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Longhorns 2021 Signee Emarion Ellis Follows Shaka Smart To Marquette

The Texas Longhorns have lost yet another 2021 signee following the exit of Shaka Smart, in point guard Emarion Ellis

Matt Galatzan

Longhorns 2021 Signee Emarion Ellis Follows Shaka Smart To Marquette
Longhorns 2021 Signee Emarion Ellis Follows Shaka Smart To Marquette /

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team lost yet another member of the 2021 signing class on Tuesday when point guard prospect Emarion Ellis de-committed from the program following the exit of former head coach Shaka Smart.

According to a report from WHBF reporter Corey Rholdon, Ellis has signed to play for Marquette University, where Smart landed after his six-year tenure at Texas. 

Ellis now becomes the third member of the 2021 signing class to leave the Longhorns in less than a month following the arrival of new head coach Chris Beard, after IMG Academy (FL) guard Tamar Bates asked for a release from his letter of intent on March 29, and Brookfield Central (WI) forward David Joplin on April 8.

READ MORE: Beard Adds Another Talented Assistant to New Texas Longhorns Staff

“For me, it was pretty simple,” Bates told SI-All American. “I committed to Coach Smart, not Texas. So when he left I knew I would have to look at my options.”

Before committing to the Longhorns in July of last year, Ellis was an under-the-radar prospect, holding offers from Bryant College, Lousiana Tech, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

With the exit of Ellis, the Longhorns are now down to two players in the 2021 class, in Grace Christian School (NC) forward Keeyan Itejere, and recent commit Jaylon Tyson of John Paul II (TX) of Plano. 

READ MORE: Expectation and Urgency: Chris Beard to Bring Both to Texas Longhorns

CONTINUE READING: Longhorns Basketball Tracker: Senior G Jase Frebres To Return For Final Season

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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