Alvin Ellis III’s time at MSU has never been easy. Right from the get-go, his path to MSU was an alternative one.
The 6-foot-4 junior guard from Matteson, Ill. signed to the Spartans as a last second commit in the spring of 2013. Ellis was originally committed to Minnesota, but after Tubby Smith was fired, Ellis decommitted and signed with MSU a week later.
Ellis’ first two years at MSU were marred with inconsistencies. At times, he would show flashes of what he could do on the basketball court, but oftentimes he would try to do too much and was a walking turnover as soon as he stepped on the floor.
The last few weeks, however, have seen a different Ellis. His turnovers have been limited and when he’s gotten on the court, he’s played within himself and given MSU good minutes.
“It’s been tough,” Ellis said. “From last year, starting the first game and then being injured and being out a lot of weeks. It’s just been tough. I’ve been trying to work my way back into the rotation. I’ve just been staying in the gym and getting healthy and doing whatever I can to help my team.”
Ellis’ recent rise in play has also caught the eye of MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo, who said after Sunday’s victory against Indiana Ellis has started to work himself out of the “ultimate doghouse.”
“This year he said he was going to make a different approach,” Izzo said. “There were games we didn’t play him in and he just kept getting better. ... He’s kind of working himself back into the human race. I’m proud of him for that. That’s the ultimate in a person, is when you’re not playing good enough or not doing what you’re supposed to do and then all of a sudden you turn it around. Those are the kind of guys you love in the end because he’s really made a concerted effort to put more into basketball.”
In addition to this, Ellis has taken up the role of being a key part of MSU’s scout team, something not the norm of a junior scholarship player, Izzo said, but it was Ellis who wanted to go on it to get better.
“Being on scout team is helping our starters and the second five learn the aspects of the other team and helping the scout team also lead them, so we can get a bigger role,” Ellis said. “Just helping the team as a whole (prepare) for the next opponent.”
The scout team is something MSU junior guard Eron Harris knows a little bit about. It was a team he spent all last year on as he sat out a year after transferring from West Virginia. In his opinion, Ellis has been a tremendous help there.
“He’s doing a great job on the scout team,” Harris said. “I mean, he’s getting a chance to really play free out there on the scout team and it’s really helping him. It’s the difference between playing scout team and playing on the main team. You get on the scout team, it’s kind of like a confidence builder. That’s what he’s been doing and he was able to bring us some major play against Purdue.”
In the meantime, Ellis, who is averaging a career-high 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game as of Sunday’s contest against Indiana, said no matter his journey at MSU, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“I love being here,” Ellis said. “It’s a winning program. Even when we lose, I still love it. I’m not going to trade it for anything. It’s just a matter of time, keep putting work in and I feel like my number will be called.”
