Dazzle's Ellis Moves to NBA Hawks as Scout
September 5, 2002 - NBA G League (G League)
Roanoke Dazzle News Release
ROANOKE, Va., September 5, 2002 â Harold Ellis, assistant coach of the Roanoke Dazzle in the National Basketball Development League, has moved up to the Atlanta Hawks as NBA Advance Scout, the NBA club announced today.
Ellis, 31, spent the inaugural NBDL season as the assistant to Roanoke Head Coach Kent Davison. He follows another NBDL alumnus, former North Charleston Head Coach Alex English, to the Hawks' staff. English was named Atlanta's Director of Player Development on August 20.
Ellis played three seasons in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Clippers (1993-94 and â94-95) and Denver Nuggets (â97-98). The 6-foot-5 small forward made 16 starts for the Clippers in â93-94, and averaged 5.8 points in a 145-game NBA career. He scored a career-high 29 points against the Boston Celtics in January 1994.
The move also sends Ellis back to his hometown â where he was an NCAA Division II All-American for Morehouse College. He won the coveted John B. McLendon Trophy, awarded to the top male basketball player at a historically black college or university, as a Morehouse senior in 1991-92. He finished his college career with 2,881 points..
"I'd like to thank (NBDL Executive Director) Karl Hicks and Coach Davison for giving me the opportunity in the NBDL and with the Dazzle," Ellis said. "It is because of the developmental aspect of the league that led me to the Hawks. It's a perfect example of how the NBDL is supposed to work for the NBA. The chance to go back to my hometown in the NBA only makes it more rewarding."
"Coach Ellis' ascension to the Hawks' organization speaks to the level of coaching talent in our league," Hicks said. "He is the third NBDL coach to join an NBA staff since the conclusion of our inaugural season, and this opportunity is a testament to his hard work and dedication to the game."
Ellis spent part of this summer working for the Portland Trail Blazers, working in the NBA club's Summer League camp and then with the Blazers' team in the Rocky Mountain Revue. Known for his teaching skills, Ellis also ran his popular self-initialed "HE's the Man" conditioning and development program during the NBDL offseason in Roanoke.
"We have known Harold for a number of years as an aspiring player who has participated in several NBA camps," said Hawks' Vice President/General Manager Pete Babcock. "We have closely followed his efforts on the floor as well as his goal of attaining a front-office position. He brings a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to the organization, as well as a new perspective that I think will be healthy."
Ellis is the third Dazzle staff member to make the move to the NBA, joining former Roanoke Team President Donna Daniels, who is a Vice President in NBA marketing, and Brian Resnick, who moved from the Dazzle ticket staff to a group sales position with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He made the minors-to-NBA leap twice as a player. In addition to his NBDL work with the Dazzle, he also coached in the CBA and IBL.
Ellis also played for Atlanta in the USBL, has worked as a substitute teacher in the Atlanta Public School System, and worked for the community relations staff of baseball's Atlanta Braves. From 1995-99, he staged the Harold Ellis Dream Basketball Camp in Atlanta â free to youths who wrote essays on the dangers of drug-and-alcohol abuse.
Nine NBDL players, two head coaches and an assistant coach have been called up to the NBA since November 2001. Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the NBDL serves as a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 29 teams. The NBDL is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.
The Dazzle will open its second NBDL season at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday, November 15, with a 7 p.m. tipoff against the Huntsville Flight.
For more information on the Dazzle or to purchase tickets, log on to roanokedazzle.com, or call the Dazzle at (540) 266-1000. More information on the NBDL is available on NBDL.com.
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NBA G League Stories from September 5, 2002
- Dazzle's Ellis Moves to NBA Hawks as Scout - Roanoke Dazzle
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