"It was the tradition," Ellington admitted. "[The tapes] were another thing that caught my interest. But I wanted a chance to be able to contend for a national championship."
He paused, and cracked his gleaming smile:
"Which sounds crazy, now, with Villanova in the Final Four."
Not only is Villanova in it, but the Wildcats are playing Ellington and the Tar Heels on Saturday in the national semifinals.
Ellington is a native of Birdsboro (near Reading) who starred at Episcopal Academy, which was 8 miles from Villanova's campus, after he moved to Wynnewood, which is 4 miles from Villanova's campus. He could have played at Villanova or virtually any other school in the country. Instead, he opted to join Williams at his favorite college program - no offense.
"I had a really good relationship with coach Wright," Ellington said.
In fact, before Ellington enrolled at Episcopal, Ellington's parents asked Villanova coach Jay Wright about Episcopal's programs, since Wright's three children attend Episcopal. Wright's son, Taylor, now plays basketball there.
Ellington's ties at Villanova are deeper than proximity and Jay Wright.
In 2004, Pat Chambers left Dan Dougherty's staff at Episcopal and joined Wright at Villanova. Dougherty, who played at Saint Joseph's, got his master's degree at Villanova and was an assistant coach there, too.
"We thought we had a chance," Chambers said.
Instead, Villanova also saw Tobacco Road make off with not just Ellington but another Episcopal star, Gerald Henderson, who stars for Duke.
"We were the local school," Chambers said. "But we came in second with both of them."
