Tag: Boogie Ellis

Boogie Ellis increased his chances of playing in the NBA this summer

Boogie Ellis’ stock is rising, but there are no guarantees he will be on an NBA roster in October.

Boogie Ellis didn’t guarantee that he will be on an NBA roster this season, but he improved his odds of sticking on an NBA bench. The USC Trojan put in solid work at the NBA summer league for the Sacramento Kings. He might not play for the Kings this coming season, but one NBA team might give him a look after his stretch of summer games.

Al Pingree of Sports Illustrated’s Sacramento Kings site has more:

In five games in Las Vegas, Ellis averaged 11.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and a blistering 54.5% from three on 4.4 three-point attempts per game, all in only 17.3 minutes per game off the bench. His 54.5 percent from three was fifth best of all players in the Summer League with a minimum of four attempts per game.

Boogie Ellis also shined on the defensive end, utilizing his quick hands and 6-foot-7 wingspan to provide excellent on-ball defense to a team that defensive specialist Doug Christie coached. Ellis was crucial in forcing turnovers and provided an impressive 1.2 steals per game.

The Kings have a lot of guards, which means Boogie might not fit in Sacramento. However, other NBA rosters which aren’t as guard-heavy and need some instant offense off the bench could certainly give Boogie a back-bench role in which he could get eight or nine minutes per game as a reserve.

On a random mid-January Wednesday night when veterans’ legs are shot, Boogie could give a team a burst of energy off the bench as the 10th player in a team’s rotation. There would seem to be a place for Boogie to become that kind of player in the NBA.

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Boogie Ellis scores 17 points, makes NBA statement with Kings

Boogie Ellis got off to a great start with the Kings. Now let’s see if he can keep it going.

The spotlight in NBA summer basketball is falling squarely upon Bronny James of the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, however, another USC basketball alumnus is trying to stick in the league and elevate his professional career. Boogie Ellis got off to a really good start over the weekend in San Francisco. He scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Sacramento Kings in a win over the San Antonio Spurs. This was the NBA statement Boogie needed to make … and he will need to deliver more of them to convince NBA teams that he deserves a regular roster spot.

Boogie Ellis, 23 years old, was viewed as too old to be drafted. That’s not a direct quote from anyone, but 23-year-old Dalton Knecht — eventually picked at No. 17 by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft — was widely viewed as a player whose stock crashed because of his age. Boogie Ellis is a less impressive, less imposing version of Knecht, so when Knecht fell several spots from his projected position, Boogie Ellis had to have known that his odds of getting drafted were low. The Kings gave him a chance to make his case in summer basketball. This 17-point display is a great first start, but now Boogie has to back it up with even more strong performances.

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Boogie Ellis will play in NBA summer league with the Kings

It’s all any athlete can want: a chance. Summer league means everything to Boogie Ellis.

All any athlete wants is a chance to prove himself. Boogie Ellis of USC will get that chance with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA summer league. It is an emotional moment for Ellis, as Luca Evans of the Orange County Register reported:

“Only if y’all knew how much I been through these last 5 years I just want to thank GOD for putting me in this position been through every emotion but it made me and built me for any situation that comes,” Ellis wrote on his Instagram, posting a picture of himself in a Kings jersey.

Many people think Ellis is a better NBA prospect than Bronny James, even though Bronny was an NBA draft pick at No. 55 to the Los Angeles Lakers. No matter. Boogie gets his shot when he takes the court for summer league ball.

Some people think he’ll deliver the goods, as reported by Evans:

“I’m a Boogie fan,” an NBA scout, who had evaluated USC and spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Southern California News Group in the winter. “I just like how determined he is, and how gritty he is. He’s a smaller guard, but he does have some length. And, just like, he’s a natural leader out there.”

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Sacramento Kings sign former USC guard Boogie Ellis after NBA draft

Boogie Ellis gets his big NBA chance with the Kings after going undrafted.

USC guard Boogie Ellis went untaken in the 2024 NBA draft, but was signed by the Sacramento Kings after the draft ended.

