Tag: LaPhonso Ellis

Flashback to LaPhonso Ellis being drafted by Denver Nuggets in 1992

Who remembers this?

Later this week, a select group of young basketball players will have their dreams realized when they are selected in the NBA draft. That won’t include any Notre Dame players this time around, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look back on those who have been picked. Among those is [autotag]LaPhonso Ellis[/autotag], who was picked fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in 1992:

You’ll notice a clip a lot of credit for Ellis’ growth in his final season for the Irish is given to [autotag]John MacLeod[/autotag], who had just taken over for [autotag]Digger Phelps[/autotag]. You’ll also notice the graphic indicated that Ellis joined [autotag]Tom Hawkins[/autotag], [autotag]Walter Sahn[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Whitmore[/autotag] in the program’s 1,000-point/1,000 rebound club. Only [autotag]Luke Harangody[/autotag] has joined in the years since.

Ellis flourished in his first of 11 NBA seasons, making the All-Rookie First Team alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner and Tom Gugliotta. He started every game for the Nuggets, averaging 14.7 points a game and career highs of 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game.

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Notre Dame upsets Kentucky in blow-for-blow battle

What a win!

When a team struggles as Notre Dame has to start the season, it will take any spark it can get to turn things around. With preseason expectations at a somewhat high level, the Irish absolutely needed something positive that could potentially serve as a turning point. On a day in which LaPhonso Ellis was inducted into the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor and Marcus Freeman was in attendance, a 66-62 upset of No. 10 Kentucky was just what the doctor ordered.

This game was tied several times, and the Irish (4-4) trailed for the majority of it. To make things even more intense, neither team ever led by more than five points. Had the Wildcats (7-2) shot better than 2 of 19 from 3-point range, which included an 0-of-8 showing from their bench in that area, we would be talking about a completely different outcome. Alas, the Irish were meant to stay perfect in these Ring of Honor games.

It all came down to how the Irish came out of a timeout in a game tied at 62 with 28 seconds left. What happened was freshman phenom and South Bend native Blake Wesley driving from near the sideline to the paint just inside the free-throw line and hitting a pull-up shot off the dribble to put the Irish in front with 11.7 seconds remaining.

The Wildcats opted not to call their final timeout to try and respond immediately, but Tyty Washington Jr.’s game-tying layup attempt hit the glass and nothing more. Paul Atkinson Jr. got the rebound, and a quick passing sequence got the ball to Dane Goodwin in an open frontcourt, which allowed him to complete a buzzer-beating dunk with two hands. With the biggest win of the season so far complete, the Irish fans in attendance stormed the court.

It was appropriate for Wesley and Goodwin to score the Irish’s final four points because they led their team with 14 points apiece. Trey Wertz was just behind off the bench with 12 points, and Atkinson added 10. Goodwin and Atkinson also had six rebounds apiece to lead the Irish.

Notre Dame legend LaPhonso Ellis will be inducted into Ring of Honor

Another legend will be added to the Purcell Pavilion rafters.

Notre Dame has had some great players and coaches over the years, but only a select few can be called program legends. We now can say that one of those individuals is LaPhonso Ellis, who will become the ninth inductee into the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor this upcoming season. The honor will be bestowed upon Ellis during halftime of the Irish’s Dec. 11 game against Kentucky.

Ellis played 97 games for the Irish from 1988 to 1992. During that time, he averaged 15.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game and shot 57.7 percent from the field. He saved his best for his senior season, during which he had averages of 17.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks along with a field-goal percentage of 63.1. At the time he graduated, he was the program’s all-time leader in blocks (200) and one of only four to have 1,000 career points (1,505) and rebounds (1,075) respectively.

Congratulations to one of the best to ever put on an Irish uniform.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 12 Seed – 2008-09 Irish

Fresh off Luke Harangody’s Big East Player of the Year campaign, Notre Dame entered 2008-09 anticipating a big season.

Fresh off Luke Harangody’s Big East Player of the Year campaign, Notre Dame entered 2008-09 anticipating a big season. The national writers agreed, ranking the Irish ninth in the AP preseason poll. At first, the Irish rewarded the writers’ faith with a 9-2 nonconfernce record and a 3-1 start to Big East play. The ranking ascended to as high as seventh.

Unfortunately, the bottom fell out once the tough part of the Big East schedule began as the Irish lost their next seven games, six of them against ranked teams, and the final deficit in each never was closer than seven points. Somehow, the Irish recovered enough to earn an NIT berth, and they made the most of it. They won their first three tournament games in South Bend before falling to Penn State in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. At 21-15, things certainly could have gone a lot worse.

Averaging 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds a game, Harangody broke LaPhonso Ellis’ program record for most double-doubles in a season (25) and became the sixth Notre Dame player to reach 400 rebounds in a season (401). This season was the last for seniors Luke Zeller, Ryan Ayers, Zach Hillesland and Kyle McAlarney, all of whom were key cogs in the rotation for their farewell tour. Tory Jackson was the team’s best passer with 4.9 assists a game to compliment a 10.6 scoring average.