March 12, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore two-sport standout Bruce Ellington has announced today that he will commit to playing basketball full-time and will no longer be part of the Gamecock football team.

“Basketball’s always been my first love,” said Ellington. “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.”

During the 2011 football season, Ellington posted 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. He scored two touchdowns during the season, his first-career touchdown in a South Carolina win against Kentucky, and his second in a 34-13 victory against Clemson.

In 24 games played on the basketball court for the 2011-12 campaign, Ellington averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He posted 12 double-figure scoring games on the year, while leading or sharing the team lead in scoring 11 times and in assists 16 times. He dished a season-high six assists on two occasions, and hit the game winner with just one second on the clock versus Alabama in late January. In two seasons on the court, Ellington has scored 649 career points (12.0 points per game) and averages 3.2 assists per game. He was selected to the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team.