Boogie down to final season and he's making most of it
About 20 minutes after practice, most of USC's men's basketball players have headed to the locker room. But guard Boogie Ellis rises from the bench and walks out to the basket at the Galen Center.
While his teammates got up a few extra shots after being dismissed by head coach Andy Enfield, the senior Ellis sat on the baseline, watching and gathering his breath as he nurses a cold. The crowd now dispersed and his legs rested, Ellis rises and grabs a black weighted basketball to work on his floater. When he realizes reporters are waiting for him, the USC captain hurries to the sideline, conducts two interviews, then returns to work.
Each time Ellis has been asked for the secret to his improvements from his first year at USC as a junior to now, he turns to these moments. The hours on the court. The hours dissecting film.
The results have been apparent. Even if you ignore his career highs in most statistical categories, the eye test shows Ellis playing at a high level, making the right decisions with the ball in his hands. He's evolved from a combo guard to a
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true point guard, seemingly in the span of four months.
“Boogie's matured. He's very focused. He's a great leader, he's really good with his teammates,” Enfield said. “He's a totally different player and person than he was last year when he first got here.”
Ellis transferred to USC after two seasons at Memphis. He was renowned as a scorer, with a variety of offensive moves, reminiscent of the dancing ability he showed as a young baby named Rejean that led his uncle to nickname him “Boogie.”
The Trojans were just coming off an Elite Eight berth when Ellis arrived, and he joined a team with a set identity.
“I always got along with the guys,” Ellis said. “It was just more about me trying to figure out what my role was going to be.”
He settled into the role of the two guard, replacing the offensive production USC lost with the graduation of Tahj Eaddy. Ethan Anderson, Drew Peterson and Isaiah Mobley did much of the playmaking for the Trojans, while Ellis was responsible for scoring when the ball got in his hand.
But after he opted to return to school as a senior after declaring for the NBA draft, Ellis knew his job description had changed. Mobley was off to the pros. Anderson had transferred. And USC was unable to add a point guard via the transfer portal.
Ellis would have to be relied upon to initiate offense not just for himself, but his teammates.
“I've always been able to score my whole career,” Ellis said. “But talking to my brother, it felt like that was an area I could improve this season.”
Ellis' brother Vince has served as his lifelong trainer and coach. The pair spent much of the summer watching film of NBA point guards like Chris Paul, looking for techniques and philosophies to guide Ellis' decision making. The work carried over to the season, with Ellis also spending time in the film room with USC assistants Chris Capko and Jay Morris.
The work was apparent to the outside world immediately, but Ellis began to hit his stride in late January. He had 19 assists to five turnovers in a four-game winning stretch, including an upset over UCLA in which Ellis tied his career high with six assists and no turnovers.
And with the improved passing, Ellis has been able to elevate his already-potent scoring, too. He set a careerhigh in scoring (33) and assists (seven) in the same game last month. He broke that scoring mark in Thursday's loss to Arizona, with 35 points as he made 6 of 11 3-pointers while attacking the rim with no regard for his own body, throwing himself into defenders and finishing through fouls.
“Before, he really struggled with decision making,” Enfield said. “He's making the right read, he's scoring at a high level, he's putting pressure on the defense.”
Today is senior night at Galen Center. Ellis technically has one year of eligibility left due to playing in the COVID-19 season of 2020-21, but most around USC expect Arizona State to be his final game at the Galen Center, alongside cocaptain Peterson.
Ellis' NBA dreams beckon. And they are closer to fruition than when he started his work this summer, playing alongside LeBron James in the Drew League.
“To be able to be on the court with DeMar DeRozan, LeBron, it was really inspiring,” Ellis said. “Hopefully, I get the chance to be on the court with them again.”