Perry Ellis to complete degree then join the KU men’s basketball staff; McBride leaves KU
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball All-America Perry Ellis has returned to campus to complete his undergraduate degree and freshman guard Issac McBride has withdrawn from KU, head coach Bill Self announced on Friday.
"Many People have seen Perry on campus this semester. He is here to complete his internship hours toward his undergraduate degree (in sport management). Upon completion, in the next month, we look forward to him joining the men’s basketball staff as a video coordinator."
Head Coach Bill Self
Playing for Self Made, a team consisting of former KU players, Ellis injured his knee the first few minutes of The Basketball Tournament on July 26, 2019, in his hometown of Wichita. Following surgery, Ellis looked to come back to Lawrence for rehabilitation and complete his degree. Last spring, Ellis had already made the initial contact with KU assistant athletics director for academic and career counseling Vince McKamie on how to finish his degree.
"This opened up a cool opportunity for me because two or three months before my injury happened, I reached out to Vince about how many hours I had left to finish my internship. When he told me, I had no idea when I was going to finish because I’m not home long enough from playing basketball (overseas). Getting injured was God showing me a different path, preparing me for the future and to grow stronger as a person."
Perry Ellis
Following an outstanding career at KU 2013-16, Ellis played professional basketball in the NBA’s G-League and in Australia, Italy, Germany and Turkey. Prior to his injury, Ellis signed to play professionally in Japan for this upcoming season.
Ellis started 109 of 144 games played for the Jayhawks and ranks No. 9 on KU career scoring list with 1,798 points, 12th in rebounds at 834 and 13th in career double-doubles with 16. Ellis was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team his junior and senior seasons and led the Jayhawks in scoring both years, 16.9 ppg in 2015-16 and 13.8 ppg in 2014-15. He was named Consensus All-America Second Team in 2016 and was a finalist for the Wooden Award and Senior CLASS Award following his senior season. Additionally, Ellis was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection.
McBride, from Little Rock, Arkansas, signed with Kansas in November 2018 and was the 2019 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year while playing at Baptist Preparatory School. He joined the KU team in June 2019.
"We are all disappointed that Issac made this decision, basically on Tuesday. After discussing with his family, everybody came to the conclusion that this was not a good fit. We wish Issac the best."
Bill Self
