Octavius Ellis

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Octavius Ellis

| image = Uralmash vs Samara (17.11.2023) - 20.jpg

| image_size = 150px

| caption =

| position = Center

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 10

| weight_lb = 235

| league = VTB United League

| team = Uralmash Yekaterinburg

| number = 2

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|03|10}}

| birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

| high_school = Whitehaven
(Memphis, Tennessee)

| college =

Cincinnati (2011–2012)
Trinity Valley CC (2012–2014)
Cincinnati (2014–2016)

| draft_year = 2016

| career_start = 2016

| career_end =

| years1 = 2016–2017

| team1 = Mornar Bar

| years2 = 2017

| team2 = Enisey

| years3 = 2017–2020

| team3 = Promitheas Patras

| years4 = 2020–2021

| team4 = Olympiacos

| years5 = 2021–2022

| team5 = Türk Telekom

| years6 = 2022–2023

| team6 = Guangdong Southern Tigers

| years7 = 2023

| team7 = Treviso

| years8 = 2023

| team8 = Henan Golden Elephants

| years9 = 2023–present

| team9 = Uralmash Yekaterinburg

| highlights =

EuroCup blocks leader (2022)
Greek All Star Game Slam Dunk Champion (2019)
Second-team All-AAC (2015)

}}

Octavius Ellis (born March 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Uralmash Yekaterinburg of the VTB United League. Standing at {{convert|2.08|m|ftin|abbr=on}}, he plays the power forward and center positions.

High school career

Ellis played high school basketball at Whitehaven High School, in Memphis, Tennessee.

College career

Ellis began his collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati during the 2011–12 season. He was dismissed from the team that off season for an altercation at a nightclub.http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/2829338-cincinnatis-octavius-ellis-kicked-off-team-for-role-in-nightclub-brawl {{Dead link|date=February 2022}} He then played two seasons at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. There, he averaged 14.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots as a red-shirt sophomore during the 2013–14 season, while being named First Team All-America by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Ellis helped lead the Cardinals to their first NJCAA Tournament appearance since 1999, while posting a 29–7 record.

After two years at Trinity Valley, he returned to UC with two years of eligibility remaining. For that 2014–15 season, he started all 31 of the Bearcats' games, and led UC in scoring (with 10.0 points per game), in rebounding (with 7.3 per game), and in blocked shots (with 66 overall).{{cite web | url=https://gobearcats.com/news/2015/3/10/KOCH_Ellis_long_road_back_to_UC.aspx | title=KOCH: Ellis' long road back to UC }} He was named to the 2014–15 All-American Athletic Conference Second Team. The next season, he again helped lead the Bearcats to the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where Cincinnati faced Saint Joseph's, and received a first-round elimination, in a controversial fashion, as Ellis' game-tying dunk was waved off for being 0.1 second too late.{{cite web | url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/3/19/11267506/cincinnati-st-josephs-ncaa-tournament-late-dunk-no-good | title=Cincinnati's dunk is a fraction of a second late | date=19 March 2016 }}

Professional career

After failing to be drafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Ellis signed his first professional contract with the Montenegrin team Mornar Bar, of the Adriatic League.{{cite news|title=Octavius Ellis inks with Mornar Bar|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/montenegro/208290/octavius-ellis-inks-with-mornar-bar.html|access-date=February 4, 2017|work=sportando.com|date=August 1, 2016}} On March 9, 2017, he signed with the Alaska Aces, as their import for the 2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup.{{Cite web |url=http://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/news/octavious-ellis-alaska-aces-import |title=Alaska brings in untested import in Octavio Ellis for PBA Commissioner's Cup |last=Ramos |first=Gerry |publisher=spin.ph |publication-date=March 9, 2017 |access-date=March 9, 2017}} However, on March 18, three days before the team's first game, he left the Philippines to attend to an "important family matter".{{Cite web |url=http://www.spin.ph/basketball/news/alaska-in-danger-of-playing-without-an-import-in-commissioners-cup-debut-after-sudden-departure-of-octavius-ellis- |title=Alaska in danger of debuting without import after sudden departure of Octavius Ellis |last=Ramos |first=Gerry |date=March 15, 2017 |publisher=spin.ph |access-date=March 15, 2017}}

