Recruiting Report: Walter Ellis (2018)
South Bend Adams has a gem in the 2018 class at the wing spot. The 6’5 Walter Ellis is a guy whose stock has really taken off this year and will continue to rise. Ellis worked hard this summer on…
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Continue ReadingSouth Bend Adams has a gem in the 2018 class at the wing spot. The 6’5 Walter Ellis is a guy whose stock has really taken off this year and will continue to rise. Ellis worked hard this summer on his game and it is really starting to show just how many improvements he has made this year.
“Really, this whole fall and summer, whenever we had time we were working on my handle,” Ellis said on what he worked on the most. “I could hit a spot up jumper, I could come off screens but my handle was where it was lacking and getting to the rim. I wasn’t really comfortable with it in my hands. Now, I’m comfortable with it in my hands, my dribble, and getting my teammates involved. Really just the handle that has improved and dealing with the defenders in my face.”
South Bend Adams sits at 11-3, won the prestigious Bob Wettig tournament, and is on an eight game winning streak. They have a shot to finish the season with 19 wins and make some noise in the tournament.
“I think we have a chance to be pretty good,” Ellis said. “Last year, there were some negative vibes going around our team. Some guys just weren’t playing together. Now, this year, we are just a close knit group and we hang together all the team.”
Ellis has a good amount of offers with interest from Stanford and Michigan State starting to appear. Ellis’ most recent offer from Cal was his first high major offer of his career.
“It was actually a surprise,” Ellis said.”I had a feeling they were going to offer later down the line and I didn’t think it was going to come that soon. But I was just with my mom watching the Tennessee game and coach Cuonzo (Martin) texts me and asks if I was watching the Tennessee game and I was like that is kind of weird. How does he know I’m watching the game. He was like call me when you get a chance. I called him and we were talking about hoops and all this stuff, asking how the season was going. Then, he actually decided to extend a scholarship offer. That was big to get out to the west coast because everything has been just Indiana so getting that first high major offer was a confidence booster for sure.”
This first high major offer could be a stepping stone for others to start offering. The son of former NBA player LaPhonso Ellis is really starting to come into his own on the court and that is being seen in his better jump shot, added aggressiveness, and his enhanced handling.