City of Basketball Love

By Matthew Allibone (@bad2theallibone)
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Jordan Ellerbee spent his formative years searching for a home.

As a kid, he and his mother moved around South Jersey so much that he struggles to remember every town. At different points, he lived in Pennsauken, Lindenwold, Mercerville, Cherry Hill, Vorhees, Haddon Heights and Mount Laurel. 

He never felt part of a true brotherhood until he enrolled at St. Joseph’s Prep in high school.

That sense of brotherhood influenced his recent college decision. The 6-foot-2 senior guard committed Monday to Florida Gulf Coast, where he will be reunited with Eagles freshman center and former Hawks teammate Tristen Guilloute.

Ellerbee is the second player to join Florida Gulf Coast’s 2025 class, along with Perkiomen School guard Gabe Tanner.

“Every time I moved, I had to make new friends. Once I got to high school was when I felt comfortable,” Ellerbee said. “Tristen is still my brother to this day. He was a huge impact (on my decision) because of that comfortability. When he was around during my visit it just felt natural.

“It was like I already fit in there.”

Ellerbee had other reasons for choosing Florida Gulf Coast, which is coming off a 14-18 season in Philadelphia native Pat Chambers’ second season as head coach. Ellerbee said he visited the school on Aug. 22 and immediately identified with the former Penn State coach’s personality.

He also connected with a coaching staff filled with Philadelphia transplants -- including former Germantown Academy standout and La Salle assistant Kyle Griffin and former Roman Catholic and Penn State star Shep Garner.

Ellerbee said the Eagles coaches envision him as an “elite defender” on a fast-paced team. Florida Gulf Coast gave up fewer points (71.1 per game) than any team in the Atlantic Sun Conference last season but finished just 11th in offense (70.4).

“I love his energy on and off the court,” Ellerbee said about Chambers. “We have the same dog mentality. He’s all about player development. He’s transparent with his players and he’s honest with them.”

An explosive guard who thrives when attacking the rim, Ellerbee is coming off a junior season in which he averaged 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the Hawks. It was a breakout season for a player who flashed his potential while coming off the bench as a sophomore.

After earning offers from Drexel and Lafayette last season, Ellerbee’s recruitment really picked up at tournaments this spring and summer. His offer from Florida Gulf Coast came in May and was followed by offers from La Salle, Manhattan, Bryant, Kent State, Jacksonville and Robert Morris.

His initial conversations with the Eagles’ staff made a good impression. But he held off on forming any opinions until he saw the campus last month.

“You can never base it off just (early conversations),” he said. “Once I got down there it really clicked. I really liked their vision and how they play fast.”

Ellerbee is a confident kid. Asked if he always thought he’d play Division I basketball, he immediately answered “for sure.”

But he did allow doubt to creep into his mind a few times over the past few years. He broke his ankle the offseason before his sophomore season and wasn’t cleared until the first day of the season. And he suffered a bone bruise to his knee that sidelined him most of the following offseason.

He said there were times he doubted his abilities because of the injuries.

“You can always feel you’re back mentally, but that physical part is different,” he said. “The whole (sophomore) year I was trying to get back to who I was. I had some doubt in my mind recruitment-wise, but it made me want to have a big junior season.”

Ellerbee is now healthier than he’s ever been entering a season. He has plenty of personal goals and he knows he still needs to improve to reach them. After shooting 35% from 3-point range last season, he wants to be a “consistent three-level scorer” and reach 1,000 career points. He estimated he needs to average 15 per game this season to reach the milestone.

But that isn’t his biggest focus. After finding a brotherhood at St. Joe’s Prep, he wants to help the Hawks accomplish something they haven’t done since 2004.

“My No. 1 goal is to go to the Palestra and win the PCL chip,” Ellerbee said. “I just have to always go out there and be consistent and be a dog.”