By: Todd Lindenmuth
LongwoodLancers.com
FARMVILLE, Va. -- When
Micaela Ellis arrived to Longwood's campus as a deer-eyed freshman in 2014, she was an under-the-radar, out-of-state recruit trying to prove that she could play at the Division I level.
Four years, 119 games and 95 starts later, Ellis has proven that she not only belongs at the Division I level, but is one of the best to ever wear a Longwood uniform.
Since Ellis arrived on Longwood's campus from Oak Park, Mich., four years ago, her game has blossomed as much as her ability to lead. On the court, Ellis has increased her scoring totals with each passing season, averaging a career-high 10.0 points this season in Big South play while taking on a greater role off the ball than her previous three seasons.
But Ellis' game isn't just predicated on scoring. The three-year captain has made an even bigger name for herself as one of the Big South's top distributors, ranking among the league's top four in assists per game for three consecutive seasons. Last season she led the league with 4.4 helpers per game, and this year she ranks fourth with 3.3.
"I like seeing my teammates do well," Ellis said. "I know a lot of people get really excited when they score, but you'll see me get really excited when one of my teammates gets a block or an and-1. I like to get my teammates involved."
That passion and ability to involve her teammates has her five assists shy of becoming Longwood's Division I assists leader heading into this week's Big South Tournament in Lynchburg, Va. It's helped her post 10-plus assists in three games throughout her career, including matching Longwood's all-time single-game assists record with 15 in a matchup last season against Winthrop.
A second-generation college basketball player after her father Eric Ellis Sr. played at Central Michigan, Ellis' recruiting profile was hindered due to a sprained ankle that cost her the final year of her AAU career.
However, that injury didn't sway her belief that she'd end up with a Division I offer.
Coming out of high school, Ellis didn't have a number of top schools lining up for her to play at the next level. In fact, Longwood was the only school to offer the guard out of Ferndale High School.
"I'm just happy they took a chance on me, and it worked out," Ellis said.
After sending highlight tapes to the Longwood coaching staff to pique their interest, Longwood head coach
Bill Reinson decided to watch Ellis in person. Reinson went to an open gym that Ellis had to watch her practice and get to know the young prospect.
"Micaela is an extremely hard worker," Reinson said. "It was apparent when I watched her at an open gym. She isn't the biggest or the fastest, but she competes as hard as anyone I've coached here."
Luckily for Longwood, that competitive fire from Ellis has been on display for four straight seasons and has led her, along with classmate
Autumn Childress, to become the faces of the Lancers' women's basketball program.
Ellis' work ethic on the court has also manifested itself in the classroom where she is a two-time Big South All-Academic Team honoree while majoring in exercise science. When her collegiate career comes to a close and she graduates in May, Ellis plans to pursue a graduate degree in biomechanics that applies scientific principles to movement.
In her third year as a team captain, Ellis has had seen leadership role evolve. After first navigating her captaincy as a young underclassmen trying to find her way while leading older players, she is now the elder statesmen and has found more confidence in her voice and leadership position on the team.
"I would say I grew more into a leadership role," Ellis said. "I wasn't the most vocal kid coming in here, knowing that my teammates respected what I said and the things that I said they took to heart, it made me feel like that was my role on the team, was to step up and be that vocal leader."
Ellis has fulfilled that role in every game of her career, literally. She enters Thursday's opening round game against Charleston Southern without having missed a single game in her four-year career, having played all 119 games and starting 95 of those. She has been in the starting lineup for 60 straight.
This season, Ellis has also taken on a role as a mentor for Longwood's freshman guards, such as
Stephanie Guihon. With both players being from out of state, the two formed an almost immediate bond where Ellis has guided the young freshman both on the court and off the court.
"Nobody specifically asked Micaela to mentor Stephanie, but that's what good leaders do," Reinson said. "Micaela has seen just about everything in her four years and Stephanie is wise to listen and absorb as much as she can."
That relationship stemmed from Guihon's official visit last fall where Ellis served as the host for the Largo, Md., native, answering questions about the program and showing Guihon Longwood's campus.
"She's been very helpful for me since I came on my official visit," Guihon said. "She's someone I've been able to look up to and she helps me in making sure I know how we're supposed to run things. Off the court, she helped me adjust to life as a college freshman."
For a soft-spoken, under-the-radar recruit out of Michigan, it's safe to say that Ellis has found a home at Longwood.
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