FORT MYERS, Fla.- After spending the season as one of the most highly sought after junior college players in the country, Florida SouthWestern State sophomore Keon Ellis has officially signed his National Letter of Intent with the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Ellis inked with the Tide Wednesday on National Signing Day, making him the fourth Buccaneer Men's Basketball player in the past two seasons to sign with a Power 5 squad and the third to sign to play in the SEC.  

 

An elite scorer at all three levels for the Bucs this season, Ellis put together the best statistical season in program history this year for FSW, averaging a school record 18.1 points per game while putting up a record 562 points and also setting an FSW all-time mark with 64 steals on the year.  He shot 54% from the field on the season which ranked 7th nationally among players averaging 18 or more points per game and hit on 40% from the three point line and 81% from the free throw line which he frequented often.  He averaged 2.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per game on the defensive end of the floor, making him one of just four players nationally to boast that combination.  

 

For his efforts, Ellis was showered with postseason awards including Suncoast Conference Player of the Year and 2nd Team All-American honors as well as 1st Team All-Conference and 1st Team All-State accolades.  

 

While solid all season, Ellis had a number of explosive contests, including scoring a school record 41 points on just 22 field goal attempts in a win over St. Petersburg to kick off conference play as well as seven other 25+ point efforts, each of which he shot over 50% in.  

 

Ellis' success led to team success for the Bucs as he put together a two month stretch from December to February in which he scored 10 or more points in every game and shot 50% or better from the floor, leading FSW to a 16-0 mark in that span and pushing them up to the #1 spot in the NJCAA National Rankings.  

 

In his two seasons in Fort Myers, Ellis helped FSW to a 59-5 overall record and a perfect 24-0 record in Suncoast Conference play to secure two more conference titles.  The Bucs were ranked #1 in the country for 11 weeks during his tenure and clinched two trips to the NJCAA Naitonal Tournament where they finished 5th in 2019 before drawing a #6 overall seed before the cancellation of the 2020 tournament.  

 

Alabama was 16-15 this season, going 8-10 in SEC action.  However, the future is bright for the Tide who graduated just one player this season and return their top four scorers from 2019-20 to go along with Ellis and the rest of a top 20 nationally ranked recruiting class for Head Coach Nate Oaks and company.  

 

Ellis is one of seven NCAA Division I signees on their 2019-2020 roster joined by Jermaine Marshall (Akron), Berrick JeanLouis (Iona), Simeon Kirkland (UAB), Ralph Bissainthe (Central Michigan), De'Lazarus Keys (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), and Sebastian Guitian (South Carolina State).