It's official.........Monta is gone....

[Greenhead22]

May 10, 2005

Monta Ellis hires agent, to stay in NBA draft

By Todd Kelly
tkelly@clarionledger.com

It's official.

Lanier basketball star Monta Ellis has signed with an agent and will remain in the NBA draft, his mother, Rosa, confirmed today.

Ellis, who was considered the nation's top player in the Class of 2005 by some recruiting analysts, signed a national letter of intent with Mississippi State University last November.

However, his decision to hire an agent makes him ineligible to play college basketball.

Rosa Ellis indicated last month that Monta would wait until June before deciding whether to get an agent, thus leaving the door open to withdraw his name from the draft by the June 21 deadline and attend MSU.

Instead, Ellis, a 6-foot-3 guard and Mississippi's Mr. Basketball this season, signed with New York-based agent Andy Miller, who represents several NBA stars including Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"That's what Monta wanted to do," Rosa Ellis said. "It was his choice. He was adamant about it."

Rosa Ellis said she hasn't spoken with MSU coach Rick Stansbury "in a couple weeks." Stansbury said last week the possibility remained Ellis might play for the Bulldogs next season.

"He just wanted to Monta do what's best for his family," Rosa Ellis said.

The NBA draft is scheduled for June 28. Ellis is the third Mississippi high school senior to declare for the draft in three years, following Travis Outlaw of Starkville and Al Jefferson of Prentiss. Both were first-round picks who received guaranteed three-year contracts worth more than $2 million.

Lanier coach Thomas Billups expects Ellis to also be a first-round pick.

"I figured if Monta put his name in the draft he was going to stay in it," Billups said. "He said this was the best choice for him and his family. So I support him."

Monta Ellis could not be reached for comment.

— MORE DETAILS AS THEY DEVELOP AND TOMORROW IN PRINT AND ONLINE EDITIONS

[webbmaster]

What a tough decision for the kid: the NBA or Starkville.

[Greenhead22]

At least we've had recruits in recent yrs good enough to go straight to the pros, unlike Bummer.

[webbmaster]

At least we've had recruits in recent yrs good enough to go straight to the pros, unlike Bummer.

Yep. Thats something you can hang your hat on! Where do you guys get this type of logic?

"The best team that never was."

How many former bulldog players are in the NBA now?.....Cuz I only see one.

What a win streak for Bama
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Former University of Alabama basketball coach Wimp Sanderson delivered one of the all-time great lines concerning graduation rates among college athletes.

When he was once asked how many of his players graduated, Sanderson replied: "Every one that wanted to."

If you don't think Sanderson spoke the truth then you've never been to one of the academic centers designed specially for athletes or talked with one of the student advisors/tutors employed for the sole purpose of assisting athletes. Most students would be envious of the academic advantages provided to student-athletes in an effort to help them remain athletically eligible or even excel in the classroom.

It's true that most fans -- and more than a few coaches -- are only interested in the "remain eligible" part of that equation. But the attitude of treating academic progress as a necessary annoyance in running a successful college sports program is not pervasive in today's big-time sports culture. Otherwise, how to explain what Mark Gottfried has accomplished since becoming head coach at Alabama?

Two Crimson Tide senior basketball players, Lucky Williams and Jason Reese, graduated Saturday night. There would have been three, but the third Alabama senior -- All-SEC guard Earnest Shelton -- graduated in December.

For many programs, actually graduating three seniors in one class would be the equivalent of winning three straight national championships. But that's not true everywhere.

At Alabama, Williams, Reese and Shelton are just the latest in a line of 17 straight Tide basketball seniors who have actually graduated. In other words, if you're committed enough to stay four or five years in the Alabama program, you will graduate.

That list includes Jeremy Hays (2000), Alfred Moss (2000), Tarik London (2001), Doc Martin (2001), Jim Bakken (2001), Solomon Davis (2002), Travis Stinnett (2002), Terrance Meade (2003), Kenny Walker (2003), Erwin Dudley (2003), Demetrius Smith (2004), Reggie Rambo (2004), Emmett Thomas (2004), Antoine Pettway (2004), Shelton, Williams and Reese.

Among that group are some all-stars -- Dudley was the SEC Player of the Year -- some walk-ons who seldom saw game action and every level of contributor in between. More importantly, there are students such as Stinnett and Meade who would have been successful in any environment, and those who weren't considered slam-dunk future college graduates when they arrived in Tuscaloosa.

The list does not include the likes of Rod Grizzard, Gerald Wallace or Kennedy Winston, who decided to leave college early to enter the NBA draft. It's hard to argue that any of those players weren't equipped to enter the work force after leaving the program, even if Grizzard has bounced around as a basketball nomad after suffering an injury.

The point is, the next time you're tempted to cry about the many ills associated with today's big-time college athletics, remember that every student-athlete who wants to graduate does graduate. And, at least when it comes to Alabama basketball players, that includes the last 17 seniors.

[Greenhead22]

MSU has the 2nd highest graduation rate in the SEC, behind Vanderbilt. Where's Bummer in that list?

[webbmaster]

Where's Bummer in that list?

I don't know, where is the "list" you speak of?

When all else fails, just change the topic with a broad based statement ...and don't use a source!

[Greenhead22]

You've been changing topics all day. What makes you any different from me?

[webbmaster]

I've only changed one topic....and it really wasn't too far off.

Shouldn't you be looking up that source?

[Greenhead22]

I don't have the time to go searching through archives to find it....I read it....remembered it......and posted it.

Vandy was at 75% I believe, MSU was 70.3%, from last yrs report.

