Melvin Anderson Ely (; born May 2, 1978) is an American former professional

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player who was also an assistant coach for the Canton Charge of the

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. A 6'10", ,

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– center from Fresno State, Ely was drafted by the

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in the first round (12th overall pick) of the

2002 NBA draft The 2002 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, ...

. At Fresno State, he enjoyed a prolific career under the coaching of

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Reb ...

High school career

While attending Harvey Thornton High School, Ely earned All-American honors from

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and

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. As a senior in 1997, he averaged 15.5 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and 5.2 blocked shots per game during the regular season and was named the

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player of the year and first team all-state. Ely led his Wildcats to a second-place finish in 1995 and 1996 and third-place in 1997. During Ely's 3 years as a starter, Thornton Township posted a combined record of 93 wins and 4 losses, including marks of 32–1 in 1997, 31–1 in 1996 and 30–2 in 1995. 3 of those losses were to eventual IHSA 2A champions Peoria Manual. In 2007, Ely was voted one of the " 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament", recognizing his superior performance in his appearances in the tournament.

College career

Under the guidance of coach

at Fresno State, Ely led the Bulldogs to two NCAA tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001. He also won the WAC Player of the Year award in two consecutive seasons in 2001 and 2002.

Professional career

After two seasons in Los Angeles with limited playing time, Ely was traded by the Clippers along with teammate Eddie House on July 14, 2004, to the Charlotte Bobcats for two second-round draft picks in 2005 and 2006. During the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons, Ely rejuvenated his career as a prominent reserve role player. On October 2, 2006, he rejected offers from the

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and

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to sign a one-year, $3 million contract to remain with the Bobcats. On February 13, 2007, he was traded to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in exchange for forward

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

and a second-round draft pick in 2009. He played only 6 games for the Spurs, averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He did not play for the Spurs in the playoffs yet he still won the championship ring. In the 2007 off-season, Ely signed with the

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. It was formally announced on September 12 that it was a two-year contract. In 2012, Ely signed with the Brujos de Guayama of Puerto Rico. On October 27, 2012, Ely signed with the

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along with guard Chris Douglas-Roberts. He and Douglas-Roberts were waived the next day. On November 1, 2012, he was acquired by the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League. In September 2013, Ely signed with the

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. However, he was waived on October 26. In November 2013, he was re-acquired by the Texas Legends. On February 3, 2014, Ely was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On April 14, 2014, he signed with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

for the rest of the season. Ely's final NBA game was April 16, 2014 in a 105 - 100 win over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

where he recorded 4 points and 1 block. On July 15, 2014, he was traded to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. On July 30, 2014, he was waived by the Wizards. In September 2014, Ely signed a one-year deal with the Gunma Crane Thunders of the Japanese

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official ...

. On November 2, 2017, Ely was Inducted in to the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame with some of his 2005 Fresno State teammates in attendance.

Coaching career

On August 23, 2015, Ely was hired to join Martin Knezevic's staff in the newly-formed AmeriLeague in Las Vegas (league folded prior to the season). On September 27, 2016, he was hired by the Canton Charge to serve as an assistant coach.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 52 , , 7 , , 15.4 , , .495 , , .000 , , .703 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 42 , , 2 , , 12.1 , , .431 , , .000 , , .595 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , .4 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Charlotte , 79 , , 17 , , 20.9 , , .432 , , .000 , , .575 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .9 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Charlotte , 57 , , 22 , , 23.6 , , .508 , , .000 , , .667 , , 4.9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .8 , , 9.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Charlotte , 24 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .383 , , .000 , , .686 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , .3 , , 2.9 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" , † , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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, 31 , , 4 , , 12.0 , , .389 , , .000 , , .639 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 30 , , 2 , , 12.2 , , .549 , , .000 , , .619 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , .1 , , .4 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 13.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 375 , , 55 , , 16.0 , , .460 , , .000 , , .625 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.3

Playoffs

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, 7 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .267 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .267 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Melvin 1978 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Japan American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Brujos de Guayama players Canton Charge coaches Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats players Denver Nuggets players FISU World University Games bronze medalists for the United States Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball players Gunma Crane Thunders players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2001 Summer Universiade New Orleans Hornets players New Orleans Pelicans players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players Basketball players from Harvey, Illinois Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Texas Legends players