Perry Michael Ellis (born September 14, 1993) 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

Cholet Basket Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the French League. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 19 ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. Ellis 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

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

. Playing for coach

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, a position he has held since 2003. During his 19 seasons as head coach, he has led the Jayhawks to ...

, Ellis averaged 12.5 points and 5.8 rebounds over 144 college games, leading the Jayhawks to an 116–30 record that included 4 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Elite Eight during the 2015–2016 season.

Early life

Ellis began playing basketball in first grade, and measured 6'1" in sixth grade. He attended

Wichita Heights High School Wichita Heights High School, known locally as Heights, is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district and serves students in grades 9 to 12. The school principal is Eric Filippi. ...

. He led Wichita Heights to four state titles, was named

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

player of the year four times, and recorded a cumulative 2,231 points and 984 rebounds during his prep career. Academically, Ellis maintained a 4.0 GPA and was named valedictorian of his high school class. He was selected as a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

after his senior season in 2012.

College career

Ellis scored a career-high 32 points on February 15, 2014 in a 95–65 victory over TCU. He contributed eight rebounds to go along with his 13-of-15 shooting. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Ellis scored more than 20 points in eight games that year. In July, he participated in the LeBron James Skills Academy. In his junior season, Ellis led Kansas in scoring and rebounding with 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He shot 45.7 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from behind the arc. Ellis was named to the First Team All-Big 12. He sprained his knee in a late-season game against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, derailing his season. Ellis considered entering the 2015 NBA draft after the season, but decided to return for his senior year after being told he would be selected in the second round. With him coming back to the Jayhawks in his senior year, he contributed with 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He shot 53.3 percent from the field, and 44.4 percent behind the arc. He was also named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

on February 11, 2016. During his time at Kansas, Ellis was a consensus second-team All-American pick his senior year and was

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its fo ...

men's basketball scholar-athlete of the year for his junior and senior years.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Ellis joined the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. On September 23, 2016, he signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, but was waived on October 22 after appearing in one preseason game. On October 31, 2016, he was acquired by the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

of the

NBA Development 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 ...

as an affiliate player of the Hornets. Ellis appeared in all 50 games for Greensboro in 2016–17, averaging 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. On May 19, 2017, Ellis signed 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 ...

of the Australian National Basketball League for the 2017–18 season. In July 2017, he played for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

during the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

. In 27 games for the Kings, he averaged 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. On February 25, 2018, Ellis signed with

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA). He inked with the German team s.Oliver Würzburg on July 17, 2018. On January 23, 2019, he signed with İstanbul BB of the

Turkish Basketball Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

. In July 2019, Ellis injured his right knee while playing in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 201 ...

for Self Made, a team of Kansas alumni. Ellis received surgery to repair his patellar tendon and spent 2019 rehabbing with plans of resuming his professional career. During his rehab, Ellis joined Bill Self's staff at Kansas as a video coordinator. He had a contract with

Osaka Evessa is a professional basketball team playing in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The team is operated by the Human Group Sports Entertainment Company. The team is named after Ebisu. In July 2015 it was announced ...

in Japan, but because of the injury, the contract was voided. On July 8, 2020, Ellis signed with

Ehime Orange Vikings The are a professional basketball team based in Matsuyama, Ehime, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, that will compete in the second division of the B.League, a new league that will commence in September 2016. The team was founded in 2005 as the Oita He ...

in Japan. Ellis averaged 18.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 47 games for the Vikings. He hit 51.9% of his shots, including 43.7% from three-point range.Bedore, Gary
Former KU forward Perry Ellis switches teams in Japan, will play overseas again in 2021–22
''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'', June 12, 2021. On June 13, 2021, Ellis re-signed with

in Japan. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. On January 22, 2022, Ellis signed with the

Saga Ballooners The Saga Ballooners is a professional basketball team that competes in the second division of the Japanese B.League. Coaches * Aljosa Bjekovic * Luis Guil Torres * Yuta Miyanaga Roster Notable players * Aljosa Bjekovic * Trey G ...

. Appearing in 19 games for Saga, he averaged 15,3 points, 5,8 rebounds and 2,1 assists per outing. On July 25, 2022, he signed with

of the French

National team career

Ellis represented the United States at the 2015

World University Games 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 ...

. He averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in leading Team USA to an 8–0 record and an 84–77 victory over Germany in the gold medal game.

Personal life

Ellis was engaged to be married on June 18, 2021.

References

External links

Perry Ellis
at kuathletics.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Perry 1993 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Wichita, Kansas Cholet Basket players Ehime Orange Vikings players Greensboro Swarm players İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor basketball players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Osaka Evessa players Pallacanestro Cantù players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) S.Oliver Würzburg players Sydney Kings players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball