- LaPhonso Ellis
infobox NBA Player
name = LaPhonso Ellis
nickname =
position = Power forward
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 8
weight_lbs = 240
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1970|5|5
birth_place =East St. Louis, Illinois
college = Notre Dame
draft = 5th overall
draft_year = 1992
draft_team =Denver Nuggets
career_start = 1992
career_end = 2003
former_teams = Denver Nuggets (1992–1998)Atlanta Hawks (1999–2000)Minnesota Timberwolves (2000–2001)Miami Heat (2001–2003)
awards =LaPhonso Darnell Ellis (born
May 5 1970 inEast St. Louis, Illinois ) is a retired Americanbasketball player. He was an outstanding high school basketball player at East St. Louis Lincoln High School, where he led the Tigers to two straight Illinois Class AA boys' championships in 1987 and 1988.In a heavily hyped up matchup, Ellis outplayed Alonzo Mourning in a holiday tournament his senior year. Ellis ended up attending theUniversity of Notre Dame . Ellis' Notre Dame squad only qualified for the NCAA tournament his freshman year. He played professionally in theNBA from 1992 until 2003.Ellis was one of four captains of the 1991-92 Notre Dame team. Throughout his career, he scored 1,505 career points, and averaged 15.5 points per game to earn school rankings of 12th and 22nd, respectively. He recorded 200 career blocks, a school record. He ranks third on the school's career rebounding list with 1,075, and eighth on the career rebounding average list, with 11.1 rpg. He led the '91-92 team in scoring (17.7 ppg), rebounding (11.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.631) and blocked shots (2.6 bpg). He paced Notre Dame in blocked shots in each of his four seasons, the only player in school history to do so. Ellis graduated from Notre Dame on time with a degree in accounting from the undergraduate college of business. He was the fifth overall selection in the
1992 NBA Draft , picked by theDenver Nuggets , and was named to the 1992 All-Rookie first team. He subsequently played in Atlanta, Minnesota and Miami, where he retired after the 2003 season.Trivia
LaPhonso Ellis was mentioned multiple times as a former student at Danielle Atron Junior High School on the Nickelodeon
teen drama The Secret World of Alex Mack * [http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110404aac.html Notre Dame All Century Team]
* [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ELLISLA01 College & NBA stats] @ basketballreference.com
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