Tyrone Ellis Explained

Tyrone Ellis
Height Ft:6
Height In:4
Position:Head coach
Birth Date:5 October 1977
Birth Place:Dallas, Texas
Nationality:American / Georgian
High School:David W. Carter (Dallas, Texas)
College:Southern Nazarene (1997–2001)
Draft Year:2001
Career Start:2001
Career End:2012
Career Position:Guard
Years1:2001–2002
Team1:Huntsville Flight
Years2:2002–2003
Team2:Girona
Years3:2003–2005
Team3:Skyliners Frankfurt
Years4:2005
Team4:Bellevue Blackhawks
Years5:2005–2006
Team5:Beşiktaş
Years6:2006–2007
Team6:Basket Napoli
Years7:2007–2010
Team7:Cajasol Sevilla
Years8:2010–2011
Team8:Estudiantes
Years9:2011–2012
Team9:Lucentum Alicante
Coach Start:2012
Cyears1:2012–2013
Cteam1:Tulsa 66ers (assistant)
Cyears2:2013–2014
Cteam2:Reno Bighorns (assistant)
Cyears3:2014–2015
Cteam3:Grand Rapids Drive (assistant)
Cyears4:2015–2016
Cteam4:Bakersfield Jam (assistant)
Cyears5:2016–2017
Cteam5:Northern Arizona Suns
Cteam6:Phoenix Suns (assistant)
Cyears7:2018–2020
Cteam7:Stockton Kings
Highlights:
  • BBL Champion (2004)
  • First-team NAIA All-American (2001)

Tyrone Ellis (born October 5, 1977) is an American-Georgian professional basketball coach and former player. He is 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) tall and played as a shooting guard. He was the first head coach named for both the Northern Arizona Suns and the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League.

College career

Born in Dallas, Ellis graduated from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma in 2001.

Professional career

Since his graduation from Southern Nazarene University, Ellis has played professional basketball in the United States (Huntsville Flight), Germany (Frankfurt Skyliners), Turkey (Beşiktaş Cola Turka), Italy (Basket Napoli) and Spain (Casademont Girona, Cajasol Sevilla, Asefa Estudiantes). He also had Summer League stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.[1]

Coaching career

On October 30, 2015, after stints with the Tulsa 66ers, Reno Bighorns and Grand Rapids Drive, Ellis was hired by the Bakersfield Jam to be an assistant coach in the NBA Development League.[2] On July 15, 2016, Ellis was promoted to head coach for the Northern Arizona Suns, the recently relocated Bakersfield Jam franchise. During his first and only season coaching the Northern Arizona squad, he led the team to a 10–1 record to start the season, with the only loss occurring in double-overtime against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. However, by the end of the season, the Suns finished with a losing record of 22–28.

On July 5, 2017, Ellis was announced as the assistant coach for Team USA Basketball for the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.[3] Under the roster led by Jeff Van Gundy as head coach, Team U.S.A. would go undefeated to win the FIBA AmeriCup that year. On October 23, 2017, before the start of the Northern Arizona Suns' season, Ellis was named an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns[4] with the promotion of Phoenix assistant Jay Triano as the interim head coach.

In 2018, he was named the first head coach for the relocated Stockton Kings in the NBA G League.[5]

Georgia national team

Ellis was also a member of the Georgia national basketball team from 2006 to 2009. He played with the team at the Division B Eurobasket 2009 and averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists during the tournament. In the finals against Belarus he averaged 13.5 points and 3.0 assists and helped Georgia to move up to Division A.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Phoenix Suns' D-League coach Ty Ellis knows how to grind.
  2. News: Bakersfield Jam Announce 2015-16 Staff. October 31, 2015. OurSportsCentral.com. October 30, 2015.
  3. nazsuns. Northern AZ Suns. 882711783663742976. 5 July 2017. Congratulations to our head coach Ty Ellis, who was named an assistant coach for USA Basketball at FIBA AmeriCup 20….
  4. News: Bergner Jr.. Brian M.. 'Surreal moment' for a father turns into a teachable moment. 25 October 2017. The Daily Courier. 3 May 2018.
  5. Web site: Stockton Kings name Ellis new head coach . . August 13, 2018.