Alcorn State hires ex-NBA champion as basketball GM

Former NBA guard Monta Ellis is taking on a new challenge, joining Alcorn State’s men’s basketball program as general manager in his first major front-office role. The move comes as the Braves look to improve after finishing the 2025-26 season with a 9-23 record and enduring three consecutive losing seasons.

Ellis, a Mississippi native who starred at Lanier High School in Jackson, entered the NBA directly from high school. The Golden State Warriors selected him 40th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, which was the final draft that allowed high school seniors to declare.

The 12-year NBA veteran spent seven seasons with Golden State and became one of the franchise’s leading scorers before the emergence of Stephen Curry as its centerpiece. Ellis earned the 2006-07 NBA Most Improved Player award after averaging 16.5 points per game and was one of only four players to win the honor at age 21.

He was also part of the Warriors memorable “We Believe” squad that eliminated the 67-win, top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the 2007 playoffs. Ellis later recorded career-best scoring averages of 25.5 points per game in 2009-10 and 24.1 the following season.

Golden State traded Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2012 in a deal centered on Andrew Bogut. He later played for the Mavericks and Indiana Pacers before his final NBA season in 2016-17. Ellis finished his career averaging 17.8 points, 4.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.

At Alcorn State, Ellis will assist with roster building, player evaluations, recruiting plans, transfer-portal decisions, NIL opportunities and alumni and donor relationships. He will also mentor student-athletes. Athletic director E. D’Wayne Robinson expressed confidence that Ellis can provide credibility with prospective recruits.

Ellis said the position gives him an opportunity to contribute to one of Mississippi’s historically Black colleges and universities while helping bring greater attention to Alcorn State basketball.

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