Perry Ellis, Wichita Heights aim for fourth-straight Kansas basketball title

Stress free from the recruiting process after signing a national letter of intent to play basketball for the University of Kansas in November, Heights (Wichita, Kan.) standout senior forward Perry Ellis is relaxed and raring to get his final prep campaign underway.

Ellis, like the rest of his teammates, is hoping that his final Kansas high school go-around ends just like his first three – with a gold medal around his neck and a Kansas Class 6A state basketball championship trophy in his hand.

Having played a major role on the court his freshman through junior seasons, Ellis now realizes he is going to have to take the bull by the horns vocally as well after losing eight of his 2010-11 teammates to graduation last spring.

"Each year is different," MaxPreps' No. 26 overall recruit in the Class of 2012 said. "We lost a lot of senior leadership. We lost a lot of good players. I'm ready to step into that role."

Hounded by recruiters since early in his freshman season, Ellis has been allowing his play to do his talking for him on the court. With a healthy season the three-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year will more than likely reach the 2,000-point/1,000-rebound milestone.

Ellis is averaging just more than 21 points and 10 rebounds a game in 75 career contests. But there is so much more to Ellis' game than his numbers. Just ask Lonnie Lollar, coach of Wichita City League foe Bishop Carroll, who locked horns with Ellis in the eighth prep basketball game of his career.

"His freshman year, we tried to go right at him," Lollar recalled of the 48-45 loss to Heights. "We were hoping that with him being so young in his high school basketball career, we could get him in foul trouble, so we tried to attack him. I was really impressed with how intelligent he was on defense. We never really did get what we wanted.

"He's like a 6-8 guard. Ninety-nine percent of the time he's the best athlete on the court. If he really wanted to, he could average 40, 45 points a game. I've seen enough of him in six games to draw that conclusion. I'm not sure if he's ever been asked to score that much. That's just not his style. He's so unselfish, and because of it he makes their team so much better."

Ellis, who has never fouled out of a high school basketball game, won't go it alone for coach Joe Auer. The top-heavy Falcons also return two-year starter and 2010-11 Topeka Capital Journal third team all-state player Terrence Moore and landed honorable mention all-state transfer Gavin Thurman from Wichita Southeast in the offseason.

Auer could potentially have three 1,000-point scorers on the floor at the same time later this season. Ellis is set to build on his 1,587 career points in 2011-12. Moore, who will play basketball at Emporia State next season, and the Missouri State signee Thurman are within striking distance of the milestone with 617 and 566 career points, respectively.

"The thing that sets Perry apart is his speed," Auer said. "From baseline to baseline, he's the fastest guy on the court. He's 6-8 and weighs 225 pounds and has a tremendous gift athletically. He's a very conservative player. He takes no chances and doesn't force shots. Perry is a high-percentage player. This year we need him to be a more commanding player."

As for Moore, Auer said his 6-0 guard is a gifted transition scorer with a wide array of tools including a dangerous jump shot and way above-average ballhandling skills. His on-ball defense and ability to rebound give opposing teams fits.

"He is such a terrific athlete and he runs the floor so well," Auer said. "He can really finish. His plate is pretty full. He has a lot of on-court responsibilities."

Although he didn't have Thurman at his disposal until this season, Auer has coached against the dangerous outside shooter aplenty during the 6-7 forward's first three prep seasons. Now Auer is more than happy to list him on his roster.

When Ellis is battling underneath, Auer said he and Thurman will make a terrific inside-outside combination for enemy defenders to try to stop.

"His strength is his shooting touch," Auer said about Thurman, who is knocking down nearly 39 percent of his shots from 3-point range in his career. "He has as good of a jump shot as there has been in this league in the last 15-20 years. He has a wonderful shooting touch. He's a scorer and he has a wide variety of shots in his repertoire.

"Gavin has got to learn to be a defender. He's a very inexperienced on-ball defender so we're going to have to give him a crash course. I don't think he was asked to do that a lot in his first three seasons. But he has a great hunger for getting better. He's going to be a complete player for us."

Auer projects 6-0 senior guard Gabe Lynch as a starter alongside Ellis, Moore and Thurman. The final spot will likely be filled by either 6-2 sophomore guard Ealy Bell, 6-0 junior guard Chris Reed, 6-4 senior forward Lorin Smith or 6-0 senior guard Preston Kolbeck.

"This team is the most inexperienced team in comparison to the three state championship teams," Auer said. "It most closely resembles the 2009 team that had veteran experience at guard. We have a veteran center and a veteran 2-guard. We're very talented and very big. But we're very inexperienced."

That may be. But Lollar would bet top dollar that Heights could tackle most of its competition with only its top four players on the floor at the same time.

"They are a very good team top to bottom," Lollar said. "You can't get behind by much. You have to stick around. The focus is no doubt on Perry. You can't equalize Perry. You have to hope the other guys have bad nights.

"It'll be interesting to see how interchangeable Perry and Gavin are. Gavin will become a better basketball player going up against Perry every day and Gavin will make Perry better too."

While Heights does not get a lot of exposure nationally, the Falcons will get tested attempting to survive one more rugged run through the always-competitive league slate. The WCL has produced Kansas' big school state basketball champion in 25 of the last 41 seasons.

Auer will travel with his squad to Kansas City, Mo., in mid-December to participate in its fourth straight HyVee Shootout at Avila University. The Falcons are slated to hit the court against Raytown South.

"It's something," Ellis said of playing in the Classic which pairs boys and girls basketball teams from Kansas against counterparts from Missouri. "We'll be playing on television against a team that's new to us. I mean, everybody will be watching us. It'll help us get the jitters out for later in the season."

Heights' final run with Ellis in uniform began with a 71-54 victory at Wichita North Friday. The Redskins will bring a star of their own to the fight in 6-0 junior point guard Conner Frankamp. Wichita North will be attempting to hand Heights just its second league loss with Ellis on the floor for the Falcons.

Wichita Southeast is the only WCL squad to upend Ellis and the Falcons, winning 72-64 in mid-December 2009.