CHICAGO, Ill.- For the past four seasons Keon Ellis has put up numbers at the college level, first earning NJCAA All-American honors for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers before moving onto the Division I level where he was an SEC All-Defensive Team selection from the Alabama Crimson Tide. Now the former FSW star can add another line to his ever growing list of achievements as this week he is participating in the NBA Draft Combine and has already turned some more heads with the numbers he is putting up there.
Ellis helped lead the Bucs to a pair of Suncoast Conference Championships in his two seasons in Fort Myers and also helped earn FSW bids to the NJCAA National Tournament in both campaigns. After biding his time as a freshman behind a pair of Power 5 guards in Maddux Daniels and Charles Manning Jr., Ellis burst onto the scene in 2019-2020, pouring in a program single season record 18.1 points per game while shooting 54% from the field and 40% from the three point line. But Ellis' prowess was not just on offense. He broke both the Bucs single season and career steals records during his sophomore campaign, ripping off 64 on the season and 114 during his career with FSW while also finishing third in school history with 56 blocked shots. He was the Suncoast Conference Player of the Year and later named an NJCAA All-American before signing to play at Alabama a week later.
Ellis moved on to Alabama where he played in 65 games the past two seasons including being the only Tide player to start all 33 in 2021-2022. Remaining a two-way threat, Ellis topped Alabama's plus-minus charts as a senior at a +87 which ranked 6th in the SEC while leading the team in rebounding and steals at 6.1 and 1.9 per game respectively to earn SEC All-Defensive Team honors. He scored in double figures 19 times in 2022 including a season high 28 on 7-11 from three against #5 Kentucky midway through the year.
This week Ellis is looking to continue to improve his quickly rising NBA Draft stock at the Combine where he is one of 75 players invited to showcase their skills in front of the NBA's elite. Depending on where you look, Ellis is projected to go anywhere from the late first to the mid second round in the June 23rd draft. Sports Illustrated recently had the former Buc at #30 on their Big Board and has him listed as an 'under the radar' prospect, with Jeremy Woo saying 'I'd look at Ellis in the late first round and sprint to draft him in the 30s. If he falls much further, it's a pretty clear steal for whoever ends up with him."
Ellis' early numbers at the Combine have stacked up favorably against some of the other top names at the event. According to Rafael Barlowe, Director of Scouting for the NBA Big Board, Ellis was, by a wide margin, the top shooter off the dribble at the event Wednesday, hitting on 25 of 30 attempts at a clip of 83%. His 3.02 second shuttle run was the 6th best at the event while his 10.87 lane agility time was just .05 off of a top 10 performance. In Thursday's first scrimmage session, Ellis played 14 minutes for a victorious Team Curry, going 2-6 from the field and finishing with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists while helping his team hold Team Weaver to just 38% shooting in the contest. The 2022 Combine will wrap up Friday with another pair of scrimmages. Ellis and Team Curry will play at 3:15 in the defacto championship game against the winner of Thursday night's Team Erman vs. Team Johnson contest.
If Ellis is drafted next month, he would be the first FSW player to do so while also fighting to become the first former Buccaneer to make an NBA roster.