Mr.Bottomtooth
11-24-2006, 12:31 PM
Turns out Ellis was too good to pass on
By Marc J. Spears
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/23/2006 11:42:50 PM MST
The Nuggets selected Julius Hodge with the 20th pick in the 2005 draft and acquired the draft rights to 27th pick Linas Kleiza.
By the time Denver acquired the draft rights to little-known high school forward Ricky Sanchez with the 35th pick overall in the second round, a frustrated Monta Ellis was passed over by the franchise for the third time.
"I was like, 'Man I can't believe this,"' Ellis said. "There were a lot of names that were thrown out there where I was like, 'Man, you got to be kidding me."'
The Warriors selected the 2005 Parade magazine prep national co-player of the year with the 40th overall pick. The Jackson (Miss) Lanier High School graduate, who averaged 38.4 points as senior, was projected as a top-20 pick until concerns surfaced about his surgically repaired left knee. He currently is the second-leading scorer in the 2005 class behind the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets' Chris Paul.
Ellis is averaging 18.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game and has scored a career-high 31 twice this season. The 6-foot-3, 177-pound guard had 11 points, a career-high nine assists and three steals in Wednesday's 115-112 loss to visiting Denver. The athletic, speedy combo guard is also the leading scorer of the 10 high school players selected in the final year they were draft eligible.
"I'm not surprised," the 21-year old Ellis said. "I feel good. But I'm going to get better."
Said Nuggets coach George Karl: "He is catching a lot of the league by surprise with his speed and quickness. The league's going to catch up with him a little bit. ... I think everybody has been surprised by his confidence and his speed. He's a cocky kid out there."
Ellis worked out with Sanchez in Florida before the 2005 draft and after Wednesday's game asked with a serious tone where Sanchez was playing now. The free agent is in his second season playing for NBADL Idaho.
"Are (the Nuggets) going to bring him up?" Ellis asked seriously.
While the Nuggets were interested in Ellis, an NBA source said he failed the team's pre-draft physical because his left knee was viewed as potentially arthritic.
He had knee surgery in April 2005 and wears a knee brace. With NBA teams concerned about the knee, Ellis dropped fast in a 2005 draft he viewed as "hurtful."
But he hasn't missed any NBA games because of the knee and his recent highlight-reel dunk over Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa showed how strong his knee has become.
"That was a big thing with teams," Ellis said about knee surgery. "But if they had good trainers, like they say they do, that wouldn't have even been an issue."
Ellis played sparingly as a rookie under then-Warriors coach Mike Montgomery and averaged 6.8 points in 18.9 minutes in 49 games. He said Montgomery wasn't confident about giving a kid out of high school playing time and "it was tough to sit."
But he averaged 14.3 points in last season's final seven games and scored 27 against Utah in the season finale.
Warriors management traded veteran point guard Derek Fisher to Utah to give Ellis more time behind Baron Davis. But under new and unconventional veteran coach Don Nelson, Ellis is starting alongside Davis.
"He needs to play a lot to get better. And I think we're going to have a really good player if we go through that process," Nelson said.
"That was more important than anything else. ... He's such a positive out there that the mistakes that he makes I can live with."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_4713378
By Marc J. Spears
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/23/2006 11:42:50 PM MST
The Nuggets selected Julius Hodge with the 20th pick in the 2005 draft and acquired the draft rights to 27th pick Linas Kleiza.
By the time Denver acquired the draft rights to little-known high school forward Ricky Sanchez with the 35th pick overall in the second round, a frustrated Monta Ellis was passed over by the franchise for the third time.
"I was like, 'Man I can't believe this,"' Ellis said. "There were a lot of names that were thrown out there where I was like, 'Man, you got to be kidding me."'
The Warriors selected the 2005 Parade magazine prep national co-player of the year with the 40th overall pick. The Jackson (Miss) Lanier High School graduate, who averaged 38.4 points as senior, was projected as a top-20 pick until concerns surfaced about his surgically repaired left knee. He currently is the second-leading scorer in the 2005 class behind the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets' Chris Paul.
Ellis is averaging 18.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game and has scored a career-high 31 twice this season. The 6-foot-3, 177-pound guard had 11 points, a career-high nine assists and three steals in Wednesday's 115-112 loss to visiting Denver. The athletic, speedy combo guard is also the leading scorer of the 10 high school players selected in the final year they were draft eligible.
"I'm not surprised," the 21-year old Ellis said. "I feel good. But I'm going to get better."
Said Nuggets coach George Karl: "He is catching a lot of the league by surprise with his speed and quickness. The league's going to catch up with him a little bit. ... I think everybody has been surprised by his confidence and his speed. He's a cocky kid out there."
Ellis worked out with Sanchez in Florida before the 2005 draft and after Wednesday's game asked with a serious tone where Sanchez was playing now. The free agent is in his second season playing for NBADL Idaho.
"Are (the Nuggets) going to bring him up?" Ellis asked seriously.
While the Nuggets were interested in Ellis, an NBA source said he failed the team's pre-draft physical because his left knee was viewed as potentially arthritic.
He had knee surgery in April 2005 and wears a knee brace. With NBA teams concerned about the knee, Ellis dropped fast in a 2005 draft he viewed as "hurtful."
But he hasn't missed any NBA games because of the knee and his recent highlight-reel dunk over Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa showed how strong his knee has become.
"That was a big thing with teams," Ellis said about knee surgery. "But if they had good trainers, like they say they do, that wouldn't have even been an issue."
Ellis played sparingly as a rookie under then-Warriors coach Mike Montgomery and averaged 6.8 points in 18.9 minutes in 49 games. He said Montgomery wasn't confident about giving a kid out of high school playing time and "it was tough to sit."
But he averaged 14.3 points in last season's final seven games and scored 27 against Utah in the season finale.
Warriors management traded veteran point guard Derek Fisher to Utah to give Ellis more time behind Baron Davis. But under new and unconventional veteran coach Don Nelson, Ellis is starting alongside Davis.
"He needs to play a lot to get better. And I think we're going to have a really good player if we go through that process," Nelson said.
"That was more important than anything else. ... He's such a positive out there that the mistakes that he makes I can live with."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_4713378