Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville PG Commit Isaac Ellis

Frame: Considering the position he plays, Ellis has a decent frame with upside. His positional height is slightly above average, and his wingspan/overall length is okay. He's definitely got more muscle tone in his upper body and core than you realize, but he will have to work on converting some of his lower body weight to muscle, and bulking up overall. Though it remains to be seen how much more good weight he can actually put on.

Athleticism: Ellis might not be supremely athletic, but he has a couple solid athletic traits to him. He's got good overall footwork that bodes well in one-on-one matchups, and his play strength is higher than you expect. That being said, he still moves just okay in the open floor, and doesn't have that extra gear that you'd like out of a downhill scorer. His vertical is also just average.

Instincts: From watching his film in the Overtime Elite, you can tell that, whether he's a scorer or facilitator, Ellis is very comfortable with the ball in his hands. When looking to score, he's a fairly balanced three-level scorer, and he's not afraid to pull the trigger while in traffic. He can hit-or-miss when generating separation in ISO situations, but he does do a good job at going downhill and getting to the rim when playing off of screens. Ellis also does well when playing through contact down low, and has shown flashes of being crafty finisher around the basket. In terms of his court vision, Ellis has good overall feel for the game. Even when playing downhill, he typically keeps his head up to look for potentially open teammates. It also helps that he has good balance between looking to drive and opting to shoot a three-pointer, on top of the fact that his actual ball handling skills and passing ability is very underrated.

Polish: Something I picked up on is that, as a left-handed shooter, Ellis favors his left to an extreme degree. He has shown in spurts some ability to finish with his right hand, but he will have to refine that, as well as become a lot more comfortable with playing on the right side of the floor overall. Ellis is a high-caliber shooter from three-point range, possessing a mechanically sound jump shot and shining in catch-and-shoot situations - although he could be better off the dribble. Because of his inherent toughness, Ellis can absolutely be a factor on the defensive end of the floor, but is a bit boom-or-bust. He does well with timing passing lanes for steals, but could very much work on closing out on shooters. As a facilitator, more often than not, he typically makes the right decision and keeps the ball out of harms way, as evidenced by his 4.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in the OTE this past season.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is an addition for Louisville that has some long term upside. Ellis is already a capable shooter with a physical mentality, so it's clear from a systemic standpoint that he fits into what Pat Kelsey wants to do. That being said, he will have to fine tune his athletic intangibles, as well as further develop his game when playing on the right side of the floor.