Corey Williams
July 23, 2020
Rosell Ellis
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 19/02/75
- Place of Birth: Seattle, Washington (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 199
- Weight (KG): 106
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: USU Eastern / College of Eastern Utah (1993–1995) / McNeese State (1995–1997)
- NBL DEBUT: 10/10/04
- AGE AT DEBUT: 29
- LAST NBL GAME: 17/04/11
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 36
- NBL History: Perth 2005 | South 2007-08 | Townsville 2011
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Rosell Ellis was born in Seattle, Washington (USA) and played high school basketball at Rainier Beach High School.
He was named Washington State MVP for 1992/93 season.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Rosell Ellis made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 29 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
Mike Ellis was replaced as coach by another former player, Scott Fisher prior to the 2004/05 season. In addition, co-owner Luc Longley relinquished his majority share of the Wildcats in April 2004, leaving Andrew Vlahov as the sole owner of the franchise.
After Perth’s leading scorer James Harvey chose to play overseas (Israel) this season, Perth were then forced to rebuild. Tony Ronaldson, Matthew Burston, Liam Rush, Ricky Grace (captain) and Rashad Tucker, who had broken every triple-double record the season prior, all returned from the previous season but lost their leading scorer James Harvey to a lucrative contract overseas (Israel). Perth brought in Townsville product Peter Crawford to fill the scoring void left by Harvey and, looking for ways to bolster the frontcourt, signed import Jaron Brown, who wasn’t a great fit and was replaced by Rosell Ellis before the season started. Matthew Shanahan (via Wollongong), Braith Cox (via state league) and Adrian Majstrovich (via NZNBL) were all later added to round out the team’s second unit.
with the Wildcats leading scorer James Harvey opting to play overseas (Israel), the team were then forced to re-tool. Perth signed Townsville product Peter Crawford to fill the scoring void left by Harvey and then signed import Jaron Brown, before releasing him prior to the season kicking on and replacing him with Ellis to help in both the power forward and small forward spots. The team then re-signed star import Rashad Tucker, who had broken every triple-double record the season prior, and saw captain Ricky Grace, Tony Ronaldson, Matthew Burston and up and coming talent Liam Rush return. The team then rounded out the bench, signing Adrian Majstrovich, Matthew Shanahan and Braith Cox.
The Wildcats’ season started out hot, defeating Harvey and the Razorbacks in their opening game (120–97), adding a home win against Cairns in round two (110–93) and then two easy wins over both Hunter (85-72) and Townsville (108–101) to start the season 4-0.
Tucker (17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals) was player of the week in round one, and was putting up impressive numbers once again but concerns around his attitude resulted in Perth sacking him by round nine.
‘After a promising start to the season, Rashad’s form and attitude has become a growing concern .. He has lost the confidence of his teammates and coaching staff and we believe he is a liability in our attempt to achieve our team goals’ said Scott Fisher at the time..
The Wildcats then replaced Tucker with Ontario Lett as a means to fill the gap left by a season ending injury to centre Matt Burston (14.8 points and 6 rebounds), who managed to play in only 8 games. Tucker would land on his feet, knocking back offers from Brisbane and Townsville to sign a deal to play with Melbourne shortly after.
Shortly after, media reports suggested that Tucker’s attitude and behaviour were overblown and a result of Fisher wanting to replace one of the team’s imports with Lett and after Rosell Ellis, who was originally destined for the chop, exploded with a 38 point and 15 rebound effort against Townsville, the axe was swung on Tucker.
In either situation, the move failed to improve the team’s win/loss record. With the team struggling to win on the road again, they finished in seventh place (17-15) record for the second consecutive season.
Rosell Ellis (17.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game) collected the Wildcat’s MVP award after he finished as the Wildcat’s leading scorer and rebounder, as well as being the league’s most effective scorer, shooting 61% from the floor. Peter Crawford (15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 assists) impressed during his first year in Perth and collected the NBL Most Improved Player award at the season’s end. Ellis finished the season with averages of 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.
The 2004/05 season saw the end of a era as captain Ricky Grace played his last game of his career with the Wildcats on 24 February 2005. Grace retired as a four-time NBL champion and a 15-year member of the Wildcats.
2010/11
Replaced Townsville import Gabe Freeman 11 games into the season.
Rosell Ellis played five seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Perth Wildcats, South Dragons and Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 15.1 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists in 111 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 36 | Townsville | 17-11 (2) | 18 | 380.0 | 115 | 98 | 22 | 41 | 57 | 23 | 6 | 27 | 37 | 42 | 94 | 45% | 1 | 4 | 25% | 30 | 65 | 46% | 46% | 45% | 14 |
| 2008-09 | 34 | Townsville | 17-13 (6) | 34 | 1,234.0 | 485 | 302 | 81 | 96 | 206 | 61 | 16 | 65 | 106 | 198 | 364 | 54% | 1 | 2 | 50% | 88 | 175 | 50% | 54% | 55% | 25 |
| 2007-08 | 33 | Townsville | 17-13 (5) | 2 | 77.0 | 57 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 28 | 36 | 78% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 8 | 13% | 72% | 78% | 30 |
| 2006-07 | 32 | South | 15-18 (7) | 28 | 1,023.0 | 511 | 319 | 40 | 124 | 195 | 38 | 30 | 54 | 93 | 216 | 387 | 56% | 21 | 68 | 31% | 78 | 164 | 48% | 55% | 59% | 31 |
| 2004-05 | 30 | Perth | 17-15 (7) | 29 | 959.0 | 516 | 279 | 79 | 99 | 180 | 58 | 26 | 70 | 91 | 233 | 380 | 61% | 1 | 5 | 20% | 49 | 107 | 46% | 60% | 61% | 38 | Totals | 111 | 3673 | 1684 | 1007 | 228 | 363 | 644 | 185 | 78 | 221 | 333 | 717 | 1261 | 56.9% | 24 | 79 | 30.4% | 246 | 519 | 47.4% | 57% | 58% | 38 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 36 | Townsville | 17-11 (2) | 18 | 21.1 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 5.2 | 45% | 0.1 | 0.2 | 25% | 1.7 | 3.6 | 46% | 46% | 45% | 14 |
| 2008-09 | 34 | Townsville | 17-13 (6) | 34 | 36.3 | 14.3 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 5.8 | 10.7 | 54% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 50% | 2.6 | 5.1 | 50% | 54% | 55% | 25 |
| 2007-08 | 33 | Townsville | 17-13 (5) | 2 | 38.5 | 28.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 14.0 | 18.0 | 78% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.5 | 4.0 | 13% | 72% | 78% | 30 |
| 2006-07 | 32 | South | 15-18 (7) | 28 | 36.5 | 18.3 | 11.4 | 1.4 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 13.8 | 56% | 0.8 | 2.4 | 31% | 2.8 | 5.9 | 48% | 55% | 59% | 31 |
| 2004-05 | 30 | Perth | 17-15 (7) | 29 | 33.1 | 17.8 | 9.6 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 8.0 | 13.1 | 61% | 0.0 | 0.2 | 20% | 1.7 | 3.7 | 46% | 60% | 61% | 38 | Total | 111 | 33.1 | 15.2 | 9.1 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 11.4 | 56.9% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 30.4% | 0.2 | 0.7 | 47.4% | 57% | 58% | 38 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 38 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Argentina - Deportivo Roca (1997) | Philippines - Pop Cola Panthers (2001), Coca-Cola Tigers (2002), Barangay Ginebra Kings (2003, 2004), Alaska Aces (2007, 2009) | Indonesia - ASPAC Hewlett-Packard Jakarta (2003–2004) | Venezuela - Cocodrilos de Caracas (2006) | Saudi Arabia - Al Ittihad (2009–2010)
Ellis joined Deportivo Roca for the 1997 season, playing his first season in Argentina.
Ellis joined the Pop Cola Panthers for the 2001 Philippine Basketball Association season, and across 20 games he totaled 616 points for a 30.8 points per game average with a single-game high of 46, while also recording 267 rebounds and 79 assists for the Panthers.
He moved to the Coca-Cola Tigers for the 2002 Philippine Basketball Association season, continuing his PBA stint as an import before later returning to the league with Barangay Ginebra Kings in 2003 and again in 2004.
In the 2003–2004 period, Ellis played in Indonesia with ASPAC Hewlett-Packard Jakarta, and in the 2003 Asia Champions Cup he posted a 21-point, 20-rebound line in a game for Hewlett-Packard Aspac alongside teammates Denny Sumargo, Ikenna Nwankwo, Riko Hantono, and Mario Wuysang.
Ellis later suited up in Venezuela with Cocodrilos de Caracas during 2006 before returning to the Philippines, where he joined the Alaska Aces for the 2007 PBA Fiesta Conference and won the conference title while also earning Best Import of the Conference, playing that championship run alongside Aces teammates Mike Cortez, Willie Miller, Jeffrey Cariaso, Sonny Thoss, John Ferriols, Reynel Hugnatan, and Nic Belasco under head coach Tim Cone.
After another PBA stint with Alaska in 2009, Ellis joined Al Ittihad for the 2009–2010 season in Saudi Arabia, and in one documented Saudi Basketball League result he scored 18 points in a 73–68 win in a game where Jabber Al Kutbri also finished with 18 for Ittihad.
COLLEGE
Ellis played college basketball at USU Eastern (the College of Eastern Utah) from 1993–1995 before transferring to McNeese State, where he competed in NCAA Division I from 1995–1997.
At USU Eastern, he finished his two-year stint with 1,023 career points, which sits on the program’s career scoring list, and he also totaled 646 career rebounds, placing him among the school’s top career rebounders.
Over that same USU Eastern span, Ellis recorded 126 career steals, which ranks second on the program’s career steals list behind Kenneth Pratt (134).
He moved to McNeese State in 1995 for his junior and senior seasons in the Southland Conference under head coach Ron Everhart.
In 1995–96 at McNeese State, he averaged 13.2 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game while adding 2.1 assists per game, as the Cowboys finished 15–12 overall and 11–7 in Southland play.
In 1996–97, Ellis elevated to 18.5 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, and 3.9 assists per game while McNeese State went 18–12 overall and 10–6 in conference play to finish first in the Southland regular-season standings.
That senior season included 555 total points across 30 games for an 18.5 scoring average, which is recorded in McNeese’s season scoring list for 1996–97.
During 1996–97, he shot 66.8% from the field, matching the “almost 67 percent” figure widely cited for his senior year efficiency.
His 66.77% field-goal mark (.6677) from 1996–97 is also listed among the national single-season field-goal percentage leaders.
Across his McNeese State career (1995–96 to 1996–97), he is listed as the program’s leader in steals per game at 2.2.
Ellis was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 1997 and was a First-team All-Southland selection that same year.
He was also one of McNeese State’s representatives on the Southland Conference’s men’s basketball All-1990s team, alongside fellow McNeese honouree Demond Mallet from a later era.
From 1993–1995, he played college basketball at the College of Eastern Utah.
In 1995, he then moved to McNeese State of the NCAA Division I for his junior and senior years.
During his senior year at McNeese State, Ellis averaged 18.5 points per game on almost 67 percent shooting.
AWARDS
- 1x All-NBL Third Team
- 1x NBL Leading Rebounder
- 1x NBL Steals Leader
Related
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