Louisville's El Ellis Receives 2022-23 All-ACC Honorable Mention

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced their 2022-23 All-ACC teams on Monday, and while the Louisville's men's basketball program did not have a player represented on any of the three All-ACC teams, one came extremely close.

Guard El Ellis was named as an All-ACC Honorable Mention by the 75-member panel consisting of the league’s 15 head coaches and 60 members of the media.

Garnering 50 points, he received the most votes by an Honorable Mention player. Ellis was just four votes behind Syracuse's Jesse Edwards and Virginia's Reece Beekman for the final spot on the All-ACC Third Team.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard has been a bright spot on an otherwise bleak season for Louisville. His 17.7 points per game during the regular season finished second in the ACC behind Wake Forest's Tyree Applyby, and his 4.35 assists per game came in at eighth in the league. He is also shot 41.3 percent from the field, 32.2 percent on three-point attempts and 80.9 percent from the free throw line.

The Durham, N.C. went through senior day activities earlier this season, but still has a year of eligibility left thanks to an optional COVID waiver. Speaking to the media last month, Ellis did not rule out a potential return to the Cardinals for the 2023-24 season.

"My mindset right now is to test the waters," he said. "I'm going to see how everything goes, and then I going to make my decision on if I'm coming back based on that."

There's also the option that he can return to college and use his final season elsewhere. However, Ellis says that is not on the table for him.

"I just don't feel comfortable going to another school. I feel like Louisville is the place for me," he said. "Even through everything that's been going on - the coaching change, the records, everything like that - I feel like if I'm going to come back and go to college again, I'm going to come back to Louisville because I didn't finish the way I wanted to. I want to leave as a winner, a that's something I didn't get to do. If college is going to be the next option for me, then I'm coming back to Louisville."

Earning the No. 15 seed for the ACC Tournament, Louisville (4-27, 2-18 ACC) will get their postseason run in Greensboro, N.C. against tenth-seeded Boston College (15-16, 9-11 ACC). Tip-off is scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 7 at approximately 4:30.