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Griz sign junior college point guard
Missoulian Wednesday, May 11, 2005
And now there's an even five.
Bryan Ellis, a junior college point guard, has agreed to play basketball for the Montana Grizzlies, the fifth player this recruiting season to sign with UM.
The other four are high school recruits Eric Van Vliet, a 6-foot-10 center; Kyle Sharp, a 6-7 forward; Ryan Staudacher, a 6-3 shooting guard, and Austin Swift, a 6-5 guard/forward.
Ellis, 5-10, 160 pounds, comes from Salt Lake Community College in Utah, where he led Region 18 and the Scenic West Athletic Conference in steals with 3.1 per game, and finished second in assists (5.2) and assist/turnover ration (2.83).
He'll be a junior at UM, which went 18-13 in coach Larry Krystkowiak's first season and went to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big Sky Conference tourney.
"Bryan is a floor general and he makes the guys around him better," Krystkowiak said in a press statement released Tuesday night. "We've got some firepower coming back, and I think he can be the glue to help us put it all together and make us better."
Ellis was voted "Mr. East Side" during his career at Denby High School in Detroit. His teams won two regional championships while he was there. He transferred to Salt Lake Community College from Butler County CC in Kansas, where he started every game as a freshman.
Ellis was a second team all-conference pick for the Utah school, averaging 6.7 points and 2.8 rebounds for the Bruins under coach Norm Parrish. He was named his team's most improved player after last season, when Salt Lake CC went 27-6 and finished second in one of the top junior college leagues in the nation.
His teammate at SLCC, forward Rekalin Sims, signed with Kentucky and coach Tubby Smith last month.
Ellis was recruited by Kent State, Idaho State, Idaho and San Diego, as well as Montana.
"He takes care of the ball and doesn't turn it over, and that was an area of concern for us last year," Krystkowiak said. "He's very quick and a good defender. He got along great with everybody on his visit here, and I think he'll probably be a crowd favorite."
Krystkowiak likes the breadth of his first full recruiting class, which includes three players from the California prep ranks (Van Vliet and Swift are from Santa Cruz, Sharp from Hollister), another from Kirkland, Wash., (Staudacher) and now Ellis from Michigan by way of Utah.
"Looking back at all the guys that we've signed, we've got a player at every position," the Grizzly coach said. "Like probably every other coach in the country we are excited about this recruiting class, but the proof will be in the pudding when we see what they accomplish here.
"They're not just basketball players, but they're great kids and good students on top of that."
Missoulian Wednesday, May 11, 2005
And now there's an even five.
Bryan Ellis, a junior college point guard, has agreed to play basketball for the Montana Grizzlies, the fifth player this recruiting season to sign with UM.
The other four are high school recruits Eric Van Vliet, a 6-foot-10 center; Kyle Sharp, a 6-7 forward; Ryan Staudacher, a 6-3 shooting guard, and Austin Swift, a 6-5 guard/forward.
Ellis, 5-10, 160 pounds, comes from Salt Lake Community College in Utah, where he led Region 18 and the Scenic West Athletic Conference in steals with 3.1 per game, and finished second in assists (5.2) and assist/turnover ration (2.83).
He'll be a junior at UM, which went 18-13 in coach Larry Krystkowiak's first season and went to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big Sky Conference tourney.
"Bryan is a floor general and he makes the guys around him better," Krystkowiak said in a press statement released Tuesday night. "We've got some firepower coming back, and I think he can be the glue to help us put it all together and make us better."
Ellis was voted "Mr. East Side" during his career at Denby High School in Detroit. His teams won two regional championships while he was there. He transferred to Salt Lake Community College from Butler County CC in Kansas, where he started every game as a freshman.
Ellis was a second team all-conference pick for the Utah school, averaging 6.7 points and 2.8 rebounds for the Bruins under coach Norm Parrish. He was named his team's most improved player after last season, when Salt Lake CC went 27-6 and finished second in one of the top junior college leagues in the nation.
His teammate at SLCC, forward Rekalin Sims, signed with Kentucky and coach Tubby Smith last month.
Ellis was recruited by Kent State, Idaho State, Idaho and San Diego, as well as Montana.
"He takes care of the ball and doesn't turn it over, and that was an area of concern for us last year," Krystkowiak said. "He's very quick and a good defender. He got along great with everybody on his visit here, and I think he'll probably be a crowd favorite."
Krystkowiak likes the breadth of his first full recruiting class, which includes three players from the California prep ranks (Van Vliet and Swift are from Santa Cruz, Sharp from Hollister), another from Kirkland, Wash., (Staudacher) and now Ellis from Michigan by way of Utah.
"Looking back at all the guys that we've signed, we've got a player at every position," the Grizzly coach said. "Like probably every other coach in the country we are excited about this recruiting class, but the proof will be in the pudding when we see what they accomplish here.
"They're not just basketball players, but they're great kids and good students on top of that."
