Mater Dei’s LeRon Ellis, Whose Father Is Assistant at USC, Picks Kentucky

LeRon Ellis, a 6-foot 10-inch senior center from Mater Dei High School, announced Monday that he will attend the University of Kentucky next season.

Ellis narrowed his choices to St. John’s, Georgetown, Syracuse, USC and Kentucky before choosing the Wildcats. He made a recruiting trip to Lexington last weekend and then informed the Kentucky coaching staff of his decision on Sunday night. Nov. 12 is the first day a high school player can sign a national letter of intent.

“I’m a spur of the moment type of person, and I’m usually not wrong when I make a decision,” Ellis said. “I knew it was Kentucky from the home visits, but then I thought I better go ahead and make the trips.

“Once I saw the school, I decided I didn’t want to waste everybody’s time and my own time. Kentucky was just the type of place I wanted to go to.”

Ellis, 17, is the son of former Laker center LeRoy Ellis. LeRon transferred to Mater Dei last season from Parkrose High in Portland and averaged 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 51% from the field.

There was some speculation that Ellis would be joining his father at USC after Trojan Coach George Raveling added LeRoy Ellis to his staff in August as a part-time assistant. The younger Ellis said his father let him make his own decision.

“My father told me to go where you think is best,” said Ellis, who will play power forward at Kentucky. “He let me make up my own mind. He’s not mad or anything. He knows what I’m going to do.

“I thought everyone would stop recruiting me when my father got the job at USC. But USC was never on the top of my list. I wanted to go East to get into a new atmosphere.”