Wake Forest Athletics News
Ellis well received by Joel crowd as he returns from injury Jan. 29, 2004 Coach Skip Prosser of Wake Forest claims not to be a soothsayer, but he will predict that Chris Ellis will eventually be able to help his basketball team. The operative word is eventually because for the better part of this season, Ellis was inoperative. A broken foot sustained in the first official practice of the year sidelined the 6-9 sophomore, delaying what he had hoped would be a strong season. Now that the Deacons are entering the rigors of ACC play, it appears he is getting back into playing shape just in time to lengthen the bench and help a team he fully intended to from game one. Ellis' injury happened under quite normal circumstances as a teammate fell onto his leg and foot during a routine drill. Ellis didn't think the injury was all that serious at the time, but when the pain failed to subside, trainer Greg Collins recommended an X-ray. "I didn't think it was broken, Ellis said. "I just thought it was sprained. I was in the next drill just limping real bad. Our trainer GC (Greg Collins) told me we were going to get some X-rays after practice, and that's when I saw that it was broken. I was hurting (both physically and mentally) because I knew I would be missing games. But everybody was real helpful (with the medical care and rehabilitation)." As helpful as medical and university personnel were, nothing could really buffer the disappointment of knowing he would miss valuable practice time and several games at the beginning of the season. Ellis had envisioned being even more of a rebounding and post scoring threat than he was as a freshman, but it seemed the gains made during the offseason might be lost as the broken metatarsal made staying in playing shape virtually impossible. "I just wanted to be an offensive rebounding threat, a solid defensive rebounder and a post threat," Ellis said. "I was really working on my conditioning and running up and down the floor and my quickness for perimeter defense. (At the time) I was disappointed, but it just made me want to work harder to catch back up to everybody." As anxious as Ellis was for his bones to heal, the cold hard facts were that time had to pass, and his mobility would be somewhat limited. Ellis, frustrated with the situation, looked to his family and his faith for guidance. "It was a real trying time for me, but I had to be strong," Ellis said. "My mom and dad were there, and my family was there to give me words of wisdom to keep me up. I called my mom right when I got it X-rayed and she told my family. But Trent's (Strickland) mom and family started praying for me, Kyle's (Visser) family prayed for me. Everybody showed me support, and on the court GC kept me smiling and my head straight when I had to just sit and watch, when it was so hard. GC was there, and he knew I hated my crutches and knew I hated being hurt. But he made it easier, more comfortable, more livable." The cast with which Ellis was fitted was removed on Nov. 14, and he was in uniform for the first time this season when Wake Forest played at SMU on Dec. 15. His first action was against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 30. He played 12 minutes, did not score and grabbed one rebound. It wasn't the debut for which he had hoped but a start to a long awaited comeback. "The crutches kept me in shape," Ellis said with a smile. "I wasn't able to lift legs or anything, but I was able to bench press and work on my upper body. My legs might not be as strong as they were, but I'm really strong in my upper body. My leaping ability is coming back and I should be back to 100 percent soon. I'm getting back in game shape. I get a little winded at times but there's no pain now." Ellis received his first substantial action against Brown. Against the overmatched Bears Ellis scored five points, had two rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 13 minutes of action. "You could tell (he's slowly getting back into game shape)," Prosser said. "Practice time is like gold. And when you lose as much practice time as he did, you can't make that up. When it's gone, it's gone. It's not going to happen for him over night, but I think eventually he can really help us. Tonight (the Brown game) was important. We tried to get him a few minutes to see how far along he has come and what else he needs to work on. I was pleased. I think you could tell he needs to grasp the ball stronger on the inside, but overall he did a good job." Ellis played 15 minutes at Texas and just one minute at Duke. But his presence should be greater felt as the season proceeds and he gets more comfortable with a role he is still defining for himself on this year's team. Guard Justin Gray knows his size and rebounding ability are greatly needed. "With Chris out there, it's another big body we can use," Gray said. "We need him and Vytas (Danelius). Chris will run the floor hard and go after loose balls, and that's what we need from him the rest of the season." The fans at Joel Coliseum also seemed to appreciate Ellis and his return to play. In both the North Carolina A&T and Brown games, Ellis received rousing applause as he came off the bench. Now he just wants to be more of a contributor and give the fans something else to applaud - Wake Forest victories. "It feels good to be back on the court, and I love the fan support," Ellis said. "They've seen me on crutches on campus, and I heard a couple of jokes here and there, but everybody's been real supportive about my rehabilitation and coming back. I've never had an ovation like that. Nobody's ever cheered me like that since senior night in high school. But it's good to feel that love from the crowd. "Now I've just got to take it one game at a time and play within myself and do whatever the team needs. The coach took me aside and told me I need to be a rebounding threat. So I just need to get through double box-outs and get to the glass. Coach (Prosser) really stresses rebounding, but he also pushes us to our limits every day and makes sure each player gets better individually, and that's the reason Wake is successful right now." |