[webbmaster]

Whatever....

What exactly are you talking about anyways? Athletes, basketball, under graduates, etc ???

Who cares? Espectially if it was last years report. Why do you guys live in the past so much?

Lets get back to more intersesting stuff. You think Monta will go before Kennedy Winston?

[Greenhead22]

Why do we live in the past?

Alabama is the only place I know of that still lives off the Bear.....for over 30 yrs now.

Do I believe Ellis goes before Winston? Yes.

I'm talking the entire athletic department as a whole.

[webbmaster]

[insert "Bear Bryant - maggot - 30 years joke" here]

As I have said a million times....I only live off what I have witnessed while on this earth. Hell, I''ll even reduce it to what I have witnessed since I enrolled in 1988. How does that stack up in comparison to you?

Monta before Kennedy? Thats funny.
Where will M$U put its trophy if thats the case?

Heck, where is the trophy located for highest graduation rate amongst athletes last year?

I thought we were talking about basketball? Oh the hell with it!

[mudsucker]

[insert "Bear Bryant - maggot - 30 years joke" here]

As I have said a million times....I only live off what I have witnessed while on this earth. Hell, I''ll even reduce it to what I have witnessed since I enrolled in 1988. How does that stack up in comparison to you?

Monta before Kennedy? Thats funny.
Where will M$U put its trophy if thats the case?

Heck, where is the trophy located for highest graduation rate amongst athletes last year?

I thought we were talking about basketball? Oh the hell with it!

Since you enroled in 1988! You still there? Or is it just in your mind?

[bigwater]

weedmaster..

let me address your question about who will go first monta of winston???

i'm not sure!!!! the reason i'm not sure is because of the way the nba evaulates potential...

while winston is the more proven player, monta may have more upside in the eyes of the nba... after playing in college for a couple of years the scouts know your strengths and your weakness.. kinda of a double edged sword.. no-one wants to miss out on the next superstar...

i think what i'm trying to say is that the nba will draft you on potential and upside as quickly as they draft a proven college player..

[webbmaster]

I agree with that for the most part. But if you ask the Washington Wizards, they may tell you different. ----> Kwame Brown. More and more teams are starting to feel the reprucusions of an unproven player. Although, players like Garnett and Lebron James are the exception.

I don' think you are guaranteed a dime if you are a second round pick. I'd be a little worried if I were Ellis.

In a related story...
Look at what this jacka$$'s dad had to say. Basically calling out the schools basketball program.

Douglas' dad rips AU's Lebo
Star freshman, who will explore NBA options but is leaving open his return to school, had no support and is too good to be kept from playing point guard, father says
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
By EVAN WOODBERY
Sports Reporter
AUBURN -- At times on Tuesday, Toney Douglas sounded like he planned to return to Auburn next basketball season.

At other moments during his press conference at Beard-Eaves Coliseum, he seemed convinced he would be playing in the NBA.

But much of the time, he simply deferred to his father, Harry Douglas, and allowed him to do the talking. And Harry Douglas did plenty of talking.

"No disrespect to players who played previously at Auburn," Harry Douglas said, "but I think (Toney) is the best player to land on this plain since Charles Barkley."

That optimism has convinced the Douglas family that Toney, a freshman All-American guard last season, is ready to play in the NBA.

Toney Douglas made his decision official in a press conference Tuesday, but he has not signed with an agent and has until June 21 to withdraw from the NBA draft, which is June 28 at Madison Square Garden.

Douglas plans to work out for teams at the pre-draft camp in Chicago June 7-10. If feedback from the NBA suggests he won't be a first-round pick, Douglas said he would return to Auburn for his sophomore season.

At 6-foot-1, Douglas' future in professional basketball is at point guard. But because of Auburn's unusually small roster, Douglas played mostly as a shooting guard last season.

That clearly rankled Harry Douglas, who sat beside his wife, Toney and his two other children at the press conference.

"(Toney) came in as a highly recruited kid by the previous regime (ex-coach Cliff Ellis)," Harry Douglas said. "He came here to play point guard. He's nothing else but a point guard. He's not a shooting guard."

His father also said that Toney didn't have enough "support" at Auburn.

"Can you imagine what kind of kid he would be with support around him?" Harry Douglas asked. "I think Toney underachieved some things this year in college basketball -- simply because he wasn't given the opportunity to do the things he could have done. We'll never know what he could have done as a freshman."

According to Harry Douglas, part of that unrealized potential was due to coach Jeff Lebo's decision to play him at shooting guard last season. The veiled criticism of the coach made for some awkward moments, as Lebo watched from the back of the room Tuesday.

"There's still some things coach Jeff and I need to talk about and iron out," Harry Douglas said. "Hopefully, we can come to that conclusion. I want what's best for my son. He's given a lot to this university. This university has given a lot to him."

If Douglas returns, Lebo said he would play more at point guard, although not exclusively.

"He can play either position -- that's what makes him good, I think," Lebo said. "He didn't play as much point last year, because our hands were a little tied with the numbers that we had. But that's where he's going to have to play at the next level. He'll play (point) for me next year, a lot more than he did this year."

Now the only question is whether there will be a next year.

Toney Douglas said his father had prepared a bio and was "marketing" him to NBA teams. And the youngster made it clear that he planned to be drafted early, despite the fact that most draft experts project him as a second-round pick at best.

"Throughout my whole life I've had to prove everything," Toney Douglas said. "I just want to show that I can compete against the best. I love competition and I like my chances."

"but I think (Toney) is the best player to land on this plain since Charles Barkley."