What is Leron Ellis, Eric Manuel, and Chris Mills doing now ? [Archive] - Wildcat Nation Forums

TRexSmarts

03-21-2006, 01:44 PM

Buddah wrote: Does anyone know ? Did anyone watch the team that these guys played on ?
I was able to watch two of the three players play NCAA ball for Syracuse and Arizona. LeRon Ellis turned into a nice low post present and shot blocker for Syracuse. I enjoyed watching him play. Chris Mills went on to play for Arizona and pretty much was Arizona the three years he was there as their leading star. Another great player that would had been great at UK. Eric Manual couldn't play ball in NCAA anymore and had to go to NAIA to play ball. He went to a community college in Oklahoma I think and lead them to two straight championship. You can read about Eric Manual on Jon Scott's website.

Basically, if all three of these players stayed at UK, UK would had a nice tandem in the three and would had been great to watch UK ball.

As for Pittman, he decided to go to Oklahoma State where Sutton got his next coaching job the following year. I have the article but it talks more about the Probation years and Sutton than really talking about these players.

TRexSmarts

Will Lavender

03-21-2006, 01:52 PM

I can remember when Eric Manual signed to play at UK.

The rumor was that he was going to be one of the best to ever play in Lexington.

Ironic how it all turned out.

TRexSmarts

03-21-2006, 01:56 PM

Will Lavender wrote: I can remember when Eric Manual signed to play at UK.

The rumor was that he was going to be one of the best to ever play in Lexington.

Ironic how it all turned out.

Actually, his Freshman year, he was great. You could tell that he was going to be a great one at UK. Very few times, did I ever get excited about a freshman coming in to play for UK.

TRexSmarts

sardiscat

03-21-2006, 02:09 PM

Chris Mills was a great player at UK. Tough on the boards, good shooter, good passer, excellent defender, andhard-nosed as hell. Got the only triple double in UK history. And that was as a freshman. Ellis was completely wasted by Eddie Sutton at UK. The guy was a big, strong, mobile center with basketball skills, so Sutton naturally had him spend most of his time at the top of the circle as the relief valve for the guards to pass to when they were under pressure. Manual didn't convince me one way or the other. He spent most of his time shooting from outside the year he played for UK, and he was not a pure shooter. Sutton had him playing ahead of Richard Madison, which I thought was absurd. UK already had Chapman and Davender at guard that year. What was needed was a hard-knocking rebounder, which Madison was and Manual wasn't. Madison could even shoot better from outside than Manual, although Sutton would never give Madison the green light to shoot from outside. Thought Sutton cost UK the NCAA championship with that particular decision (along with his letting Cedric Jenkins rust on the bench the last half of that season).

Will Lavender

03-21-2006, 02:11 PM

Didn't LeRon Ellis have a decent pro career?

Wasn't he drafted by the Nuggets?

lighthouse

03-21-2006, 02:15 PM

Didn't Ellis and Pittman sign the same year? I officiated the Derby Classic All-Star game the year Ellis played, and I think it was Pittman that got into a shoving match with a 7 footer that was going to Kansas. We had to ask the coaches to take them both out to cool off.

TRexSmarts

03-21-2006, 02:20 PM

Will Lavender wrote: Didn't LeRon Ellis have a decent pro career?

Wasn't he drafted by the Nuggets?

Yes, LeRon Ellis did have a decent pro career but I'm not sure who drafted him. I do remember him having one or two years I think but for some odd reason, I'm thinking LeRon broke his leg or something for some reason. I have to check on that.

TRexSmarts

TRexSmarts

03-21-2006, 02:22 PM

lighthouse wrote: Didn't Ellis and Pittman sign the same year? I officiated the Derby Classic All-Star game the year Ellis played, and I think it was Pittman that got into a shoving match with a 7 footer that was going to Kansas. We had to ask the coaches to take them both out to cool off.
I think you are thinking of OysterTag? Yes, they signed the same year but I don't think Pittman was eligible at UK or something. Because looking at his stats, Pittman, he had all four years. So, either he changed his mind or something.

TRexSmarts

sardiscat

03-21-2006, 02:23 PM

Pittman never enrolled at UK. I don't remember the details, butI thinkhe didn't meet all the criteria to be eligiblewhen it came time to enroll after Sutton had led him to believe he would be eligible. He ended up going to OSU instead. I think he did sign the same year as Ellis (and Manual, Feldhaus, Pelphrey, Jonathon Davis, and Sean Sutton).

RaleighCat

03-21-2006, 02:47 PM

Mills played in the NBA for more than 10 years. Ellis had a cup of coffee in The Association. Manuel never made the NBA.

You're dead on about Sutton mis-using LeRon Ellis. He went on to a nice career at Syracuse (not unlike what Michael Bradley did at Villanova). I'm convinced Manuel was a victim of the shakeup. Just never got settledor comfortable. Mills was a stud- even better than Ron Mercer his frosh season- and that's saying something. Mills could've-should've been in the top 5 at UK when his career ended. He was probably going to leave early anyway, but could've been amazing in Blue as a junior.

lighthouse

03-21-2006, 03:59 PM

TRexSmarts wrote: lighthouse wrote: Didn't Ellis and Pittman sign the same year? I officiated the Derby Classic All-Star game the year Ellis played, and I think it was Pittman that got into a shoving match with a 7 footer that was going to Kansas. We had to ask the coaches to take them both out to cool off.
I think you are thinking of OysterTag? Yes, they signed the same year but I don't think Pittman was eligible at UK or something. Because looking at his stats, Pittman, he had all four years. So, either he changed his mind or something.

