A natural and instinctive floor general, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ routinely combines a polished feel for the game with the ability to make timely plays under pressure. Ellis made his biggest impact through his commitment to running the offense and creating a natural flow for the group, highlighting his proficient feel for the game— controlling the pace of the game deciphering between when to push the tempo and when to slow down the pace, locating shooters when generating paint touches and collapsing the defense, and forcing defensive rotations with his quick burst off the bounce.

Ellis remains one of the more underrated 2028 guards in New Jersey, although that may not be the case for much longer. The 6-foot-1 guard plays with an advanced feel and has a knack for stepping up when his team needs a play. He did exactly that against Uniondale, connecting on timely shots to keep St. Mary’s within striking distance. His ability to make winning plays and produce in big moments should continue to draw attention, and he picked up an offer from Felician shortly afterward.

A natural floor general, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ excels at dictating the pace of the game with decision making, ball control, and his ability to balance scoring aggression and instinctive facilitation. In this matchup against Newark Collegiate, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ pushed the tempo early and often with a clear emphasis on getting out and scoring in transition— generating a large amount of rim pressure while at the same time maintaining his court vision in the open floor. Ellis offered additional production in different half court actions— efficiency as a spot up shooter off the ball, stepping into in rhythm looks with balance and confidence coupled with high IQ PnR navigation, specifically highlighted by his ability to split the defense for tough finishes at the basket in traffic.

Pound-for-pound one of the toughest and most competitive kids in camp, the 6-foot-1 Ellis continued what’s been a highly impressive Summer. A sneaky athlete with good upper body strength and his head on a swivel, Ellis made the guys around him better, while also being efficient as a scorer himself.

A natural floor general, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ possesses a unique ability to control the rhythm of a game through his decision making, ball control, and overall strong command of the offense. Ellis is expected to shoulder an even larger workload offensively heading into the winter and offered extremely encouraging glimpses of what his impact is set to look like, particularly in his ability to pick apart the defense— playing with excellent feel, picking his spots and scoring when necessary as well as setting up his teammates with timely passes for quality looks. Aggressive in being an overall decisive playmaker, Ellis’ versatile scoring package saw him get in the lane off the bounce and be evasive finishing in traffic from different angles around the basket while mixing in some patented stop on a dime mid range pull ups and some in rhythm perimeter shot making off the catch. Keeping his vision when getting deep in the paint, Ellis made a lot of strong reads as a distributor— locating outside shooters in the half court, rewarding well timed off ball cutters, and even throwing accurate lob passes to lane runners in transition.

A lead guard who possesses an innate ability to impact the game as an overall decisive playmaker capable of controlling the pace and tempo of a game coupled with some impressive ball skills, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ ‘ performances over the final July live period ultimately reflected his high level understanding of the game and his ability to make smart, dependable decisions under pressure. Savvy in his scoring approach, Ellis converted on looks from multiple different areas on the floor— pull ups off the bounce in the mid range area and all the way out on the perimeter, putting pressure on the rim in transition for tough in traffic finishes, and even half court rim pressure whether it was rejecting ball screens or attacking straight line driving angles for strong finishes at the basket.

Facing a 10-point deficit in the closing minutes of the 16U semifinals, Ellis went into the phone booth and came out with his Superman cape, steering a valiant comeback that culminated with his game-tying pullup 3 followed immediately by a steal and winning layup. Ellis would carry his steely competitiveness and robust skillset into the championship, helping the Beasts to emerge as the 16U circuit champions. The lead guard was a load to handle both in transition and the halfcourt, showing outstanding polish to his on-ball skill level along with growing confidence and efficiency as a pullup shooter from long range. In addition, the elevated stakes served as a platform to showcase Ellis’ sheer toughness and competitive will to win. He surely made fans among the handful of D1 coaches in the crowd.

Ellis showcased his ability to fill it up offensively and proved he can heat up in a hurry whenever the ball is in his hands. He scored at all three levels, knocking down shots from beyond the arc while also attacking the paint with confidence to create quality looks for himself. Beyond his scoring, Ellis displayed good court vision, consistently finding teammates in different spots on the floor and creating scoring opportunities with his passing. His all-around offensive skill set makes him a difficult matchup, as he can impact the game as both a scorer and facilitator. After earning a division two offer from Caldwell earlier in the week, Ellis appears to be gaining momentum on the recruiting trail. With his continued development and offensive versatility, he should see a significant uptick in his recruitment over the next year.

Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ provided a nice scoring pop to open up things for St. Mary— particularly with in rhythm spot up shooting, attacking driving angles off the bounce in the flow of the offense. All while keeping the defense honest and looking to create for others, maintaining his court vision on dribble drives and hitting timely and precise passes to his open teammates.

Routinely tasked with leading the offense as the primary ball handler for this 16U NJ Beasts group, Jake Ellis Jake Ellis 6'1" | PG/CG St. Mary | 2028 State NJ consistently demonstrates a strong balance between facilitating for teammates and creating scoring opportunities for himself, ultimately exemplifying his strong feel for the game as a sound and reliable decision maker. With the ball in his hands, Ellis applies constant pressure on opposing defenses— timely scoring for smooth perimeter pull ups out of ball screens, tough finishing in transition, converting on open looks as a spot up shooter. All while also displaying impressive command in PnR scenarios, making patient, decisive reads and utilizing his court vision to create opportunities for others, whether finding bigs inside or delivering accurate drive-and-kick passes to perimeter shooters.