“Only if y’all knew how much I been through these last 5 years I just want to thank GOD for putting me in this position been through every emotion but it made me and built me for any situation that comes nothings been given to me earned every opportunity ready for this next chapter it’s all apart of the story let’s work!”, Ellis posted Thursday on Instagram.

Ellis played high school basketball at Mission Bay High School in San Diego, where he was a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 38 overall recruit and No. 7 in the 2019 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Originally a Memphis commit, Ellis spent two seasons at Memphis. He averaged 9.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game. As a sophomore, he was named AAC Sixth Man of the Year and helped lead the Tigers to an NIT championship.

Ellis transferred to USC following that season. As a Trojan, he averaged 15.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in three seasons with the program.

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Dalton Knecht NBA draft tumble explains why USC’s Boogie Ellis didn’t get picked

Dalton Knecht’s draft slide was bad news for Boogie Ellis.

Boogie Ellis knew he would not be picked in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft on Wednesday. He was hoping he would be drafted on Thursday in the second round. However, if he was watching Wednesday’s first round, he had to have been unhappy that Dalton Knecht fell on the draft board to No. 17. Knecht was a projected top-10 pick for a lot of NBA draft experts, but he dropped nearly 10 slots from where he was expected to be picked. We should have known, right then, that Boogie Ellis’s chances of getting drafted were slim to none.

Why is this the case? Why can we say this with some degree of confidence? The reports on why Dalton Knecht dropped on the draft board were that he was 23 years old. He wasn’t a 19- or 20-year-old player. Therefore, NBA teams were afraid of getting an older player with a shorter shelf life. NBA teams fell in love with 19- and 20-year-old players whose bodies are in an earlier developmental stage and whose careers can extend even longer.

Yes, for anyone who is thinking what we’re thinking, we agree with you: It is absurd to be afraid to draft a 23-year-old athlete. Maybe the chances of that athlete having a 15-year career are worse than the odds of a 20-year-old playing 15 years in the pros. However, should that be the standard for drafting players? The 23-year-old player is much more ready to play on Day 1 and in his rookie season. If that 23-year-old provides seven solid pro seasons and the 20-year-old becomes a draft bust, which player — and pick — became more valuable? We agree with the idea that Dalton Knecht was worth a top-10 pick and that he had no business falling to 17. However, NBA teams and front offices didn’t see it that way.

Right or wrong, fair or foul, Boogie Ellis had to have known that if 23-year-old Dalton Knecht — a shooter-scorer — fell several spots on the draft board becuase of his age, the 23-year-old Ellis was going to encounter the same fate. He was not going to have a place on the draft board. This explains why Ellis did not get drafted.

It’s not fair, but no one ever said life — or the NBA draft — was fair.

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Will Boogie Ellis get picked in 2024 NBA draft?

Will Boogie Ellis really get snubbed?

The intrigue connected to USC at the 2024 NBA draft is primarily found in the Bronny James story. The consensus is that Bronny will be picked at No. 55 by the Los Angeles Lakers, just before the end of the 58-player draft. Isaiah Collier is also a source of intrigue. He is almost certain to be a first-round pick, but he might fall out of the top 20 after being seen as a top-15 pick a few weeks ago and a lottery pick last December. Yet, we can’t forget about Boogie Ellis, the veteran who is an established scorer and will try to find a good professional home.

Will Boogie get picked ahead of Bronny’s No. 55 spot? If not, that means Boogie might not get picked at all, since only three teams — Nos. 56 through 58 — would have a chance to draft him.

College Sports Wire’s latest NBA draft projection does not have Ellis being called in the draft. The projection does have Bronny going to the Lakers at 55.

The projection’s last 10 players picked in the 2024 NBA draft are as follows:

49. Indiana Pacers – AJ Johnson, SG, NBL

50. Indiana Pacers – Harrison Ingram, SF, North Carolina

51. Washington Wizards – Melvin Ajinca, SG, France

52. Golden State Warriors – Pelle Larsson, SG, Arizona

53. Detroit Pistons – Enrique Freeman, PF, Akron

54. Boston Celtics – Tristen Newton, PG, UConn

55. Los Angeles Lakers – Bronny James, PG, USC

56. Denver Nuggets – KJ Simpson, PG, Colorado

57. Memphis Grizzlies – Nikola Djurisic, SG, Serbia

58. Dallas Mavericks – Trey Alexander, PG, Creighton

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Will teams trade for Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis at the NBA draft?

