http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050427/SPORTS06/504270352/1025/SPORTS
April 27, 2005
Lanier star confident 1st round his calling
One Internet mock NBA draft has Ellis slipping to 2nd round
By Todd Kelly
[email protected]
One Web site, NBAdraft.net, has him dangling near the very bottom of the first round.
Another, DraftCity.com, predicts he won't be selected until the middle of the second.
Yet if Lanier basketball star Monta Ellis is the least bit discouraged by the Internet pundits and their mock drafts, he isn't letting on. One day after announcing he hopes to play in the NBA next season, the 19-year-old Ellis remains confident his decision will be rewarded on draft night June 28.
Ellis said Tuesday night he plans to sign with New York-based agent Andy Miller in the next few days, a move that would make him ineligible to play college basketball. Ellis, a 6-foot-3 guard and the Parade national Co-Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball in Mississippi, signed scholarship papers last November with Mississippi State.
"I don't look at those things too much," said Ellis of the mock drafts. "It's just somebody judging you on what they think they know about basketball. I know if I get in the gym and keep working at it, I'll be a sure first-round pick."
There appears to be merit in his optimism. While some Internet draft analysts apparently downgraded Ellis for his postseason all-star showing (he averaged an unremarkable 10.5 points and 3.5 assists in two games), at least some in the NBA made up their minds after seeing Ellis in person during his spectacular senior season at Lanier.
The questions ? Is the 175-pound Ellis too skinny for the NBA grind and/or does he lack point guard savvy? ? are a moot point for one executive from an Eastern Conference team. That's the case even as the annual wave of college underclassmen and foreign players, now 50-something strong, toss their names in the hat as the May 14 deadline to enter the draft nears.
"There are no fears," the executive told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. "Monta Ellis has got a world of talent. He plays the game the right way ? and that's always your concern when it comes to high school players.
"I don't think anybody is asking these kids to come save their franchise. He's a talented young player who can add a lot to your organization... There's a very good chance he could be gone by the end of the lottery."
Bob Gibbons, a long-time basketball recruiting analyst based in North Carolina, talks to NBA scouts and personnel on a regular basis. Gibbons thinks the chances are "none whatsoever" that Ellis could get passed over in the first round, where each of the 30 players chosen receive guaranteed three-year contracts worth millions of dollars.
"If Sebastian Telfair can come out and be a high draft pick..." Gibbons said. "I'm not an expert on what the NBA is looking for, but I think Monta Ellis is bigger, shoots it better and has more longterm potential."
Telfair, a celebrated 6-0 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., who is also represented by Miller, was chosen by Portland with the 13th pick of the first round last June. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.3 assists and started 26 games for the Trail Blazers.
Both Gibbons and Lanier coach Thomas Billups believe Telfair's play this season helps to convince NBA general managers and coaches that a comparatively small high school guard can make the huge jump to the NBA.
"I think that helped a lot," Billups said. "There are plenty of people in the NBA not as tall as Monta. When it comes to basketball, I think Monta will be able to handle everything they throw at him."
Billups, too, doesn't expect Ellis to slip out of the first round. Last year, nine high school seniors or prep school players declared for the draft. Eight, including Al Jefferson of Prentiss, were chosen in the first round. The ninth, former McComb star Jackie Butler, was cashing an NBA paycheck by February.
Billups said representatives from approximately two dozen NBA teams called or visited Lanier to inquire about Ellis, who is among three prep players thus far to declare for the draft.
"With as many NBA people who have seen Monta play, they would be honest and tell us he wouldn't be a first-rounder," Billups said. "If he wasn't going to go in the first round, I wouldn't let it happen to him."
Ellis, who is scheduled to graduate from Lanier on May 25, plans to work out for NBA teams in the coming weeks at Lanier and in various league cities. Boston, Toronto, Memphis, Detroit, New Jersey and Denver are among the teams that seem most interested, Billups said.
Ellis isn't sure where he'll end up. His immediate goal is rehabilitating his left knee following minor surgery on April 14. He'll be at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., the rest of this week. Soon, he'll be looking forward to finding out his next destination on June 28.
"When that comes, of course it will be exciting," said Ellis, who said he made up his mind to test the NBA waters after Lanier's victory in the 4A championship game last month. "I know there are people who don't want me to succeed, but there are a lot of people who do, too. Right now, I'm just taking everything in stride. Like they say ? I'm taking it one day at a time."
