South Carolina basketball will be in a state of transition once again after the 2023-2024 season. The Gamecock roster will lose at least 5 seniors who have exhausted all of their eligibility, and several more players are already in their fourth year in school. The roster, just as it has the past two years, will be changing a lot this offseason.
That makes recruiting the high school ranks and the transfer portal extremely important for Lamont Paris’ South Carolina basketball program.
This weekend, a big-time visitor will be on campus in Columbia in the form of class of 2025 4-star guard Eli Ellis. According to Jake Leiberman of JALHoops.com, Ellis’ trip to the University of South Carolina is the only official visit he has set up at this stage of his recruitment.
Ellis plays for Overtime Elite (the non-salaried high school version) and has recently jumped into the top-100 players of the ’25 cycle. He is also a bit of a social media phenom as he has over 300,000 Instagram followers.
As a player, the Hickory, North Carolina native is an elite shooter with serious range. Ellis can and will pull up from anywhere on the court and do so successfully at a high percentage. He is capable of scoring in more ways than just jump shots, however.
In his drive game, what he lacks in elite athleticism, he makes up for with crafty ball-handling and aggressiveness. He is also a good finisher at the rim, able to score more efficiently than one might expect from a smaller guard without elite physical tools. While he is not a tremendous leaper, he has an explosive first step that, when paired with his ball handling, makes him dangerous off the bounce.
Able to play either guard spot, Ellis uses his court vision and above-average passing ability to serve as an offensive engine, regardless of which spot on the court he is playing.
You can watch some of his film here.