Former Lanier star Ellis drawing minutes, praise from Warriors
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April 9, 2006
Former Lanier star Ellis drawing minutes, praise from Warriors
By Todd Kelly
tkelly@clarionledger.com
MEMPHIS ? Monta Ellis, the Lanier High basketball star turned Golden State Warriors rookie, discovered this month just how cold the NBA can be.
After a recent practice, Jason Richardson, the team's leading scorer, ambushed the 20-year-old newcomer, bound him with athletic tape, hoisted Ellis over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dumped him in a giant tub of ice water, leaving the slender 6-foot-3 guard shivering without a towel while the other Warriors fell out laughing.
Welcome to the big time, kid.
"If I fought it, it would have been an even bigger deal than it was," Ellis recalled with a chuckle after last Tuesday's game at Memphis, the nearest he's played to Jackson this season. "You've just got to be able to accept it no matter what happens."
The same unflappable, go-with-the-flow demeanor that helped make Ellis one of the most celebrated high school basketball players in Mississippi history has served him well since his leap to pro basketball last summer. It's one reason several of his teammates and coaches gladly take a special interest in Ellis - and why many in the organization hold high hopes for his future, even tossing out comparisons to Philadelphia 76ers icon Allen Iverson.
"Monta has amazing talent," said Golden State assistant Mario Elie, who played 11 seasons in the NBA. "I think you're going to hear a lot of people talking about the kid in the next two or three years."
After sitting on the bench for all but three of Golden State's first 31 games, Ellis has found a spot in the team's rotation, typically playing '2' guard on offense while matching up defensively with the opponent's point guard. He's averaged 18.2 minutes and 6.5 points since Jan. 27, making him arguably the most productive of the 10 draft picks - including five chosen ahead of him - from the final preps-to-pros class last June. Beginning this year, American players must be one year beyond 12th grade to enter the draft.
"Monta's very mature for a kid just out of high school," Warriors coach Mike Montgomery said. "He has the mentality that this (the NBA) is where he's supposed to be - and that's kind of the way he approaches it.
"We had some injuries, which is always the case when a guy kind of gets a chance. Like anything else, if he goes in and does some good things, you're more willing to give him another look-see."
Many figured Ellis might not get more than a passing glance in the NBA this season. Although several draft analysts projected Ellis as a middle to late first-rounder, he lasted until the 40th overall selection.
It didn't take long, however, for the Warriors to conclude they'd gotten a second-round steal. How long?
"The first pickup game (at training camp)," veteran guard Calbert Cheaney said. "I saw Monta could shoot the ball, handle it, do a lot of things. He's kind of undersized for how he plays, but he makes up for it - like Iverson - with his quickness and speed."
Ellis isn't surprised by his relative success, though he'd probably never say so unless asked about it first.
"Whenever I get the opportunity, I'm going to make the best of it," said Ellis, who led Lanier in scoring four straight years and finished No. 2 all-time in Mississippi with 4,167 points. "I never expected to start and play a lot of minutes."
Likewise, Ellis said he's adapted to a new lifestyle. In August, the former Mississippi State recruit signed a guaranteed two-year contract with the Warriors that pays him $450,000 per season. The NBA rookie minimum is $398,762.
"You better be wise with what you do with it because it can easily be gone," said Ellis, who lives with his cousin, Jarenta, in a four-bedroom house in Alameda, 10 minutes from the Warriors facilities in Oakland. (Another cousin, Louis, who signed a football scholarship with Mississippi State last year, returned from California in February and hopes to resume his career at Hinds Community College next fall). "I've got everything I need," Monta added. "The only thing I do is take care of my bills."
Ellis remains engaged - although no wedding date has been set - to Tandra Johnson, who also graduated from Lanier last year and lives in Jackson. He kept up with his alma mater's run to a 15th state title in basketball, getting a call from his former teammate, Cordale Allen, as soon as the championship game ended.
"I knew they'd win it again," Ellis said.
With the Warriors (30-46) out of the playoffs for the 12th straight year, the second-longest drought in league history, Ellis has just six games left in his rookie season. He said his summer plans have yet to be finalized, though his mother, Rosa, said she expects him to relocate to Houston, Texas, where many NBA players reside and work out in the offseason.
"It's best for Monta to stay away and focus on what he's doing," she said. "I think the experience has matured him a lot. He's becoming a man now."
Even though Ellis likely will live elsewhere when the season's over, he hasn't completely left Mississippi behind according to his teammates who continue to give him grief about his Magnolia State roots.
"He's just a country boy," cracked Elie, a native New Yorker.
"They've got some kind of different accent down there," said Cheaney, who calls Indiana home. "So when Monta's talking, you don't know what he's saying. We can't understand that Southern drawl he's got."
Ellis - one of 12 Mississippians currently on NBA rosters - takes all the mocking in stride, happy to be playing the game he loves at its highest level.
"Just being on this team with a great group of guys is the best thing," he said. "Even with the season we've had, we've never given up. This has been everything I expected."
