City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
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CHESTER — Starting games on the bench gives Jordan Ellerbee a different perspective. The St. Joe’s Prep sophomore is attentive, paying close attention to the other team, finding ways to help once he comes in. If he feels his team needs an energy boost Ellerbee provides it with his aggressive drives and pesky defense.

“When I'm on the bench in the beginning,” he said, “I try to get my team fired up.”

“Jordan is basically a starter for us but right now he's coming off the bench as has accepted that,” Prep head coach Jason Harrigan said. “We haven't had any issues with it at all..it says a lot about the maturity and commitment and dedication to the team.”

Elllerbee gave his team a spark off the bench Thursday at Widener University, scoring a game-high 16 points in St. Joe's Prep 73-61 win over Friends Central as part of the 2022 Pete + Jameer Nelson Play-By-Play Classic. The 6-foot-1 guard slashed to the basket, knocked down open jumpers and set up his teammates, dishing out a team high five assists to go along with his scoring.

Shortly after subbing in during the first quarter, Ellerbee grabbed a rebound and pushed the ball up the floor, getting into the lane and kicking it out to classmate Jaron McKie who swished home a three. McKie had a slow start, with only two field goals in the first half after scoring 34 against Malvern Prep the day before. Ellerbee picked up the slack. 

An acrobatic finish in the lane gave Ellerbee his first points of the game, and provided him confidence to keep going. The guard scored 12 points in the quarter, hitting all four of his shots including another three pointer. Ellerbee’s scoring pushed the Hawks’ lead to 21 at halftime after a 25-8 second quarter. 

“He competes for us,” Harrigan said, “You never know what could happen and today was his night. I was really happy to see him out there looking, comfortable and that he had that moment.”

This Prep team has a couple names synonymous with Philly hoops, whether it’s Olin Chamberlain Jr. who’s Wilt Chamberlain's grand-nephew, or McKie, who’s the son of former Sixer guard and Temple head coach Aaron McKie. 

Jordan shares a famous last name with Bill Ellerbee, who coached at Simon Gratz for 20 years. Ellerbee coached the likes of Rasheed Wallace and Aaron McKie during his tenure. Despite sharing the same last name, Jordan has no relation to Bill, but finds it funny whenever someone asks him if they’re related. 

Ellerbee spent last season playing mostly JV while getting some varsity minutes. Playing with the team during the summer, Ellerbee became comfortable with the pace of the varsity game. Getting reps in the offseason has gone a long way for the sophomore, as he’s made an instant impact for the Hawks. 

“Not only has his game matured, but his body has also, growing taller and becoming stronger in the weight room,” Harrigan said. “He's a gym rat as well, he’s always there and it’s paying off.” paid.”

During a preseason tournament, Ellerbee suffered an ankle injury, keeping him out for a month. Ellerbee explained it was tough being injured, because mentally he was ready, but physically he couldn’t do the things he wanted. The sophomore still isn’t all the way back up to speed, but is getting better each day and will be back to where he was pre-injury soon. 

While out, Ellerbee watched from the sidelines, but made sure he was still involved. Being vocal and helping his teammates during practice and scrimmages helped him stay engaged and allowed him to be up to speed when he returned. 

Ellerbee has a “special” relationship with fellow sophomore guards McKie and Chamberlain. Off the court they can always be found hanging out and their connection on the court shows every game. Each presents a different challenge, with Ellerbee’s slashing ability, Mckie’s knockdown shooting and Chamberlain’s vision and passing. Together, the guards give opposing teams headaches with their versatility. 

“It gives us flexibility,” Harrigan said. “Each of those guys provides different attributes to the game, but they work well together which bodes well for us.”

Mckie hit three 3’s to get to his 16 points, dishing out four assists, while Chamberlain was in double figures with 10 as well. Junior guard Jalen Harper provided a boost with 11 points. The excellent guard play allowed junior forward Tristan Gillouette to shoulder less of the load offensively, finishing with just four points with nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists,sitting out most of the second half with an ankle injury. 

Prep (5-1) dominated Friends’ Central (4-7) through three quarters, leading 58-30 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

As Prep started to use more of its bench in the third, Friends made a run, cutting the lead to nine with a minute left. Collin Bowman led the Phoenix with 14 points, hitting three triples with Muhsin Muhammad and Fazl Oshodi both having 11. It was too little too late FCS, with Prep coming out victorious.  

Prep’s team is still young with the main core being underclassmen, but they’re gaining experience with each game. Once Catholic League play starts, the team is going to face adversity and how they respond may dictate their success this season. 

“Every day, every game, every play will be tough,” Harrigan said. “For us, we want to kind of just stay the course, be resilient and be ready for whatever comes our way. We have to understand there's gonna be highs and lows throughout the game, but just be prepared as possible to deal with them.”

By Quarter
Prep:  16  |  25  |  19  |  13  ||  73
FCS:  12  |   8   |  16  |  25  ||  61

Scoring
Prep: Ellerbee 16, McKie 16, Harper 11, Chamberlain 10, Gorman 8, Maquire 6, Guilloute 4, Hartz 2

Friends Central: Bowman 14, Muhammad 11, Oshodi 11, Belcher 7, Green 7, I. Moore 5, G. Moore 4, Foley 2