Tyrone Ellis
Tyrone Gerard Ellis, Jr. ( born October 5, 1977 in Dallas, Texas) is a native American, former professional basketball player who also possesses the citizenship of Georgia since 2006. After studying in his native Ellis first played a year in the newly formed NBA Development League (D -League ) before he moved to Europe in 2002. From 2003 to 2005 he played successfully in the Opel Skyliners Frankfurt in the German Basketball League, with whom he was German champion in 2004. After seasons in Turkey and Italy, he played from 2007 to 2012 in the Spanish ACB League. At the beginning of the season 2012/13 he was assistant coach with the Tulsa 66ers in the D- League.
Career
Ellis studied at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, whose sports teams are organized in the NAIA. After completing his studies he got a contract with the Flights from Huntsville (Alabama ) in the newly established Development League of the NBA. After one season, he moved to Europe and played in the 2002/03 season for the basketball club CB Sant Josep Girona from the Catalan in the Spanish top flight.
Skyliners Frankfurt (2003 to 2005)
In 2003 he moved in the highest German league to the Frankfurt Skyliners. The Skyliners he won in the 2003/ 04 BBL season, the German championship in five games against the GHP Bamberg. This was the first German championship in 15 years, which was not recovered by Alba Berlin or the Bayer Giants Leverkusen record champions who had won the title seven times in each series. In addition, the German Cup final was reached, which was lost to Rhein Energie Cologne. In the following season, in the Ellis a large part of the season was injured to the Championship play-offs, you could again reach as defending the final series of the championship, which went this time lost to GHP Bamberg in five games. In the highest European League ULEB Euro League 2004 /05 would retire after four wins in fourteen games in the first group stage.
Turkey and Italy (2005 to 2007)
After a trip to the summer break in the ABA, he joined the Turkish club Beşiktaş Cola Turka for the 2005/ 06 season, with which he eliminated in the national championship semi-final against defending champion Efes Pilsen Istanbul. He then has a pre-contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, which was settled before the season starts again. Gordon Herbert, his former coach at the Skyliners Frankfurt, then picked him as Georgian national team coach in the Georgian national basketball team, which is why his Georgian citizenship was granted in 2006. In the 2006/07 season he played in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A at Eldo Napoli, with which he eliminated in the quarterfinals of national league and cup competition in each case. With the southerners he played one more time in the ULEB Euro League 2006/07.
ACB league (2007 to 2012)
In 2007 he returned to the Spanish ACB League and signed a contract with Cajasol from Seville. Only in the season 2009/10 to qualify for the play-offs succeeded to the Spanish Cup, in which one was eliminated in the first round. 2009 Ellis won the Georgian national team Division B of the European national teams, thus achieving promotion to Division A, the person entitled to participate in the qualification for the European Championship finals in 2011 in Lithuania. In the season 2010/11 Ellis played one more season in the ACB league at Asefa Estudiantes from the capital, Madrid. In Eurocup 2010/11 is eliminated in the quarter-final against KK Cedevita from Zagreb, Croatia. In the following season he joined in November CB Lucentum from Alicante to, with whom he reached a play-off place at the end of the season. In the play-offs but would retire in the first round to eventual champion FC Barcelona shelf. Then Alicante renounced in favor of CB Gran Canaria on another top-flight season and retired in the second league LEB Oro.
Assistant coach (since 2012)
After the withdrawal of Alicante Ellis ended his active career in 2012 and was assistant coach with the Tulsa 66ers in the D- League.