Wayne Ellington

Wayne Ellington was born in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania in 1987. The son of Elaine and Wayne Ellington Sr., Ellington lists his parents and high school coaches as his heroes. His father coached Ellington at the YMCA level, instilling in his son an enduring love for the game of basketball. After transferring from Daniel Boone High School in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, Ellington transferred to Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square. At Episcopal, he turned into a superstar, leading his team to a 27-4 record as a senior and 25-3 mark as a junior. In his senior year, Ellington averaged 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as Episcopal took home a conference title. Ellington then moved on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Away from the basketball court, Ellington started the Power of W.E. initiative in the summer of 2015 and has played an active role in speaking out against gun violence in America. He and other NBA players participated in the Chicago Peace Tournament, a "basketball event launched in 2012 to get gang members off the street and inside a gym." Ellington was so inspired, he launched a similar event in Philadelphia in 2016. After the 2015-16 season, Ellington was named by the NBA as the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award-winner for his "outstanding service and dedication to the community." You can follow Wayne "Weezy" Ellington on Twitter and Instagram @WayneEllington. For three seasons, Ellington was the starting shooting guard for the University of North Carolina from 2006 through 2009. The 6-foot-4 guard supplied 11.7 points per game while hitting 37.1 percent of his three-pointers as a freshman. He also scored in double digits in two of his four NCAA Tournament games. As a sophomore, Ellington scored 16.6 points per contest, good for second on the team behind Tyler Hansbrough. Ellington scored at least 13 points in all five games in the Big Dance, including 20 points in the second round win over Arkansas. As a junior, Ellington was named to the All-ACC Second Team for the second straight season. He provided 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 made three-pointers per game as a junior and hit 41.7 percent of his three-pointer shots. The Tar Heels won the National Championship in 2009 and Ellington scored at least 19 points in five of UNC's six NCAA tourney games, including 19 points in the Finals win over Michigan State. Ellington earned All-ACC Honorable Mention and Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 Final Four honors, then declared for the 2009 NBA Draft.