Published in the March 8, 2017 edition
CAPT. LOUIS ELLIS
Leads team with 17.6 ppg ave.
By DAVID McCOUBREY
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Pioneers boys’ basketball team won’t know their fate in the tournament for another couple of weeks. But the 16 guys on head coach Scott MacKenzie’s squad at least know that they will be immortalized with a rectangular “2017” patch stitched into a banner. That banner, “Cape Ann League Champions,” will hang on the walls of Lynnfield High School forever.
The Pioneers dress nine seniors and seven juniors. This is an experienced group. A group that has played together for a long time, building trust and familiarity. Lynnfield has become the best team, by far, in Cape Ann, going 15-1 in the league.
One of the major reasons for this sustained success is senior captain Louis Ellis. Yes, he’s a high school player, but in today’s basketball world, you can see how he’s the prototype of the game as it moves forward. At 6’4″, he’s big enough to post up and dominate down in the paint. And he’s not shy about grabbing tough rebounds. But Ellis, a smart, intuitive player, understands that the game today is played beyond the three point line. He is a scary good shooter from long distance, and fearless. His ability, at his size, to shoot the three draws bigger defenders out of their comfort zone, clearing space for the other four Pioneers to maneuver.
The numbers don’t lie. This season he averaged 17.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. Of course, when asked if he was on a roll, Ellis, ever the humble guy, deferred to his teammates.
“My shots are feeling good in practice, but my teammates have been helping me get open,” he said, adding that junior point guard Bill Arseneault “is a great facilitator. He knows where I am and where I excel on the court. He always places me in my strengths, never my weaknesses.”
The art of shooting
The more you talk to Ellis the more you understand that, yes, you can’t teach ingrained talent, but that he’s a creature of habit when it comes to basketball. His family had a hoop outside growing up and he would log hours shooting and shooting. And he talks about the art of shooting in a way that makes you realize this is a guy who has put in the work.
“It’s all muscle memory,” he said. “The angle of the backboard, the angle of the hoop. The perception, the depth, it’s all muscle. I can’t even explain it. It’s just in your head.”
To get to the level that Ellis has achieved, merely shooting jump shots alone in your backyard doesn’t cut it. He also added AAU, usually a who’s who of local basketball talent cobbled together from surrounding towns, to his repertoire. Ellis’ team was called Playmakers, and it was there where he developed strong chemistry with Arseneault and another standout of the Pioneers team, senior captain Mike Carangelo.
Ellis thinks his time spent playing AAU ball, which was concurrent with his time on Lynnfield varsity, was formative.
“We played a lot,” he said. “We played a lot of good teams, a lot of high-level teams, so I got a lot of good exposure. It’s competition you don’t really see in the Cape Ann League. It’s Division 1 athletes, kids you don’t really see a lot. That’s what’s helped me to be calm in tough situations.”
As Ellis grew his game from living in gyms, he also had the benefit of MacKenzie, a very good basketball mind and a leader of men who has had that same calming influence on his players. Ellis was quick to praise his coach.
“He helps keep us calm on the bench,” Ellis said. “He just reminds us, ‘Listen, you guys know what you’re doing,’ and we follow through with that. Everyone is experienced and mature enough to handle any situation.”
Basketball, and high level basketball, runs in the Ellis family. His sister Sophia, a sophomore on the girls’ varsity team, has been seeing more game time. Lou, the older brother, is something of a basketball mentor to Sophia.
He said, “She’s always trying to learn from me. I always try to teach her new things. She’s doing well. I mean, as a sophomore on varsity that’s impressive.”
Louis had to chuckle a little when I asked him if they ever play one-on-one.
“No she doesn’t want to get beat that bad,” he said.
As a star athlete, it’s hard to blame him for feeling that way. Lou is also an accomplished wide receiver on the football team.
And it’s Ellis’ focus that has led to several options to play ball at the next level, wherever that may be.
“I want to play basketball (in college),” he said. “I’ve been getting recruited for the past year and a half. I’m just looking for a school that will fit me.”
Clearly a smart, grounded guy, Ellis knows college isn’t just about athletic competition.
“Definitely academics first. And then play basketball,” he said. “I’ll look at schools and if it fits academics-wise, and can I play basketball there, and if both are ‘yes,’ then it’s a fit.”
Getting to know Lou Ellis has been an exercise in discovering a humble, yet confident man. He is soft spoken, he is genuine. Knowing all that I sort of semi-jokingly asked him if he was the best player in the Cape Ann League. His answer tells you all you need to know about Louis Ellis.
“I think we’re the best team in the league,” he said. “But it really just comes down to winning. We just want to keep winning. I just want to keep playing with these guys as long as I can.” He made Cape Ann League’s First Team All League for the second year in a row.
I interviewed Lou on Senior Night. He reflected back on his time playing for his Pioneers.
“It’s crazy. It’s a great thing to have my parents there and have all the seniors be recognized. I’m definitely going to miss my time with Coach MacKenzie and Coach Bakopolus and my teammates. I wouldn’t ask for a better team than I have this year.”
