Posted on Mon, Oct. 09, 2006

Ellis is poised to succeed
The Warriors' second-year guard has endured a tough life only to emerge
as a steady force in his family and on the court

By Marcus Thompson II
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

When you've grown up in poverty, as did Warriors second-year guard Monta
Ellis, the struggles of the NBA aren't intimidating.

When you've been the glue for your entire family since you've been in
the eighth grade, keeping it together on the court doesn't seem so hard.
When you've watched tragedy devour your big brother, your role model,
defending Kobe Bryant doesn't seem so daunting.

See, basketball is the easy part.

"When you come from the background I come from, and you've seen the
things I've seen ... That's why I look at things the way I look at
them," Ellis, 21, said, pausing to stare into nowhere. "It's basketball,
just on another level."

The thing you notice about Ellis -- after his skeletal frame and oozing
talent -- is his poise. Ellis is either a master poker player or
downright unflappable. Never mind that he was a big fish from a small
Jackson, Miss., pond who jumped into the shark-infested waters of the
NBA. Never mind that he is undersized for his position and already has a
knee surgery to his name. There appears to be a distinct absence of
doubt when he steps on the court. There's not a situation or player that
intimidates him.

Ellis has been molded by poverty, shaped by chaos, strengthened by
struggle. He welcomes whatever challenges the NBA presents -- that
includes the challenge of added responsibility the Warriors are prepared
to lay on his shoulders.

"He's got that mentality," Warriors guard Jason Richardson said. "When
you go through things in your life, adversity, anything else that faces
you is easy. It's the same things with him. It's so easy because he's
been through a lot. He's got a lot of confidence."

Back in 1997, when Ellis was in middle school, his brother, Antwain, was
his role model. Antwain was a star basketball player at Lanier High
School in Jackson, and Ellis was his protege. It was Antwain who got
Ellis into hoops, who taught him to never back down from anyone.

But Antwain watched his friend get shot and killed in a minor drug deal
gone bad. The loss sent Antwain spiraling into a mental breakdown. His
motivation and hope for basketball, for life, whittled away to the point
that Antwain was emotionally incapacitated.

As Ellis, who was in middle school at the time, watched his brother
diminish, he transitioned from tag-along little brother to leader. With
his younger brother LaMarcus, now 18, watching, Ellis assumed his
brother's role as the family's pride and model of stability.

There was a reason Ellis was able to avoid smoking marijuana and
drinking, able to steer clear of crime and drug dealing. Along with his
naturally introverted demeanor, Ellis had the pressure of representing
the family properly.

That pressure has only amplified now that he's a rising NBA star.

"It kind of shocked me that it didn't intimidate him," Ellis' mother,
Rosa, said of her son's jump to the NBA. "He said, 'Mama, I'm not
afraid. I'll take a bunch of bumps and bruises, but I'll make it. I can
handle it.' He wasn't afraid."

When he came into the league straight from high school, after falling to
the Warriors in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, he wasn't
threatened by the task of proving himself and earning the big contract.

Going head-up against Richardson in practice wasn't intimidating. Not
even star point guard Baron Davis' domineering presence fazed Ellis.

When his first significant minutes in the NBA came at the Staples
Center, he wasn't too shook to put up seven points and six rebounds in
31 minutes and frustrate Bryant with his defense. And now that the
Warriors traded do-it-all guard Derek Fisher to make room for Ellis in
the rotation, he said he isn't the least bit concerned about whether he
can produce.

See, basketball is the easy part.

"Monta's special," Davis said. "It's only a handful of people that come
along that know who they are and that believe in themselves. He believes
in his talent. You can't shake his confidence. That's what being in the
league is all about."

For so long, the court has been his sanctuary. The turmoil was easier to
manage, the problems easier to solve.

Basketball kept him out of trouble, off the streets. Once the sun went
down, it was too dangerous to go to the park to play. So he nailed a
milk crate to a nearby pole to shoot hoops. His neighborhood was no
worse than most 'hoods, but he had to be smart with his decisions and
cognizant at all times.

Home life could be equally straining. They never had much. Ellis, the
middle of three brothers, said he used to have one pair of shoes for the
entire year. Unlike his brothers, Ellis didn't have a relationship with
his biological father. All he had was his mother and his grandmother.

The only people close to Ellis, outside of his family, were his high
school coach Thomas Billups, the uncle of Detroit Pistons point guard
Chauncey Billups, his best friend and his high school sweetheart. Only
his best friend remains in his life. Ellis said he felt betrayed by his
coach, and no longer liked what he saw in his fiance. So he had to sever
those ties.

"Money will change anybody," Ellis said, summarizing his breakup with
his coach. "Money will make friends, money will make enemies."

[RM: Do we know what the "betrayed by his coach" is all about?]

His past experiences and current responsibilities help him differentiate
between basketball and life, and their respective consequences. Fielding
calls from family and friends asking for money, keeping his brothers in
line, making sure his mother is protected, allowing his cousin to live
with him in Alameda -- those are real responsibilities, intimidating tasks.

And Ellis -- who turns 21 on Oct. 26 -- has had success in those
ventures. He has been wise about how he distributes his salary, most of
which is invested before he even touches it. His brother Antwain, 25, is
doing better and is expected to join Rosa in the stands for the
Warriors' season opener, his first time watching Ellis play live. His
mother, now retired from her job as a prison guard, is as comfortable as
she's ever been. Of his two cousins who live with him, one returned to
college for football and the other is working.

These real life triumphs, coupled with his remarkable talent, are enough
to convince Ellis he can conquer the NBA. To him, there's nothing
daunting about adjusting to coach Don Nelson's system, learning how to
be an NBA point guard and transitioning from a promising role player to
a reliable contributor.

See, basketball is the easy part.