LaPhonso Darnell Ellis is a retired American basketball player. He was an outstanding high school basketball player at East St. Louis Lincoln High School, where he led the Tigers to two straight Illinois Class AA boys' championships in 1987 and 1988. In a heavily hyped up matchup, Ellis outplayed Alonzo Mourning in a holiday tournament his senior year. Also in 1988, Ellis was named a Parade Magazine and McDonalds high school All-American. In 2007, Ellis was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament," recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the... tournament. Ellis ended up attending the University of Notre Dame. Ellis' Notre Dame squad qualified for the NCAA tournament his freshman and sophomore seasons and were Runner-Up in the 1992 NIT Tournament. Ellis was one of four captains of the 1991-92 Notre Dame team. Throughout his career, he scored 1,505 career points, and averaged 15.5 points per game to earn school rankings of 12th and 22nd, respectively. He recorded 200 career blocks, a school record.
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