Prospect Profile: Charles Elzie III (2019 Bellarmine Prep HS/Seattle Select High Academic)
After helping Seattle Select High Academic to the 17U Open Division title at The Hoop Memorial Day Classic, Charles Elzie III felt a bit of redemption. The hard-nosed 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard from Bellarmine Prep hadn’t quite gotten into gear so far this AAU season, so the win along with some solid individual performances this weekend was a turning point for him.
“I had a rough start, I’m not going to lie,” Elzie said his spring AAU campaign. “But I’ve gotten back into myself again and doing some good things out there. I can definitely still get quicker on my feet and get better at everything. My strength is my pull-up so I can definitely work on using that more.”
Elzie definitely showed off his pull-up during The Hoop Memorial Day Classic in Salem this past weekend. He nailed a couple of key ones in the title game of the Open Division alone, as well as a couple of other long bombs while running the offense for the team. Defensively he played extremely tough, making it hard for opposing guards to really get settled into the halfcourt.
Despite his self-described slow start, colleges have liked what they have seen out of Elzie. UC Davis, Seattle U, San Diego, and UC Irvine are among the Division I schools that have reached out to Elzie and he’s also heard from a whole host of Division II and III schools as well.
“They say that they like my game and that I play hard,” Elzie said. “I play smart and that I hustle; that’s my main thing outhustling my opponents – especially on defense.”
Elzie doesn’t have any scholarship offers at this point, so he’s staying completely open with the entire process. “Anywhere that wants me to play for their school, I’ll be happy to play,” Elzie said. “Anywhere that I can get a scholarship to play.”