On July 24, 2017, Ellis signed with Russian club Enisey.{{cite news|title=BC Enisey signs Octavius Ellis|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/russia/242203/bc-enisey-signs-octavius-ellis.html|access-date=July 24, 2017|work=Sportando.com|date=July 24, 2017}} On December 29, 2017, Ellis left Enisey and joined Promitheas Patras, of the Greek Basket League.{{cite news|title=Promitheas Patras B.C. announce the capture o Octavius Ellis|url=http://www.sdna.gr/news-english/article/415082/promitheas-patras-bc-announce-capture-o-octavius-ellis|access-date=December 29, 2017|work=sdna.gr|date=December 29, 2017}} On June 21, 2018, Ellis renewed his contract for another year with Promitheas.{{cite news|title=Promitheas re-signs Octavius Ellis|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/europe/greece/278147/promitheas-re-signs-octavius-ellis.html|access-date=June 21, 2018|work=sdna.gr|date=June 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621221200/https://sportando.basketball/en/europe/greece/278147/promitheas-re-signs-octavius-ellis.html|archive-date=June 21, 2018|url-status=dead}} On May 26, 2019, Ellis agreed to a new contract with the Greek club.

On January 27, 2020, Ellis officially signed with Greek club Olympiacos of the EuroLeague.{{Cite news|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/olympiacos-announces-octavius-ellis/|title=Olympiacos announces Octavius Ellis|date=January 27, 2020|newspaper=Sportando|language=En|access-date=January 28, 2020}} He averaged 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

On June 27, 2021, Ellis signed with Türk Telekom of the Turkish league.{{cite web |last1=Yahyabeyoglu |first1=Fersu |title=Turk Telekom sign Octavius Ellis, ex Olympiacos |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Basketball-Champions-League/news/691084/Turk-Telekom-sign-Octavius-Ellis,-ex-Olympiacos |website=Eurobasket |access-date=June 27, 2021 |date=June 27, 2021}}

On January 18, 2023, he signed with Treviso Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).{{Cite news|url=https://sportando.basketball/en/nutribullet-treviso-officially-signs-octavius-ellis/|title=Nutribullet Treviso officially signs Octavius Ellis|last=|first=|date=January 18, 2023|website=|newspaper=Sportando|language=En|access-date=January 18, 2023 |last1=Maggi |first1=Alessandro }}

Career statistics

=EuroLeague=

class="wikitable"

style="background:#CFECEC; width:1em"|*

| Led the league

| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Olympiacos

| 7 || 3 || 21.4 || .767 || {{sort|-|—}} || .786 || 5.9 || .6 || 1.0 || .7 || 21.4 || 12.6

| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21

| 33 || 23 || 14.3 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|.726* || {{sort|-|—}} || .792 || 4.1 || .4 || .4 || .7 || 5.9 || 8.1

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career

| 40 || 26 || 15.6 || .735 || {{sort|-|—}} || .791 || 4.4 || .4 || .5 || .7 || 6.3 || 8.9

Personal life

Ellis is the son of Jerrell Horne, a former basketball player at the University of Memphis. His cousin is former NBA player Monta Ellis.{{cite news |last1=Sacamos |first1=Carlo |title=Unlike high-scoring cousin Monta Ellis, Alaska import out to make mark on defense |url=https://www.spin.ph/basketball/pba/unlike-high-scoring-cousin-monta-ellis-octavius-ellis-eager-to-make-a-name-on-defensive-end-for-alaska |access-date=August 6, 2020 |work=Spin.ph |date=March 15, 2017}}

References

External links

{{Twitter|Tay_UC2}}
[https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Octavius-Ellis/Summary/30341 realgm.com profile]
[http://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Octavius_Ellis/233315 eurobasket.com profile]
[http://www.aba-liga.com/player.php?id=2591 ABA League profile]
[http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Octavius-Ellis-41147/ draftexpress.com profile]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170624234644/http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/octavius_ellis_780999.html Cincinnati Bearcats bio]

Category:1993 births

Category:Living people

Category:ABA League players

Category:American expatriate basketball people in China

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Montenegro

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Russia

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee

Category:BC Enisey players

Category:BC Uralmash Yekaterinburg players

Category:Centers (basketball)