Inspiring Legacy

Exeter grad left lasting impression on Reading High and Fleetwood basketball programs

What Rick Perez thought about first, before the funny and heartwarming stories, was Brian Ellison’s eye for talent.

Ellison was always searching. He was always hoping to unearth Reading High’s next basketball gem.

“He saw something in people that they didn’t see,” Perez said. “He was adamant about it. When it came to fruition, it was beautiful.”

Perez should know. He was one of those discoveries.

Ellison, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a fall in February 2011, died last month at age 48. He left an imprint at Reading and a feeling of wonder about what could have been at Fleetwood.

Perez and Ellison met in 2002, when Reading’s coach of the future was running drills with kids at Olivet Boys and Girls Club. Perez admitted he didn’t really know what he was doing back then.

Ellison saw something in the young man. He told Perez he should coach.

“Get out of here,” Perez answered. “I’m not coaching.”

Perez became one of Reading’s assistants, alongside Ellison, the following year. They were on Richard Reyes’ staff.

The friendship blossomed through pickup games at Olivet’s on Clinton Street. The matchups were fierce as players from

Reading’s past and present found their way onto the same court.

James Bryant. Roger Hall. Kevin Haynes. So many others showed up. Ellison organized it.

“If he gave you the invite, you were in a good place,” Perez said. “It was fiery to say the least. If you were outside the gym, you’d think there was a fullfledged fight in there.”

Ellison played at Exeter and Penn State Berks. He was a 5-10 point guard remembered as a valued teammate because of his upbeat personality.

Terry McElhattan, Exeter’s former coach, knew he could always count on Ellison to bring intensity to the floor. He played on the teams from the late 1980s, which were highlighted by Greg Metz, a 1,000-point scorer.

“Brian was a great kid,” McElhattan said. “Energetic as hell. Any time you put him in a game he only knew one speed. That was 100%. Maybe 110. He was very humorous and always in good spirits. He was a good team player because he was always jovial.”

The trash talking at those Reading pickup games was legendary, maybe more memorable than the results. They’d play until 1 a.m. some nights and they’d turn the court into a sweat lodge.

Perez and Ellison talked hoops for hours after practices ended. They were kindred spirits when it came to basketball.

Reading won the district title in 2004, ending a 21year drought, and in 2008 under Reyes. Perez said Ellison

was instrumental in putting the program back on a familiar perch.

“Brian brought kids from all over the city,” Perez said. “He made them believe they could play Reading High basketball. That they were good enough. He made the guys who thought they were Reading High’s finest very uncomfortable. Anybody’s spot could be taken. You’re the best? You better be ready to prove it every day.”

Ellison was given his only chance to be a varsity coach at Fleetwood in 2010. He brought Brian Benkert, another assistant on Reyes’ staff, with him.

Fleetwood wasn’t exactly a coveted job. Soccer will always be king in that town. Ellison believed he could win there. He believed he could win anywhere. That was his nature.

More than anything, he was thrilled to have the opportunity. It was a dream come true.

“There was constant excitement about getting his own program,” Benkert said. “About being able to take the knowledge he had

and being able to pour it into the kids. It was always about the players, how he could develop them and pass that passion along.”

Benkert said Ellison got rid of his two-door sedan in favor of an SUV so he’d have a car large enough to transport players to summer league games.

Ellison was focused on the long haul. He identified five freshmen who could be pillars of Fleetwood’s rebuild and put them together on the JV team. The new coach was all-in.

Fleetwood went 3-18 that first season, the only one Ellison coached there before his accident. He fell down a flight of stairs and suffered life-changing injuries a week before that season ended.

When Benkert visited Ellison at the hospital, all he wanted to talk about was his team.

“The first thing out of his mouth was, ‘We need to keep this program going,’” Benkert said. “You’re talking about a guy who’s laid up in a hospital bed. We have no idea about his

health and the future of his body. And he’s asking, ‘Do we have practice today?’ That was one of his biggest concerns.”

Ellison coached from a wheelchair the following season. Fleetwood went 3-18 again. It didn’t win a league game again. Ellison was named Berks II Coach of the Year as a tribute to his perseverance.

The seeds for the rebuild were planted. That freshman class, with Brian Schumacher, Clay Weidemoyer, Kyle Flannery and others, won 13 games as seniors.

Ellison stopped coaching in 2012. He didn’t get to see his Fleetwood project through to the finish.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’d still be there today,” Benkert said. “One of the biggest things was having that conversation with him. Saying, ‘You need to take a step back so you can concentrate on you.’ His health was on the decline because he was pushing so much.”

Perez and Ellison talked occasionally during his final years. Always before

READING EAGLE

The late Brian Ellison coached the Fleetwood boys basketball team from a wheelchair in 2011-12following a accident that left him paralyzed.

North Carolina played Duke. Always before Reading began its playoff runs.

The conversations often left Perez and assistant Matt Flowers in tears.

“You could feel his passion and his desire to be out there,” Perez said. “He always called at the most timely moments.”

Perez has been Reading’s varsity coach since 2011. He helped bring the elusive PIAA championship to the Geigle six years later. Ellison made Perez a coach. Perez made history.

Despite all of his success, and his undeniable place in Red Knights lore, Perez feels like he’s occupying a chair that was meant for Ellison.

He was the man who could see in others what they didn’t see in themselves. He was the guru.

“I was not to be the next Reading High basketball coach,” Perez said. “It was to be Brian. I think about him every day. The stories I share with all of our kids, it stems from him. He was the guy. He was the foundation.”