Ellis piles up stats, tries to make IU history

Heading into every game, junior guard Jamarcus Ellis has a goal in mind: Sign the bubble.\nDuring practice, a clear, plastic bubble covers the basket during rebounding drills. IU coach Kelvin Sampson allows any player who grabs 10 or more rebounds in a game to sign the bubble. \nIt should come as no surprise that D.J. White, the top rebounder in the Big Ten, leads the team with nine double-digit rebounding efforts this season. What may surprise some Hoosier fans is that Ellis is the only other person to pull down 10 or more rebounds this season, and he has signed the bubble four times. \n“Trying to keep up with D.J. is a hard job,” Ellis said. “That is just something I have to do and I love doing it.”\nEllis’s passion for basketball, outside of scoring, is one of the reasons he has quickly become one of IU coach Kelvin Sampson’s favorite players. Ellis has logged more minutes (412) than any other Hoosier, and his unselfish style makes him a fixture in IU’s lineup.\nThe 6-foot-5 guard is the fifth best rebounder in the Big Ten, averaging 8.0 rebounds per game, and he ranks first in rebounds among guards in the conference. Junior forward and childhood friend DeAndre Thomas said Ellis has always had a nose for rebounding.\n“He has been like that since we were younger,” Thomas said. “He has that mentality of he wants that rebound, he is going to go get that rebound, and nobody is going to take it from him.”\nEllis and Thomas both transferred to IU this season from Chipola (Fla.) Junior College. The two had success at the junior college level, particularly Ellis, who was named NJCAA player of the year last season. During his award-winning season, Ellis recorded four triple-doubles and averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. \nAfter dominating the competition in junior college, Ellis said the transition to Division I basketball has “been a big jump.”\nSampson has continued to praise Ellis for doing the little things to help the Hoosiers win. While Ellis does not capture the headlines for flashy play or scoring points, his name consistently adorns the stat sheet. It’s not that Ellis can’t score – he tallied 15 points against Iowa – but the junior will defer to high-power scorers such as White and freshman guard Eric Gordon.\n“He doesn’t need to score,” Sampson said. “He scores because we need him to, not because he needs to. There are some guys that they need to score. If they aren’t scoring, they don’t feel like they are helping you. Jamarcus figures it out.”\nArmed with a well-rounded game, Ellis has set his sights this season on achieving the second triple-double in IU history. In 1971, Steve Downing notched the lone triple-double against Michigan, scoring 28 points, pulling down 17 rebounds and blocking 10 shots.\n“We talked about the only triple-double in IU history and (Sampson) is like, I should be the player who pulls out the second triple-double,” Ellis said. “I am going to work hard at it and try and do my best to get one.”\nEllis has also been the only IU guard to see action in each game this season. The Hoosier guards have missed a combined 19 games because of suspension and injury.\nFor Sampson, the most important quality in Ellis is his winning attitude.\n“I think he is a winner,” Sampson said. “I am not sure you can say that about every kid you coach over the years. There are some kids that have that little quality about them.”