'Eli Ellis isn't scared': Why South Carolina's highest-rated freshman plays with confidence thanks to his superpower

South Carolina basketball’s 2025 recruiting class was a big one, with five first-year players joining the Gamecocks this summer. Of all of the youngsters, none have quite the expectations that Eli Ellis does.

Ellis, a consensus four-star prospect, is the highest-rated player in the Gamecocks’ 2025 recruiting haul. He’s also the most decorated, as he won back-to-back Overtime Elite MVP awards and finished his high school career as a two-time champion. His past successes and lauded work ethic have made him an extremely confident player.

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Still, the adjustment to the college game will be a big one.

Ellis was almost always on the ball with his Moravian Prep squad. He also led his team in shot attempts by a large margin. He knows he won’t have to play that way at South Carolina.

“I don’t need to take 20 shots per game,” Ellis said. “I can do whatever the team needs me to do…everybody eats.”

Certain aspects of his game will shift as he finds his role with the Gamecocks. However, there are other things about the dynamic scoring guard that will never change.

“I think what has helped me the most with this transition to college is that I know who I am,” Ellis explained. “I know what I stand for, and I know what my last name means.” He continued, “Knowing who you are is like a superpower these days…Especially with things like social media, people post what they want the world to see. There’s no confidence [in that].”

Ellis’ superpower of knowing himself has birthed an important trait, one that everyone around him notices. His new head coach has spoken about it on multiple occasions this offseason. Lamont Paris told the media this summer that Ellis is “really confident in what he does.” Assistant coach Will Bailey echoed that sentiment this week to GamecockCentral when he said that the North Carolina native is “extremely comfortable” with what he does on the court.

Being confident and comfortable is important for success on the court. It also doesn’t hurt when a player is extremely competitive. Ellis fights and competes every moment he is on the floor. That competitive fire is pivotal to his success as an undersized guard who doesn’t possess elite athleticism.

“I’ll say this: Eli Ellis isn’t scared,” he stated describing his approach to on-court challenges. “I’m not going to be hiding in the corner. I’m there ready to play, ready to compete.”

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That always-ready mentality enjoys a circular relationship with his relentless work ethic. Ellis is always ready to compete because he works hard, but he is also a tireless worker because he is so competitive. This year’s team is full of players who go above and beyond their normal practice duties in their pursuits of improvement. Ellis’ name is one often thrown out when discussing South Carolina’s biggest gym rats.

A team source said, “Early morning before classes,” “9:00 at night,” and “Sometimes more than an hour after practice” were just a few of the times Ellis has been spotted working on his game outside of the usual practice times. “I walked out here, and there’s Eli again,” the source recalled.

Despite his high school stardom, Ellis is keenly aware that basketball is a team sport. Because of that, he believes that part of working on his own game is helping his teammates work on theirs.

“I push people to be better,” he said. “I feel like I show up every single day…I think I bring a lot of energy.” That energy was evident at a recent Gamecock practice. He ran through each drill at full speed, even the ones in which he was tasked with setting screens for his teammates. In his mind, every rep is important for every player. Ellis said, “I’m just sticking to those little details…not making the same mistake twice.”

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With a month left until South Carolina takes the floor for its first official game against North Carolina A&T on November 4th, Paris has not set any roles in stone. That includes Ellis’ role. He has the talent to be a major piece as a freshman, but several veterans could play ahead of him.

The freshman, though, isn’t worried about that right now; he is simply focused on doing the best he can do with whatever he’s asked. “I’m going to be ready,” he explained. “And it doesn’t matter if I’m on the bench, or in the corner, or running point, or running the two, or guarding on the ball. I’m going to get the job done.”

Since the summer, Coach Paris and his assistants have repeatedly said that Ellis and seniors Meechie Johnson and Mike Sharavjamts will handle much of the ballhandling duties for South Carolina this season. Oftentimes, that will come with two or three of them on the court at the same time. Paris’ system is at its best with multiple ballhandlers on the floor at a time, and he demands a culture that sees teammates sacrifice personal accolades for the betterment of the team.

Those older players have helped Ellis’ transition to college ball, and, according to the fiery freshman, he complements the veterans very well. “We play really well together,” Ellis shared about his on-court relationship with Johnson and Sharavjamts. “We all can score. So, it’s like everybody eats, everybody gets a chance to get a bucket, everybody gets a chance to run point. But you also get to play the two and play off the ball. You get to change things up.”

Both coaches and players expressed this week that Ellis and the other newcomers have fit right into Paris’ system and the USC culture. Supporting that, the high-profile freshman believes this group of Gamecocks is already a tight-knit group.

“You would have thought this team was playing together for a few years, just the way–not even on the court, but off the court–how much we get along and how much we like each other,” Ellis said. “It’s been a lot of fun just to be able to know and enjoy being with these guys.”

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