Coaches haven’t been able to visit El Ellis in person, but that hasn’t stopped the junior college guard’s recruitment from blowing up. Missouri is among 16 schools who have offered the Durahm, N.C. native a scholarship. Like many of those programs, the Tigers have just started communicating with Ellis in recent weeks.

Ellis, who has another year of junior college remaining and thus wouldn’t join the Division I ranks until the 2021-22 season, said he has mainly been in contact with Missouri assistant Chris Hollender. The list of other schools who have reached out also includes Depaul, Iowa State, Louisville, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Arizona State, Connecticut, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Ellis said he sees himself playing point guard at the next level, though he could play off the ball as well.

“I’m a point guard at heart, but if I had to play off the ball a little bit I could,” he said. “But my main position now, I play the point.”

Ellis averaged 14.3 points and 4.5 assists per game during his first season at Tallahassee Community College. He shot 40.3 percent from three-point range, which would fill a pressing need for Missouri.

Ellis said Missouri’s pitch has centered around him coming to campus and immediately filling a void, both on the court and as a leader. Even if point guard Xavier Pinson, who recently declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, comes back for his senior season, Missouri figures to have at least five scholarships open entering 2021-21. The Tigers landed a commitment from junior college forward Ed Chang on Thursday but are still in pursuit of several other transfers who could join the 2021-22 roster, as well. Ellis also said one of the things he’s looking for in a school is somewhere that can utilize him right away.

“They told me how they would be missing a lot of key pieces after this year,” Ellis said of the Missouri staff. “They know coming in I would have a position to play. They like the ability I have to be a leader.”

Ellis has been taking virtual visits through FaceTime or Zoom with several suitors in recent days. In the past week, he underwent virtual visits with Texas, Iowa State, Connecticut, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. Ellis said he doesn’t yet have a timeline for when he will finalize a commitment — after all, he has more than a year left in the recruiting process if he needs it — but he is hoping to narrow down which five schools will receive his official visits.

“I’m still really building relationships right now,” he said, “because I only have five visits, so I have to choose wisely who I want to visit.”