# Explaining Monta Ellis



## Bubbles (Nov 12, 2005)

> Before Monta there was Antwain. And any opponent brave enough to slash into the lane of Lanier High's defense had to contend with Antwain Ellis. With his long reach and feline instincts, the 6-foot-8 power forward made a habit of spiking basketballs out of the paint. Patrolling the middle for Lanier, a basketball powerhouse in Jackson, Mississippi, the elder Ellis possessed a unique blend of power and grace. He played point guard as a freshman, but after sprouting several inches over the summer, he shifted inside without sacrificing his playmaking ability. "Put it this way," Darius Rice, a high school teammate who later starred at the University of Miami, says, "Antwain was a professional."
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> In 1999, Ellis was the anchor of Lanier's Class 5A state championship run; his late-game dunk against Provine High School helped clinch the title. "When it was time to pull off, we showed no mercy," Ellis told The Clarion-Ledger afterward. The win was Lanier coach Thomas Billups's1 fourth state championship in his 600-win career. "There were only two players in this state that I thought were going to be drafted out of high school," Billups says. "Antwain and Jonathan Bender."
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http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9186861/the-life-career-milwaukee-bucks-guard-monta-ellis


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

That story has halftime profile during game 3 written all over it.


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

Great article. Wonder if he still believes hes better than Chris Paul.


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