Overview
- Alcorn State announced Ellis will serve as general manager for its men’s basketball program with responsibilities for roster building, transfers, recruiting, and NIL planning.
- Ellis is a Jackson, Mississippi native who played 12 NBA seasons after being drafted 40th overall in 2005 and won the 2007 Most Improved Player award.
- In interviews about the hire Ellis said that swapping him and Steph Curry on the Warriors championship teams “it’d be the same thing,” a remark reported by ESPN and widely circulated by national outlets.
- Sports media and social media quickly criticized the comment, pointing to Curry’s multiple MVPs, four championships, transformative shooting and team-building role as reasons the two players are not comparable.
- The move fits a recent pattern of former NBA players joining HBCU staffs to raise visibility and recruiting, and observers say the reaction to Ellis’s remark could shape public attention, donor interest, and recruiting momentum for Alcorn State.