This season likely has not been what El Ellis envisioned when he transferred to Arkansas, but the senior guard churned out arguably his best performance as a Razorback in Saturday’s 78-75 win over Georgia.
After not so much as removing his warmups in back-to-back DNP’s last week, Ellis reemerged in the starting lineup for the Razorbacks following the bye.
The end result was a season-high 37 minutes of action and a well-rounded performance on both ends of the floor with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and just one turnover.
“His practice habits were really good,” Eric Musselman said. “With no midweek game, we had a lot of time to adjust a lot of things. I thought he was extremely focused, and he got the start tonight.”
Ellis connected on a season-high three 3-pointers, including a go-ahead triple with just under two minutes to play, that proved to be critical for Arkansas as it navigated Georgia’s pesky 1-3-1 trapping zone.
“It changes things,” Musselman said. “And I know he got two of them against their 1-3-1 in the left corner. Both of them I think. Certainly, when we have someone who can make a three, it opens up dribble-drive angles and points in the paint.”
While Ellis’ three steals stood out as nearly doubling his season total, his defensive impact was also felt in a unique way as he used his 6-3 frame to defend Georgia’s power forward position, which allowed the Hogs to play small ball.
“El Ellis guarded their four for probably 20-22 minutes,” Musselman said. “I thought he did a great job defending the four, and we didn’t get hurt in the post at that position at all.”
Ellis has been the most glaring example of what has been an almost staggeringly inconsistent rotation throughout the season for the Razorbacks.
He has started 12 of Arkansas’ 23 games on the season, but his spot in the lineup has been as much of a rollercoaster ride as his minutes.
Ellis started the first four games of the season before averaging just 12 minutes over the next three games in the Bahamas.
After getting the starting nod the next three games, Ellis played a grand total of 26 minutes in the following six outings.
He worked his way back into the starting five for three of the next four games in league play before earning back-to-back sitting and watching the last 80 minutes leading up to his return to the lineup Saturday.
Maintaining rhythm, confidence and consistency is not an easy task under those circumstances, but Ellis has shown a knack for making a splash just as folks start to count him out.
Examples include a 9-point, 6-assist, 0-turnover outing in a big win over Duke, 15 points and six boards in the first SEC win over Texas A&M and Saturday’s stellar showing against the Bulldogs.
“Just staying ready,” Ellis said. “Staying in the gym. Being confident in myself. I’ve produced at this level, so I just had to keep that confidence in myself and keep that mindset.”
“I really just love to hoop. Regardless of the circumstances, I’m going to be ready to play. I’ve got some really good teammates around me that keep me uplifted and keep me ready.”
The next task for Ellis is to stack strong performances when Arkansas welcomes No. 6 Tennessee to town for a Valentine’s Day showdown at Bud Walton on Wednesday.