Two-sport standout chooses 'first love'
South Carolina’s two-sport star Bruce Ellington has committed to playing basketball full-time and will no longer be part of the football team, USC announced Monday.
“Basketball’s always been my first love,” Ellington said in a release. “After giving it a lot of thought, this is the decision I’ve made. If you want to be great at something you have to commit to it full-time. I appreciate coach Spurrier for giving me an opportunity to play football at South Carolina. It was a great experience, but right now I want to focus on basketball. I also want to thank all the fans for their support throughout my time in Columbia.”
In his only football season, Ellington tallied two touchdowns and 707 all-purpose yards for the Gamecocks, with 211 receiving yards, 106 rushing yards and 390 yards on kick returns, earning Freshman All-SEC honors. USC officially begins spring practice for football today.
On the hardwood this season, Ellington missed most of the nonconference schedule, but averaged 11 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. In his freshman season on the team, he was selected to the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team.