Duke grants hoops recruit Boogie Ellis his release

Duke’s improvement from the 3-point line next season will have to come without guard Boogie Ellis.

Ellis, a four-star recruit from San Diego, has been released from his Letter of Intent by Duke, a school spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

Ellis, a 6-2, 165-pound guard, will re-open his recruitment. He was considered the best outside shooter in Duke’s sterling recruiting class.

Ellis signed with Duke in November, along with wing Wendell Moore. The Blue Devils, who ranked No. 327 in 3-point shooting percentage last season, added forward Vernon Carey, forward Matthew Hurt and guard Cassius Stanley in April to form the top-rated class (by 247Sports) in the country for fourth straight year.

Ellis, ranked No. 34 class, averaged 17.2 points and made 44.6 percent of his 3-point shots (66 of 144 in 23 games) on the Nike EYBL circuit last year. He will re-open his recruitment, with Memphis considered as a possible landing spot, according to 247Sports, which was first to report Ellis’ decision on Thursday.

With Tre Jones back at point guard and Carey, the No. 4 recruit in the country, in the post, Ellis would have given Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski a 3-point specialist.

Hurt, the No. 9 recruit in the class, is bigger (6-9, 215 pounds) but is considered a strong shooter. Stanley, No. 31 in the class, junior guard Alex O’Connell and sophomore Joey Baker are more options on the wing for Krzyzewski.

With Ellis’ exit, Duke may be back in the hunt for guard RJ Hampton, a top-five recruit in the 2020 class who recently reclassified to 2019. Duke fell out of the running for Hampton when Jones decided to return to school but there’s more space in the backcourt now.

With Zion Williamson inside and RJ Barrett’s ability to get to the basket, Duke relied on the 2-point shot last season. The Blue Devils won 32 games, and the ACC title, while making 58 percent of its 2-point shots (No. 4 in the country, according to KenPom).

But its 3-point percentage (30.8), ranked No. 327 out of 353 teams last season. The Blue Devils shot 29.6 percent (130 of 439) in ACC play.

This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 1:59 PM.