Malik Ellison (born August 17, 1996) is an American 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 for the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park a ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. 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

St. John's Red Storm The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fenci ...

, the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

, and the

Hartford Hawks The Hartford Hawks are the NCAA Division I athletic teams of the University of Hartford, located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Hartford sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's tennis teams were ...

Early life and high school career

Raised in

Voorhees Township, New Jersey Voorhees Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,131, reflecting an inc ...

, Ellison was nicknamed “Missile,” and attended

Life Center Academy Life Center Academy is a private school located in Burlington in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is associated with the Fountain of Life Center, an Assemblies of God church. The Headmaster is Matthew Boudwin, w ...

in Burlington. He missed the beginning of his senior season with a broken tibia, not returning to the court until December 2014. In January 2015, Ellison scored 28 points and tallied in a 60–54 win against

Orangeville Prep The Athlete Institute is an athletic centre located in Mono, Ontario. It is made up of two facilities, the training centre and the fieldhouse. The institute is home to The Orangeville Prep Basketball Academy, who compete in the Ontario Scholastic ...

at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. As a senior, he averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Ellison committed to playing college basketball for St. John's, choosing the Red Storm over offers from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan u ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Xavier and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

College career

Ellison started nine games as a freshman and averaged 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. As a sophomore, Ellison averaged 7.4 points and 2.5 assists per game. He transferred to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

after the season. Ellison made 16 starts as a junior and averaged 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He provided energetic defense on the perimeter but struggled with his shooting, hitting 44.5 percent of his attempts from the floor, and his production declined during

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

play. Following the season, he transferred to

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

as a graduate transfer. Ellison missed the start of his senior season due to a sprained ankle. On January 25, 2020, he scored a career-high 31 points and had 12 rebounds in a 62–48 win over Albany. As a senior, Ellison averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and scored in double figures in all but three games. He was named to the First Team All-

America East The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

as well as receiving NABC All-District 1 honors.

Professional career

On September 29, 2021, Ellison signed his first professional contract with

BC Kolín BC Kolín, for sponsorship reasons known as BK Geosan Kolín, is a Czech professional basketball club based in the town of Kolín. They play in the Czech National Basketball League (NBL), the highest competition in the Czech Republic. Kolín pl ...

of the Czech National Basketball League. In October 2021, he joined the

of the

. In 14 games, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game (.505 FG%, .423 3FG%, .640 FT%). On December 25, 2021, Ellison signed a 10-day contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

but did not appear in a game for the team during this stint. On January 4, 2022, Ellison was reacquired by the

. On September 16, 2022, Ellison signed with the Atlanta Hawks. He was waived on October 9, 2022.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", St. John's , 24 , , 9 , , 21.3 , , .369 , , .318 , , .653 , , 2.5 , , 2.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", St. John's , 33 , , 26 , , 24.8 , , .419 , , .341 , , .595 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , .9 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 16 , , 21.0 , , .445 , , .188 , , .541 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .3 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 23 , , 35.0 , , .514 , , .154 , , .630 , , 9.7 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , 18.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 111 , , 74 , , 25.1 , , .455 , , .304 , , .612 , , 4.6 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .4 , , 9.3

Personal life

Ellison is the son of

Pervis Ellison Pervis Ellison (born April 3, 1967) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Never Nervous Pervis" for his clutch play with the University of Louisville, after leading Louisville to a national championship, El ...

, who was the top pick in the

1989 NBA draft The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn K ...

. His mother Timi, ran track in college. Ellison's sister Aja played basketball at

and helped the team reach the Final Four. Another sister, Seattle, attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

on a track scholarship.

References

External links

Hartford Hawks bioPittsburgh Panthers bioSt. John's Red Storm bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Malik 1996 births Living people American men's basketball players College Park Skyhawks players Hartford Hawks men's basketball players Life Center Academy alumni Sportspeople from Voorhees Township, New Jersey Basketball players from Camden County, New Jersey Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Shooting guards St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players