Cody Gordon Ellis (born 24 April 1990) is an Australian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. After four years of

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Saint Louis Billikens The Saint Louis Billikens are the collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the ...

, Ellis had a five-year stint in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the ...

and

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...

. He also played ten seasons with the

Warwick Senators Warwick Senators is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Stirling Basketball Association (SBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

in the

NBL1 West NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

Early life and career

Ellis was born and raised in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. In 2008 and 2009, he attended the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and played for the program's SEABL team. He was also a member of the Under 19 Australian Emus team that finished fourth at the

2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Maori: 2009 FIBA I-Raro I Te 19 Tau Toa o Te Ao) was the 9th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by the U19 national team ...

College career

Ellis moved to the United States for the 2009–10 college season to play for the

. He missed the first 14 games of the season before being cleared by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and joined the team in January 2010. He played in 22 games with 19 starts and averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He subsequently earned

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

All-Rookie Team honours. As a sophomore in 2010–11, Ellis played in 21 games for the Billikens before suffering a season-ending dislocated shoulder in February 2011. For the season, he averaged 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. As a junior in 2011–12, Ellis managed his first full season while serving as a key sixth man for the Billikens, appearing in every game (34) and coming off the bench in all but one. He averaged 10.1 points per game and led the team with 69 three-pointers made, which tied for the eighth most in a single season at SLU. As a senior in 2012–13, Ellis earned Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year honours. He appeared in all 35 games off the bench, averaging 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He led the team with 62 three-point field goals and was seventh in the A-10 with a .829 free-throw percentage. Ellis ended his career at SLU as one of 27 1,000-point scorers (1,062) in school history, and ranked sixth all-time at SLU in three-pointers made (194) and fourth in attempts (580).

Professional career

NBL

Sydney Kings (2013–2015)

On 13 July 2013, Ellis signed a two-year deal with the

of the National Basketball League. However, his arrival in Sydney was delayed until December 2013 while he completed his studies in business at Saint Louis. He made his debut for the Kings on 3 January 2014 against the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

, and in 16 games during the 2013–14 NBL season, Ellis averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. On 25 March 2014, the Kings took up the second-year option on Ellis two-year contract, re-signing him for the 2014–15 season. He scored a career-high 18 points on 17 January 2015 in an 80–76 loss to the

. He appeared in all 28 games for the Kings in 2014–15, averaging 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Illawarra Hawks (2015–2018)

On 10 August 2015, Ellis signed with the

for the

2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...

. On 17 January 2016, he scored 18 points in the Hawks' 103–96 double-overtime win over the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

. In 29 games for the Hawks in 2015–16, Ellis averaged 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. On 20 April 2016, Ellis re-signed with the Hawks on a two-year deal. He helped the Hawks reach the 2017 NBL Grand Final, where they faced the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

. In game one of the series, Ellis scored a team- and season-high 12 points in an 89–77 loss. The Hawks went on to lose the best-of-five series in three games. Ellis appeared in all 34 games for the Hawks in 2016–17, averaging 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Ellis entered the 2017–18 NBL season eight kilos lighter. However, a bout of chicken pox kept him out of the NBL pre-season blitz. Ellis started the 2017–18 season out of the rotation after management at the Hawks sent down the edict to the coaching staff that he wasn't to play. Eventually he hit the floor and finished the season strongly. In 20 games for the Hawks in 2017–18, he averaged 6.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. In September 2018, Ellis joined the

as a pre-season injury replacement for

Lucas Walker Lucas Walker (born 6 December 1984) is an Australian basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL1 East. He played 10 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 2010 and 2020. He played college basketball for Montana State ...

SBL / NBL1 West

Stirling/Warwick Senators (2014–2023)

Every year between 2014 and 2023, Ellis played for the

in the

State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

(SBL) /

. Known as the Stirling Senators when he first joined the club, Ellis played in the SBL during the NBL off-seasons before continuing in the league following his NBL tenure. Ellis' first three seasons in the SBL saw him average over 22 points per game. With the league's change from 48-minute games to 40-minute games in 2017, his scoring average dropped to 17 per game, which then dropped to 14.5 and 13.4 in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the 2020 SBL season was cancelled. Ellis later joined the Senators in July 2020 for the West Coast Classic. He helped Warwick reach the grand final of the West Coast Classic, where they defeated the

Perry Lakes Hawks Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball org ...

96–81 to earn the Senators their first ever title. In 13 games, he averaged 14.69 points, 4.62 rebounds and 5.08 assists per game. In December 2020, Ellis re-signed with the Senators for the 2021 NBL1 West season. In 23 games, he averaged 17.17 points, 5.65 rebounds, 4.47 assists and 1.82 steals per game. In December 2021, Ellis re-signed with the Senators for the 2022 NBL1 West season. He was limited to 15 games in 2022 due to a knee injury, averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.07 assists, 1.27 steals and 1.07 blocks per game. In January 2023, Ellis re-signed with the Senators for the 2023 NBL1 West season. In May 2023, he played his 200th SBL/NBL1 game. In 20 games, he averaged 15.85 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.15 steals per game. In August 2023, Ellis announced his retirement from basketball.

National team career

In June 2013, Ellis was selected in the Australian squad for the Stanković Cup in China and the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

in Russia, where he won gold and silver respectively.

Personal life

Ellis is the son of retired

legend, Mike Ellis. Ellis and his wife, Lauren, have a son.

References

External links

Illawarra Hawks player profileSaint Louis player bioCody and Mike Ellis talk basketball and the NBLMike Ellis proud of son but bewildered no NBL spot for Cody
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Cody 1990 births Living people Australian men's basketball players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Illawarra Hawks players Power forwards (basketball) Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball players Sydney Kings players Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for Australia Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Basketball players from Perth, Western Australia Sportsmen from Western Australia