South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris details what he's seen from freshman Eli Ellis

For the first time since most of his new-look Gamecocks started practicing two weeks ago, South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris spoke to the media on Monday. (“Most” is because transfer portal big man Christ Essandoko hasn’t arrived on campus yet.) Among the topics of conversation was high-profile freshman guard Eli Ellis.
Ellis signed with USC as a top-100, four-star combo guard following back-to-back Overtime Elite MVP seasons. Based on Monday’s press conference, it sounds like he is impressing his new head coach.
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When asked about the 6-foot scoring guard, Paris sang the young man’s praises. “I mean, so far, I’ve seen Eli doing Eli stuff,” he said. “And I say that in all the best ways. He’s extremely competitive, incredibly competitive. That’s probably the understatement of the year. And he does that in a way where he channels it in a manner that allows him to then be a more productive player because of it.”
According to Paris, that confidence stems from Ellis’ on-court investment. “He’s a hard worker. You know, for a young guy, he just is really confident in what he does.”
South Carolina basketball fans are hopeful that Ellis’ confidence will translate to on-court results. He is one of several players who will be tasked with handling lead guard duties for the Gamecocks this season, along with transfers Meechie Johnson and Mike Sharavjamts, and, potentially, returner Cam Scott.
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Paris believes he has what it takes both to score and facilitate on the perimeter. “He can–and this happens from time to time–some guys just can find a shot without searching for a shot, if that makes any sense. And so he’s that, but he’s a very unselfish guy also. He’s confident in his abilities, and so [we’re] just trying to get him to learn what we’re looking for from trying to generate offense for others, and then, as a byproduct, there’ll be playing offense through him as well.”
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Ellis is part of a five-man freshman class that signed with South Carolina. Three of them (Ellis, forward Hayden Assemian, and wing Abu Yarmah) all played for Moravian Prep in the Overtime Elite league. Ellis’ younger brother, Isaac Ellis, is a class of 2026 guard commitment from Moravian Prep. The Gamecocks are recruiting at least two more players from the school. Carolina was involved early with 2026 guard Kohl Rosario, but he recently committed to Kansas and reclassified. USC also extended an offer recently to 2027 wing K’Majay Jenkins, a South Carolina native who transferred there this summer.
When the dust settled on the final class of 2025 rankings, Eli Ellis ranked as the No. 72 overall player in the On3 industry rankings. He also was No. 4 in a loaded group in North Carolina and No. 21 nationally among shooting guards.