Boogie Ellis brought his own cheering section Thursday afternoon to UC San Diego’s LionTree Arena for the Rady Children’s Invitational.
And why wouldn’t he draw a crowd? After all, Ellis prepped just a few miles down the road at Mission Bay High School.
There were three dozen family members and friends in the crowd of 3,588, yelling and screaming for the USC guard and his Trojans teammates when they tipped off against Seton Hall.
Ellis and with true freshman Isaiah Collier give No. 23-ranked USC perhaps the nation’s most talented backcourt duo.
Each was averaging 21 points per game coming into this contest.
Ellis started slow, missing four of his first five shots. But a shooter’s gotta shoot, and Ellis pressed on, even after hurting his left hip and elbow on a hard fall to the floor midway through the first half.
With six minutes remaining in the half, things began to click.
Ellis hit a 3-pointer from the corner. He followed that two minutes later with a breakaway dunk. Then a 25-foot rainbow 3 that sparked a 10-point halftime lead.
USC led by as many as 20 points in the second half, watched it dwindle to three with four minutes left, then hung on for a 71-63 win over the Pirates.
“C’mon, Boogie,” a woman yelled as Ellis sank the first of six free throws in the final minute to finish with a game-high 22 points. Collier and teammate Kobe Johnson added 15 and 13, respectively.
Scoring the basketball, as they say, never has been an issue for Ellis.
When he came out of Mission Bay four years ago, Ellis received effusive praise for his scoring prowess.
ESPN’s scouting report on him said, “The strength of his game is simply to get buckets. He has a unique feel and knack to create space and find his shot.” USA Today noted “marksman-like accuracy all over the floor which makes him virtually unguardable.”
Ellis has only gotten more confident in the years since.
“I work on my game every day,” Ellis said, “and I believe that nobody can guard me. I do truly believe that.”
He primarily played on the ball last season. Collier’s arrival allowed Ellis to move to off-guard, though he handled the ball a lot during against Seton Hall.
“They complement each other well,” USC coach Andy Enfield said of Ellis and Collier. “Boogie is an elite scorer, but also can make a play for his teammates. … He was born with a lot of attributes that it’s hard to teach, his feel for the game, his quickness and he’s become a great shooter.
“He’s learned how to be a true lead guard. He was not this good when he got here three years ago. He’s come a long way.”
Oklahoma guard Kaden Cooper controls the ball between Iowa’s Owen Freeman (32) and Ladji Dembele.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Day 2 matchups
USC (4-1) will play Oklahoma (5-0) in Friday’s final at 12:30 p.m. The Sooners defeated Iowa 79-67 in the tournament’s opening game.
Forward Jalon Moore had a game-high 18 points for Oklahoma, which grabbed a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never let it get away.
Iowa (3-2) dug itself a hole in the first half, going 0-for-10 from 3-point range.
The Hawkeyes meet Seton Hall (4-1) in the third-place game at 3.
Boogie fever
His given name is Rejean Tremaine Ellis Jr, but he’s been called Boogie as long as he can remember.
“When I was born,” Ellis explained, “I used to dance a lot, so I got the nickname Boogie, and it has been with me ever since.”
ABBA’s “Dancing Queen played during a TV timeout with three minutes left in the game.
The song was still playing coming out of the break as Johnson went to the free-throw line.
Ellis stood a few feet behind him, near midcourt.
Didn’t sway his hips. Never tapped a toe.
Guess there’s a time and place for everything.
USC guard Bronny James (center) cheers on teammates during game against Seton Hall in the Rady Children’s Invitational.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Bronny still sidelined
USC true freshman guard Bronny James, dressed in gray sweats, watched his teammates in warmups.
James polished off a Rice Krispies Treat before rebounding practice shots under the basket. He launched a couple corner 3s at one point, although nothing found the bottom of the net.
And he accommodated a young fan wearing a Seton Hall jersey, posing for a selfie and providing his signature on a Trojans jersey.
The son of the Lakers’ LeBron James suffered cardiac arrest over the summer during a team workout on campus, and his status has been uncertain ever since.
Asked for the latest news on James’ status, Enfield said, “There’s no update on that. As soon as his family wants to put out a statement, they will do that.
“I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m just a basketball coach. I don’t deal with the medical side of things. All I can say is that he’s a big part of our team.”
Pressed further, Enfield said, “We have to be patient and wait for the OK. It’s a step-by-step process, and we’re just following that.
“He is with us (each day), he’s studying the game, he’s watching his teammates participate and play and he will be out there, hopefully, pretty soon.”
Don’t try this at home
A pair of trampolines were pulled to midcourt at halftime of the Oklahoma-Iowa game.
A guy named Slayer climbed onto one of the trampolines. His buddy Brent got on the other one.
It was billed as the Flippenout Trampoline Show.
They started doing a series of bounces, spins and rolls.
Pretty routine stuff.
Then they upped the ante. Brent strapped on a snowboard and Slayer put on a pair of skis.
And they started bouncing, spinning and rolling again.
OK, now we’re impressed.
