida State, while it was a 79-70 losing effort, he once again led the Cards in scoring with 14. Not to mention that, in both games, his effort and execution on the defensive end of the court was much more impactful, and he was playing with much more confidence.

"The meeting with coach Mack really helped me a lot. He told me how much he believed in me, he told me what I need to do to be on the floor and play more. It really just clicked after that," Ellis said. "I've always had an idea of what I needed to do, but just going out there talking to him one-on-one and hearing it directly from him, it was a lot better and it was way easier for me to handle."

Seeing the floor in 15 of Louisville's games up to this point, Ellis is now averaging 7.8 points and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 43.0 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent on three-point attempts.

Mack is pleased with how Ellis seems to have received the message, saying he "responded like I'd hoped," and how that has translated onto the court over the Cardinals' last two games. But even so, Mack still wants Ellis to continue to take that message to heart and make it an "everyday change" moving forward.

"He's been great, he's had nothing but success since that time. But now, there's gonna be a bump or two in the road, and he's got to continue to hold to that," he said.

He's not wrong. Louisville is fast approaching a segment of ACC play where the Cardinals will have to face Virginia, Duke, UNC and Syracuse. These are all teams with talented guard play, and Ellis will certainly be put to the test on the defensive side of things. As someone who, at TCC, was once assigned to guard the worst offensive player on the floor, things are looking up for Ellis in that regard.

"He still has a long way to go, but his attitude towards that part of the floor is ever improving," Mack said. "He's gifted offensively, but again, he can't have a positive and a negative. I think if his attitude is in the right spirit, then he'll do better than most."

(Photo of El Ellis: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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