Tyrone Ellis

Tyrone Ellis
Ellis playing an exhibition match in Madrid
Las Vegas Aces
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1977-10-05) October 5, 1977 (age 47)
Dallas, Texas
NationalityAmerican / Georgian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High schoolDavid W. Carter (Dallas, Texas)
CollegeSouthern Nazarene (1997–2001)
NBA draft2001: undrafted
Playing career2001–2012
PositionGuard
Coaching career2012–present
Career history
As player:
2001–2002Huntsville Flight
2002–2003Girona
2003–2005Skyliners Frankfurt
2005Bellevue Blackhawks
2005–2006Beşiktaş
2006–2007Basket Napoli
2007–2010Cajasol Sevilla
2010–2011Estudiantes
2011–2012Lucentum Alicante
As coach:
2012–2013Tulsa 66ers (assistant)
2013–2014Reno Bighorns (assistant)
2014–2015Grand Rapids Drive (assistant)
2015–2016Bakersfield Jam (assistant)
2016–2017Northern Arizona Suns
2017–2018Phoenix Suns (assistant)
2018–2020Stockton Kings
2025-presentLas Vegas Aces (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
  • 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 who is an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. 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

[edit]

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

Professional career

[edit]

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

[edit]

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]

On November 7, 2024, Ellis was hired as an assistant coach for Becky Hammon by the Las Vegas Aces. [6]

Georgia national team

[edit]

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.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Phoenix Suns' D-League coach Ty Ellis knows how to grind".
  2. ^ "Bakersfield Jam Announce 2015-16 Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  3. ^ Northern AZ Suns [@nazsuns] (5 July 2017). "Congratulations to our head coach Ty Ellis, who was named an assistant coach for USA Basketball at FIBA AmeriCup 20…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Bergner Jr., Brian M. (25 October 2017). "'Surreal moment' for a father turns into a teachable moment". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Stockton Kings name Ellis new head coach". Stockton Record. August 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "Ty Ellis Joins Las Vegas Aces Coaching Staff". aces.wnba.com. November 7, 2024.