Will Collier be part of a Sixers trade package at No. 16 in exchange for a veteran role player?

USC’s Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis are expected to be picked in the 2024 NBA draft this week. In what most analysts view as one of the weaker draft classes in recent memory, there’s a strong chance we will see an avalanche of trades on draft night. This could be a year in which teams reasonably view a collection of assets as a better move than betting on this draft class. Stashing future picks in exchange for shipping this year’s draft choice has to be considered. With all of this in mind, one has to wonder if Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis will become trade pieces, either for teams who want to move up to get them or for teams who are convinced they will be available several spots down the draft board and will therefore provide greater draft value.

Sixers Wire has this note about Collier, who is viewed as a likely top-20 pick, probably in the 13 to 20 range:

“The Philadelphia 76ers hold the No. 16 pick in the 2024 NBA draft and are in the middle of doing their due diligence. While it is assumed that the Sixers will move that pick to acquire a win-now player to help them on their title chase, there is a chance they make that selection.”

The Sixers might be working out Collier to draft him, but they could just as easily be working him out to evaluate his draft value in a package which will give Philadelphia a veteran role player.

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San Antonio Spurs host former USC guard Boogie Ellis before NBA draft

The Spurs would be an exciting destination for Boogie Ellis.

We are less than a week away from the 2024 NBA draft. Workouts are being held. Rumors of which teams have their eyes on specific prospects are heating up. Former USC senior guard Boogie Ellis was recently hosted by Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs.

According to Hoops Hype’s 2024 Draft Workout Tracker, San Antonio also met with future lottery picks Zaccharie Risacher, Tidjane Salaun and Reed Sheppard.

USC’s captain averaged 16.5 points and three assists per game but battled through numerous injuries in the process. Reflecting on the end of his career with the Trojans, Ellis told the LA Times:

“A lot of things in life don’t go the way you planned. But at the end of the day, you just gotta keep moving forward, just gotta make the best out of every situation.”

The 6-foot-2 San Diego native would be a solid fit with the Spurs and would most likely be a projected two-way player at the next level. He could also be a high-end backup guard. He has six years of college experience between Memphis and USC.

Ellis is expected to be an early second-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

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Boogie Ellis: NBA draft scouting report

2000 | 6’1 | 6’7 WS | 185 LBS Team: USC Agency: Derek Malloy, Dan Frank, Mike Miller Best aggregate mock draft rank : 58 / Worst rank: NR 2023-24 stats: In 2023-24, Ellis averaged 16.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.1 blocks, and 1.4 steals …

2000 | 6’1 | 6’7 WS | 185 LBS

Team: USC

Agency: Derek Malloy, Dan Frank, Mike Miller

Best aggregate mock draft rank: 58 / Worst rank: NR

2023-24 stats:

In 2023-24, Ellis averaged 16.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.1 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 42.8 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from three, and 73.0 percent from the foul line.

Boogie Ellis gets a chance to prove himself one month before NBA draft

Boogie Ellis has a lot on the line in pre-NBA draft camps and workouts.

Former USC basketball player Boogie Ellis has received an invite to the G League Elite Camp, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The event will host 44 players in Chicago later this month. Prospects from the camp will receive an invite to the NBA draft combine, with hopes to further build their draft stock.

Ellis, a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree while with the Cardinal and Gold (he also played two seasons in Memphis, where he was honored as an AAC Sixth Man of the Year), averaged 16.5 points on .427/.418/.720 shooting splits at USC. Ellis averaged 3.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Ellis endured a frustrating 2024 college basketball season at USC. He came back to try to lift the Trojans to a Pac-12 championship and a Sweet 16 run in March Madness. Instead, USC missed the NCAA Tournament. Ellis needs to show that his individual ability transcends the struggles USC endured last season.

The 2024 NBA draft which will be held Wednesday, June 26 (first round) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Thursday, June 27 (second round) at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York. The switch from a one-night event to a two-night event is a new move by the NBA in terms of the presentation of the draft. ESPN will broadcast the event live on both nights.

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