LOS ANGELES — The sight is the same, through rain or shine, dependable as death and taxes. Long after the Galen Center had cleared out from a Tuesday afternoon practice, Boogie Ellis remained. He fired shot after shot from the corner over a trainer’s mock contest, moving to the free-throw line, finishing with form work near the rim.
His work is consistent. It’s always been consistent. But as Ellis walked off to speak to reporters, there was an edge to him now, a hardness in the lines of his face. Gone is the blooming hope from the fall, after countless hours of that work in the summer, a fifth-year senior ready to lead a young group and light up the Pac-12. Reality has set in, more sobering than ever after a humiliating 31-point loss to Stanford: Ellis is running out of time.
“Cause it’s my last year,” Ellis said after the loss to Stanford. “I really do feel like my life’s on the line.”
It’s easy to see why. He returned for one more season at USC, chasing another NCAA tournament run and hoping to boost his draft stock – but the Trojans’ odds of participating in March Madness have dwindled to mere percentage points at the bottom of the Pac-12, and Ellis’ numbers have fallen back to earth after a hot start. He’s been dragged down by an array of injuries, rarely at 100% for as much as a single game this season, shooting 30% from the floor in the five games since his return from a hamstring injury.
His shot’s been off. His burst, frankly, has been largely absent, struggling to cut off the ball or blow by a defender on his first step. He is in a war: with his own body, with Father Time, fighting against a fate for USC (9-15 overall, 3-10 Pac-12) that seems all but already written.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Ellis said after Tuesday’s practice, speaking about his hamstring. “Trying to do certain things that I was able to do before it that I really can’t do now.”
And Ellis, often soft-spoken and a captain used to…
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