TRexSmartThanks TL. I don't think it was Ostertag, but I do remember Phelphrey and Sean Sutton playing in the game. Phelphrey couldn't get a shot off, and Sutton seemed to bevery nervous.

Aike

03-21-2006, 04:06 PM

Our only losing season in anyone's memory was one of your favorite teams? That's what I call a glutton for punishment.

wildcat74 wrote: Mills frosh year was actually one of my favorite player-teams.

Buddah

03-21-2006, 04:30 PM

You know if all that stuff hadn't happened, we would have had a team of Maunel, Champman, Kemp, Mills, and Ellis... that would have been an amazing team, and may have contended for a title.

TRexSmarts

03-21-2006, 05:15 PM

Actually, I have a theory that if we didn't get put on probation that from 1989 to around 1999 we could had beaten UCLA's record of the most consecutive NCAA Championships. The players were lining up here at UK for that to happen.

TL

T75

03-21-2006, 05:26 PM

Buddah wrote: Does anyone know ? Did anyone watch the team that these guys played on ?
Know what? I couldn't give a big hoot in a whirlwind about Ellis or Mills or any other of the guys who left us stranded high and dry. And that goes for KingRex too. Manuel's caseis different. He got the worst screwing that the NCAA ever meted out IMO. He was thestyle of player that Kelenna was trying to be. The guy obviously was no Einstein and he was led to believeabout what he was doing---- "We do it all the time" and that at UK it was no big deal and he could get away with it.

So Manuel's life was ruined and Sean is about to become the head coach at a major D-l school. And who said life was fair anyhow?

Buddah

03-21-2006, 06:11 PM

TRexSmarts wrote:
Actually, I have a theory that if we didn't get put on probation that from 1989 to around 1999 we could had beaten UCLA's record of the most consecutive NCAA Championships.Â* The players were lining up here at UK for that to happen.

TL

you know i thought of the same thing, could have happened, no doubt..

sardiscat

03-21-2006, 06:24 PM

"I couldn't give a big hoot in a whirlwind about Ellis or Mills or any other of the guys who left us stranded high and dry."

Mills didn't leave UK stranded. The NCAA told him he was not eligible to play at UK anymore, but he could play at other schools.

RaleighCat

03-21-2006, 08:09 PM

T75 wrote: Buddah wrote: Does anyone know ? Did anyone watch the team that these guys played on ?
And that goes for KingRex too. The love-fest for Rex Chapman continues. I do not understand the resentment for Rex Chapman. Never will.

UKSam

03-21-2006, 11:42 PM

T75 wrote: Buddah wrote: Does anyone know ? Did anyone watch the team that these guys played on ?
Know what? I couldn't give a big hoot in a whirlwind about Ellis or Mills or any other of the guys who left us stranded high and dry. And that goes for KingRex too. Manuel's caseis different. He got the worst screwing that the NCAA ever meted out IMO. He was thestyle of player that Kelenna was trying to be. The guy obviously was no Einstein and he was led to believeabout what he was doing---- "We do it all the time" and that at UK it was no big deal and he could get away with it.

So Manuel's life was ruined and Sean is about to become the head coach at a major D-l school. And who said life was fair anyhow?

Didn't we have Shawn Kemp for a day or two.............till Sutton's jewelry walked away?

kyrgaines

03-22-2006, 05:40 AM

Manual knew what he was doing was wrong. As I recall, Rex got drafted very high and how anybody would expect a kid to sit on that kind of opportunity just to be loyal to a fan is beyond my comprehension. I guess that makes Jamal Mashburn a sellout as well. BTW, Rex didn't even want to come to UK. He really wanted to go to Louisville.

Lost Highway

03-22-2006, 05:54 AM

kyrgaines wrote: Manual knew what he was doing was wrong. As I recall, Rex got drafted very high and how anybody would expect a kid to sit on that kind of opportunity just to be loyal to a fan is beyond my comprehension. I guess that makes Jamal Mashburn a sellout as well. BTW, Rex didn't even want to come to UK. He really wanted to go to Louisville.
Rex's father also quit on the Cats so it runs in the family. I agree Rex wanted to go to UL and looking back on it, maybe things would have been better for everyone had he gone with his first love.

catfando

03-22-2006, 06:21 PM

Rumors had it that Sutton promised Rex's Dad a coaching position and didn't make good on his promise. That created a bad relationship between Sutton and Rex. Rex was supposedly treated unfairly by Sutton and left for the NBA.

As far as Shawn Kemp. They asked Cawood one night who was the best player he'd ever seen play at UK and his answer was something to the effect of I don't know, but I've seen the best who would have ever played at UK and he was referring to Kemp.

allday

03-22-2006, 10:38 PM

I know noone here likes rumors or second hand information......but here goes.

I heard from several reliable sources that Rex was an actual hardship case. His dad supposedly had a serious gambling problem and the family was in pretty bad shape. I also know from seeing it on several sports talk shows a while back, his sister was in bad shape as well. She was dating Louis Billips from the Bengals and he beat her up all the time and was going to have Rex's legs broken for some stuff. This was all on ESPN outside the lines about sports figures abusing women. Billips later died in a car accident.

Sounds like he hada lot on his plate to be going to World History class. Give him a break.

sardiscat

03-23-2006, 09:06 AM

"Rex was supposedly treated unfairly by Sutton and left for the NBA."

It sure didn't happen on the court. Chapman had license to put uprat shots like nobody else I'veever seen play at UK before or since.