LOS ANGELES — About 20 minutes after practice, most of USC’s men’s basketball players have headed to the locker room. But guard Boogie Ellis rises from the bench and walks out to the basket at the Galen Center.
While his teammates got up a few extra shots after being dismissed by head coach Andy Enfield, the senior Ellis sat on the baseline, watching and gathering his breath as he nurses a cold. The crowd now dispersed and his legs rested, Ellis rises and grabs a black weighted basketball to work on his floater. When he realizes reporters are waiting for him, the USC captain hurries to the sideline, conducts two interviews, then returns to work.
Each time Ellis has been asked for the secret to his improvements from his first year at USC as a junior to now, he turns to these moments. The hours on the court. The hours dissecting film.
The results have been apparent. Even if you ignore his career highs in most statistical categories, the eye test shows Ellis playing at a high level, making the right decisions with the ball in his hands. He’s evolved from a combo guard to a true point guard, seemingly in the span of four months.
“Boogie’s matured. He’s very focused. He’s a great leader, he’s really good with his teammates,” Enfield said. “He’s a totally different player and person than he was last year when he first got here.”
Ellis transferred to USC after two seasons at Memphis. He was renowned as a scorer, with a variety of offensive moves, reminiscent of the dancing ability he showed as a young baby named Rejean that led his uncle to nickname him “Boogie”.
The Trojans were just coming off an Elite Eight berth when Ellis arrived, and he joined a team with a set identity.
“I always got along with the guys,” Ellis said. “It was just more about me trying to figure out what my role was going to be.”
He settled into the role of two guard, replacing the offensive production USC lost with the graduation of Tahj Eaddy. Ethan…
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