Joseph Franklin Ellis (born May 3, 1944) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played eight seasons in the NBA for the

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

(first in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

then in Oakland). He played

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

San Francisco Dons The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF). The Dons compete in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC), of ...

High school career

Ellis attended

McClymonds High School McClymonds High School is a public high school in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States. In addition to being the third oldest high school in Oakland, it is the only comprehensive high school in West Oakland, opera ...

in Oakland, from 1960–1962 he was a member of three Tournament of Champions teams. He made the All Tournament Team in both his varsity years and in his senior year was named the All Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was also selected to the All City Teams and in 1962 was named the Northern California Player of the year.

College career

Ellis stayed in state for his collegiate career, joining the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

. He played for the Dons from 1963 to 1966, being part of First Team All Conference teams each year. He was named Northern California Player of the Year and also received an All American honorable mention. He was one of four juniors chosen in 1965 to represent the United States in the World University Games. Scoring 1,120 points for the team (third all-time best) he was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1973 and named one of 75 "Legends of the Hilltop" in 2006 for the 150th anniversary of the university. In 2020, USF retired Ellis' number 31.

Professional career

Ellis was selected by the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1 ...

in the second round (13th pick overall) of the 1966 NBA draft. He played eight seasons in the NBA for his hometown club (who relocated to Oakland in 1971), posting 4,825 points at an average of 8.6 per game (and 5.0 rebounds per game). He held double-figure scoring averages in three successive seasons, including averages of 15.8 points per game during the 1969–70 season. He played for the Belgium Lions of the European Professional Basketball League in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Joseph 1944 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oakland, California Golden State Warriors players San Francisco Dons men's basketball players San Francisco Warriors draft picks San Francisco Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards McClymonds High School alumni