EJ Elliott set to walk-on at Kansas
Kansas fans received some unexpected, but welcoming news, late on Saturday night. Dallas, Texas, shooting guard EJ Elliott (Elijah Elliott) has decided to join the University of Kansas men’s basketball program as a walk-on.
On Sunday morning, JayhawkSlant.com caught up with Elliott to discuss his decision and much more.
“Yes sir, I’ve made the decision to walk-on at Kansas,” EJ Elliott told JayhawkSlant.com. “I’m 6-foot-3, weigh 185-pounds and I play the shooting guard position. I’m from Southwest Texas and I worked out at IMG Academy for a little bit and then graduated from Southlake Carroll High School. I played with Nike Pro Skills, on the EYBL, since my freshman year.
“Then I played with YGC36, Marcus Smart’s team, last year, on the ADIDAS circuit,” he added. “I went to API with Billy Preston and all of them, my junior year. The other years, I went to Liberty Christian, a small private school right outside of Dallas.”
Throughout his recruitment, Elliott received interest from the likes of Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Bowling Green, Kansas, Nebraska, North Texas, TCU, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and others.
During that time, he was presented many opportunities to play at compete at the Division-1 level, but when the time came for Elliott to make a decision about his future, he knew in his heart that walking on at Kansas was an opportunity that he simply couldn’t turn down.
For most, if not all, playing at the University of Kansas is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Not really,” said Elliott when asked if he was a Kansas fan growing up. “Honestly, Coach (Bill) Self was the first one to just kind of believe in me and he would just make calls and texts. I just felt like, when I took a visit, it kind of felt like home. Everybody says it, but you really do feel home when you know where you need to be, so it felt like home.
“I will be at Kansas on June 1st,” he added. “I took a visit to Kansas during my junior year. They played Oklahoma State during my visit and then I came back this year when they played TCU.”
While a number of schools made a strong push for Elliott, just a few programs made the cut when it was time to close in on a final decision.
“Wake Forest was looking at me and Nebraska was looking at me, but the coach that was recruiting me at Nebraska left for UCONN, so I was talking to them, too,” he said. “UTA was interested and my dad played at UTA, so those were probably the top three schools. Those are the main schools I was considering.
“I made the decision to attend Kansas on April 5th,” he added. “I called Coach Self and told him about my decision.”
Before walking into church on Sunday morning, Elliott provided JayhawkSlant.com with a breakdown of what Kansas fans can expect from the talented shooting guard in the coming years.
“I’m a shooter,” he said. “People really don’t know, or they do right now, but I’m athletic, somebody that can guard and can just really do anything. I’m a gritty player.”
EJ Elliott: This and that
-- Was a starter his freshman year at Liberty Christian
-- Was honorable mention as a freshman in the distract. Julius Randle and Mickey Mitchell were also in the same district
-- As a sophomore, Elliott hurt his knee and missed 13-of-14 district games
--Made the move to API and backed up Oklahoma City guard Terrance Ferguson
-- Senior year, Elliott made the move to Southlake Carroll, but coming from homeschool, he didn’t play much (problem was credits). Worked out at IMG Academy for a short period of time and graduated from Southlake Carroll.