Former NBA player LaPhonso Ellis — who is the coach of the Heartfire TBT — is “ashamed of [his] behavior” that led to him getting ejected in a 79-74 victory over The Enchantment on Wednesday. Ellis was captured on camera shoving center Joe Furstinger of The Enchantment with both hands during a heated on-court moment in the TBT’s Albuquerque Regional.
LaPhonso Ellis Rumors
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LaPhonso Ellis
Position: -
Born: 05/05/70
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:240 lbs. / 108.9 kg.
Earnings: $27,939,000 ($51,961,878*)
Born: 05/05/70
Height: 6-8 / 2.03
Weight:240 lbs. / 108.9 kg.
Earnings: $27,939,000 ($51,961,878*)
Furstinger reposted a video on Twitter — initially shared by his teammate Drew Gordon — that showed Gordon in a tense exchange with Ellis during the game. The clip showed Gordon pushing Ellis’ hand away from from his face as a coach from The Enchantment intervened. “I ain’t the one..idk who you are,” Gordon tweeted.
After 11 years at ESPN, LaPhonso Ellis is being promoted to the top of the network’s hoops coverage as he will join “College GameDay” with Rece Davis, Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg. “Overwhelmingly honored, bro,” Ellis told The Post. “It came out of nowhere.”
Ellis said while it is nice to be honored, it will be “sad on two accounts.” Teammate Bison Dele (formerly Brian Williams) was killed in 2002 in an unsolved boating accident, and Rodney Rogers is in a wheelchair after an ATV accident in 2008. Rogers will be at Monday’s ceremony. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around it sometimes,” Ellis said. “It would be one thing if we won a world championship. But obviously what we were able to accomplish in 1994 still resonates with people within the organization and people in town as well. “It’s a priviledge, and we’re flattered and honored that the Nuggets would bring us back to town and have a night like tonight.”
Where are they? A look at the whereabouts of members of the 1993-94 Nuggets: Coach Dan Issel: Working in the oil and gas industry for a Windsor company. Broadcaster for a couple of Nuggets games this season. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: Lives in suburban Atlanta. Gives private basketball training sessions. LaPhonso Ellis: College basketball analyst at ESPN. Tom Hammonds: Went into drag racing after 12-year NBA career. Briefly owned a car dealership in South Carolina. Now in the construction business in Florida. Reggie Williams: Resigned in September as coach of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. Rodney Rogers: Paralyzed as a result of a dirt bike accident in 2008. Lives in North Carolina. Brian Williams (Bison Dele): Presumed dead after disappearing during a sailing trip in 2002. Robert Pack: Assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bryant Stith: Assistant coach at Old Dominion University. Dikembe Mutombo: Humanitarian and NBA global ambassador.
The two joked about that series, and Ellis also spoke highly of the current Denver coach. “George Karl is a Hall of Fame coach,” said Ellis, who now lives in South Bend, Ind. “He’s excellent with X’s and O’s. He’s able to find those jewels out there that maybe someone has given up on. He brings them in, and they do great things. “I think they have put together an amazing crew this year. Size and speed, they can defend. Andre Miller is old reliable. Ty Lawson gives you speed at point guard. The issue so far is that they’re not used to playing together. I think they’re going to make a big run — they could be the best team in the Western Conference.” Ellis now calls games for ESPN while rooting on his alma mater, Notre Dame, one of the nation’s top football schools this season. As for hoops, “I’m a basketball junkie. I love the sport,” he said. “I love to coach it and teach it, and obviously with what I do with ESPN, I love to call it as well.”
