South Carolina commit Eli Ellis shows out with another huge scoring night
Eli Ellis has always had his doubters. People that have told him he couldn’t do this or that. That even included playing basketball at the college level.
But after another huge game, it’s safe to say Ellis has less people telling him he can’t do it these days.
“Nobody thought I could play at the SEC level before I came to OTE this year,” said Ellis, who is committed to South Carolina for 2025. “I feel like people think I can now. But (Lamont Paris) really believed I could play at that level and that type of environment.”
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On Friday, Ellis scored 41 points on 14-of-23 shooting in just over 31 minutes. He led his team, the YNG Dreamers, to a 113-82 win over the Cold Hearts in Overtime Elite.
“I started smiling after the first one and was like, ‘Okay, we’re here now,'” Ellis said about his play.
It was a good all-around shooting night for the 6-foot-1 guard. He went 7-for-12 on two-point shots and 7-for-11 from behind the arc. And he only went to the free throw line seven times, hitting six shots.
He also had five rebounds and nine assists. Although, he did turn the ball over five times. But otherwise, it was a game to remember for him.
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“Just the level we’re playing at, playing against SEC, ACC, all types of players that are committed. It’s just unreal being able to play against that competition,” Ellis said. “There’s no where like it in the country I feel like in high school. So it’s really fun to get better and learn in this environment.”
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And it wasn’t just Ellis who was playing well. His brother, Issac, is also on the same team as him and scored 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He’s a part of the Class of 2026 and has yet to commit anywhere.
“It’s crazy. He hasn’t played in like a month and a half due to a concussion,” Ellis said. “He came back and that’s his first game And he hasn’t really practiced live with us at all except like one or two times. For him to come back and just go off like that, it’s huge.”
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Moving forward, Ellis still has some time before he makes his way to South Carolina to start college. In the meantime, he said he’ll continue to work on other parts of his game to ensure he’s ready for what’s to come.
“Really just trying to get over ball screens, work on that. And staying in front of people, which I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job so far,” he said. “The SEC is a different level. Really just working on that. But I can shoot it from deep, (Paris) said. They’ve got a step up, which creates shots for other people and for myself.”
