The honorable mention All-ACC guard will finish his college career elsewhere.
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Well, this is a twist.
After stating that his only options were professional basketball or Louisville, and after days of rumors that he would be returning to the Cardinals, U of L guard El Ellis has entered his name in the transfer portal.
An honorable mention All-ACC selection in 2022-23, Ellis announced last month that he was entering his name into the NBA Draft, but retaining his college eligibility. He also stated that if he did return to the college game, the transfer portal would not be an option.
“I just don’t feel comfortable going to another school. I feel like Louisville is the place for me,” Ellis said. “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.”
Ellis averaged 17.7 ppg, good for third-most in the ACC. As the only capable scholarship guard on the Cardinal roster, he also had one of the highest offensive usage ratings of any player in the country.
Is this because of Skyy Clark? Is this because of other guards Louisville is targeting in the portal? Is this because we won four games last year and Ellis wants to end his college career with a shot at the tournament?
Who knows, but it’s the first major curveball of the offseason thus far.
