There is another Elliott starting to make his basketball rise in Tucson, and, as a 6-foot-8 sophomore at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, he already is taller than his famous uncle at the same age.
Say hello to Lucas Elliott.
Lucas Elliott, a 6-8 sophomore at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy in Tucson, is starting to show basketball skills that are reminding people of his famous uncle, Sean.
He is the nephew of Sean Elliott, who made a big splash on the prep scene his senior year at Tucson Cholla in 1984-85, when he led the Chargers to the big-schools state championship game. Sean helped raise the Lute Olson-led University of Arizona era to Final Four level in ’88. He received a kidney from his brother Noel, Lucas’ dad, in 1999 to remain alive. He then made an NBA return to the San Antonio Spurs in 2000.
Sean Elliott, who left Cholla at 6-7 and entered the NBA at nearly 6-9, was ranked in late February by azcentral sports as the second-greatest basketball player in Arizona prep basketball history, behind Mike Bibby, another former UA star who led the Wildcats to the 1997 national championship.
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“I never really wanted to have anything to do with basketball,” Lucas said.
But things began to click once after his freshman year in high school.
He was raw as a freshman, not contributing much.
But over the spring and summer, playing club ball for Arizona Power Tucson, with a 7-1 wingspan, he began to show skills, athleticism and promise that led to offers from Portland State and Northern Arizona and led to a tour of the UA basketball facilities by coach Sean Miller during an unofficial visit.
Stanford, Montana, Grand Canyon and Air Force also are showing interest in him.
“Now I aspire to be like those guys,” Lucas said, referring to his uncle and the other greatest players in UA history.
Lucas’ father is 6-5 and mother 6-3.
Sophomore forward Lucas Elliott had a good spring and summer playing club ball for Arizona Power Tucson.
There are big differences between the games of Sean and his nephew.
Sean emerged during his junior year at Cholla and kept getting better, showing off tremendous ballhandling skills, taking the ball downcourt, sometimes pulling up for easy jump shots, often using the glass. Sean Elliott also had one of the more explosive first steps in Arizona preps history. He could get past a couple of defenders off the dribble and sky to the basket for dunks.
Lucas is still learning, facing the basket and playing with his back to the basket. Quickness and explosiveness will come with maturity and continued work. That is what happened to Sean, whose game didn’t really take off until the last two years of high school.
The family sent Lucas to smaller Pusch Ridge for the environment.
“We were looking at the total school, not just basketball,” Noel said.
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Pusch Ridge coach David Thomas, who also works with Elliott on the Arizona Power Tucson club basketball team, said Elliott didn’t play much as a freshman, because he wasn’t ready.
Now he’s ready to make a big contributing on varsity this year. He showed a soft shooting touch and the ability to rebound during club games.
“Lucas has a great work ethic,” Thomas said. “He’s been able to work out with some of my former players such as Mitch Lightfoot of Kansas and Brendan Rumel of Portland State University.
“During those workouts, he realized the off-season work he needed to put in in order to be a good player. To Lucas’ credit, he’s gone above and beyond anything that has been asked of him this past spring and summer. By the time he is done growing he should be no shorter than 6-10, so he has a high upside to him.
“If he keeps working hard, I think the sky is the limit.”
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-460-1710. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.
