Kansas Signee Perry Ellis Named National High School Senior Boys Basketball Player of the Year

June 1, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball signee Perry Ellis has earned another prestigious award after a stellar career at Wichita Heights High School. Ellis was named the National High School Senior Boys Basketball Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association it was announced Friday morning.

Ellis is a four-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, while leading his Wichita Heights team to four-straight 6A State Championships. He finished his senior year averaging 25.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8, 220 pound forward passed former KU center Greg Dreiling as the all-time leading scorer in Wichita City League history earlier this season as Ellis finished his career with 2,231 points. Dreiling’s record stood for 31 years at 1,888 career points.

The NHSCA is a 501c3 non-profit service organization founded in 1989 to provide support and leadership programs for the nation’s 500,000 high school coaches that spend every day on the front lines molding today’s youth into tomorrow’s productive citizens. The NHSCA selects National Coaches and Senior Athletes of the Year in 22 boys and girls sports.

Ranked No. 24 overall by Rivals.com, Ellis averaged 22.1 points and 7.9 rebounds his junior season at Wichita Heights. As a freshman, he averaged 19.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists, while the following year he averaged 22.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest. The Wichita, Kan., native participated in the 2012 McDonald’s All-American game on March 28 in Chicago, Ill. He joined a long list of former Jayhawks to play in the game, as he was the 32nd different player to compete in the prestigious game.

Ellis will get his first game action as a Jayhawk this August when Kansas heads to Switzerland and France to compete in four exhibition games.