LeRon Ellis

LeRon Perry Ellis (born April 28, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. Ellis was considered to be one of the premier high school basketball players in the nation among the class of 1987 while playing for the top-ranked Southern California prep school squad Mater Dei. Ellis was drafted into the NBA after a mixed college basketball performance at the University of Kentucky and Syracuse University. He suffered several unsuccessful stints in the NBA over three non-consecutive seasons but spent the majority of his professional basketball career playing overseas.

Early life LeRon Ellis was born to LeRoy Sr. and Lucille Ellis in Los Angeles, California. Ellis is from an athletic family: his father, LeRoy Ellis, is a 14-year NBA veteran and member of the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers championship team, his elder sister Lisa Ellis played women's basketball for California State University, Long Beach and the University of Kentucky and his elder brother LeRoy Jr. played NCAA Division I men's basketball for the University of the Pacific.

LeRoy Ellis traversed the country with the NBA during the first eight years of LeRon's life. The Ellises eventually relocated to Portland, Oregon after LeRoy Sr. retired from basketball. In 1985 LeRoy

Ellis excelled with the Mater Dei Monarchs and soon became one of the team's cornerstone players in the center position. He demonstrated both dominant offensive and defensive performances on the court, excellent shot blocking skills and was noted for being considerably quick and agile for his age. The Mater Dei Monarchs posted another impressive record of 30–1 during the 1985–86 season and established a 59-game winning streak (second-longest in CIF history) over the past two seasons. On September 15, 1986, LeRon Ellis announced he would sign with Kentucky. The Monarchs went on to play what would become one of their most fabled basketball seasons in the school's history. Ellis and company replicated their previous 30–1 record during the 19867–87 season and bagged their third straight CIF Southern Section 5-A title. Mater Dei proceeded to the state CIF State Championship tournament, ousting the top-ranked Fairfax High School in the semi-finals. The Monarchs completed their memorable season in style by defeating Ygnacio Valley High School in the finals and clinching the school's first CIF Division I state title. LeRon Ellis won a series of prestigious awards that season while averaging 22.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and a 54% field goal shooting percentage. By the end of the season LeRon Ellis was considered to be one of the country's top high school basketball players and the Mater Dei basketball team was ranked number one in the nation by USA Today.

LeRon Ellis also displayed outstanding athletic skills off the basketball court while at Mater Dei. He returned to water polo during his senior year and led the team in scoring. LeRon Ellis played a secondary role, mostly coming off the bench, behind center Robert Lock and power forward Winston Bennett during his freshman season. However Ellis did manage to break into the starting lineup several times, making his debut as a starter on January 31, 1988, against Notre Dame where he enjoyed a then-career high of 14 points and five steals. LeRon Ellis averaged 4.3 points per game and 13.8 minutes per game, while starting in 12 of 28 games during the 1987–88 season. All-American and All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) basketball star Rex Chapman led Kentucky that season to their 37th SEC title with a 27–6 record. The Wildcats were ranked as the 6th college basketball team in the nation by the Associated Press and UPI and secured the number two Southeast Conference seed in the 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Ellis was also the center of attention on the court as many of Kentucky's high-profile basketball players were unable to play in the 1988–89 season. Offensive and defensive stars Ed Davender, Robert Lock and Winston Bennett graduated from school; the Wildcats' MVP Rex Chapman left school early to enter the 1988 NBA draft; sophomore standout Eric Manuel was suspended for the entire season from playing basketball and potential franchise recruit Shawn Kemp was transferred out of the university before the start of the season. Kentucky's basketball program was essentially put into the hands of the inexperienced sophomore LeRon Ellis and freshman Chris Mills. The two underclassmen struggled to fill the talent vacuum on the court and even prior to the season many had predicted rough times ahead for the Wildcats' 1988–89 season. Ellis' best single game outing (and arguably the highlight of his Kentucky tenure) was his performance against Northwestern University where he set a career-high as a Wildcat with 37 points in one game while netting 14 of 17 field goals The feat placed him in the record books then as the second most points scored by a Kentucky sophomore in a single game. However Ellis was not without his own shortcomings, being considered inconsistent on offense and weak on defense. In the end, Ellis was unable to lift Kentucky out of their battered season that was marred by poor performances on the court and an ongoing NCAA investigation into the school's basketball program off the court. The Wildcats finished with a losing record of 13–19; as of 2017, this remains the school's only losing season since 1927. Consequently, the Wildcats were reprimanded with a three-year probation and LeRon Ellis shortly thereafter announced that he would no longer be attending Kentucky. Ellis again was courted by some of the nation's top college basketball programs upon making his announcement. He traveled across the country visiting UCLA, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Syracuse University during the 1989 summer. Ellis was keenly interested in transferring to UNLV but had a sudden change of heart after discovering that their basketball program was under NCAA investigation and could possibly face sanctions similar to the University of Kentucky. Though unaware at the time, LeRon Ellis could have potentially been a member of the 1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship team had he decided to enroll at UNLV in 1989. LeRon Ellis eventually announced on July 17, 1989, that he would transfer to Syracuse. Street & Smith's Preseason All-American Second Team (1986) King Cotton All-Tournament Team (1987) Dapper Dan Roundball Classic: U.S. West (1987) CIF Southern Section 5-A Player of the Year (1987) Los Angeles Times' All-County Basketball Team (1987) Circle of Champions Pacific Regional Player of the Year (1987) Los Angeles Times' Player of the Year (1987) Basketball Weekly All-American Third Team (1987) USA Today's All-USA High School Basketball Team (1987) Parade Magazine All-American First Team (1987) McDonald's Derby Festival Classic (1987) Cal-Hi Player of the Year (1987) Orange County Athletic Directors Association Athlete of the Year (1987) Amateur Athletic Foundation Top Prep Boy's Athlete (1987) U.S. Olympic Festival West Team (1987) R. William Jones Cup U.S. Team (1988) The United Press International All-SEC Second Team (1989)