The Louisville men’s basketball team is celebrating a standout performance by senior guard El Ellis, who was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on Monday. This marks the first time that Ellis has received a weekly award, and he is the first Cardinal to earn Player of the Week honors since David Johnson was recognized on December 28, 2020.
Ellis earned this distinction with an impressive showing last week, during which he averaged 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in Louisville’s two games against Clemson and No. 7 Virginia. He played 78 of 80 possible minutes in both games and shot an impressive 55% from the field, 50% from 3-point range, and 85% from the free-throw line.
In Saturday’s 83-73 win over Clemson, Ellis scored a game-high 28 points, leading the Cardinals to victory on a night when the program honored its historic 2013 team. Three days earlier, he tallied 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists against Virginia, as Louisville nearly pulled off a top-10 upset.
Ellis has been on a scoring streak recently, having scored 82 total points across his last three games for an average of 27.3 points per contest. He is also one of just five Cardinals since 1992 to record a season with at least 485 points and 123 assists, and his scoring average of 18.0 points per game is tied for the fifth-highest by a Louisville player since 1992.
This is the second weekly award of the season for the Cardinals, with redshirt freshman Mike James having been named Rookie of the Week on January 9. The team is now looking forward to their next game, which will be a homecoming for Ellis, as Louisville visits Duke tonight at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Ellis and his teammates will be hoping to build on their recent successes and continue their strong play.
