Before Ellis

A look at the decisions made by some of Wichita's past nationally elite high school basketball recruits:

Darnell Valentine

May 17, 1977

Chose: Kansas over Indiana, Notre Dame, UCLA and Michigan

Why: "I will have to work hard to become a starter, and I hope that KU will adjust to my style of basketball," said Valentine, a 6-foot-1 point guard.

From there: Valentine was the only four-time All-Big Eight player, a senior All-American and a nine-year NBA player.

Interestingly: A week earlier, his Heights coach, Lafayette Norwood, was hired by KU as an assistant coach.

Antoine Carr

Dec. 11, 1978

Chose: Wichita State over KU

Why: "I see a national contender at Wichita State," the 6-9 forward said. "Hopefully I can help them get to the top level."

From there: Carr was a senior All-American in 1983 and is one of five Shockers to have his jersey retired.

Interestingly: Carr toyed with the idea of graduating from Heights a year early to get started with his college career, but was a half-credit short.

Ricky Ross

April 17, 1979

Chose: KU over WSU, Arkansas and North Carolina

Why:"... Right now I feel like a million dollars _ a lot better than I did last night. I'm glad the whole thing is over," the 6-foot-6 South star said.

From there: He played one year at KU but was unhappy, almost enrolled but never played at WSU, ending up at Tulsa for his final two years.

Interestingly: Ross' news conference wasn't at South, but at the Kiva Mall in downtown Wichita.

Greg Dreiling

Nov. 21, 1980

Chose: WSU over Notre Dame, Iowa, Indiana and Kansas State

Why: "After watching them play the other night, I just got the feeling that with me along, we could be awesome," the 7-1 center said.

From there: Dreiling played one year at WSU, then transferred to KU for three seasons. He had a 10-year NBA career.

Interestingly: Dreiling's sister, Theresa, was a member of the Shocker women's team from 1979-83.

Aubrey Sherrod

April 13, 1981

Chose: WSU over K-State

Why: "I've decided that I feel most comfortable here at home," he said.

From there: Sherrod, from Heights, was perhaps the Shocker program's greatest outside shooter and a weapon when defenses focused inside on Carr, Cliff Levingston and Xavier McDaniel.

Interestingly: Sherrod was coming off MVP performances in two national all-star games.

Maurice Evans

Nov. 8, 1996

Chose: WSU over KU and Oklahoma State

Why: "I think it means more to excel here at Wichita State rather than at Kansas or Oklahoma State," said Evans, a 6-5 guard who attended Collegiate.

From there: A falling out with Coach Randy Smithson had Evans transferring after two seasons. He played one at Texas, and has played eight NBA seasons.

Interestingly: A month after the announcement, the NCAA investigated WSU's recruitment of Evans. No wrongdoing was found.

Korleone Young

April 8, 1998

Chose: The NBA Draft over college basketball

Why: "I have never backed away from a challenge and will not start now," Young said.

From there: Young, a 6-7 forward who played at a Virginia prep school as a senior after three years at Wichita East, played in three NBA games in 1998-99 but failed to stick.

Interestingly: Young played seven more pro seasons in lower-level American leagues and in Australia, Russia, China and Israel.

This story was originally published September 21, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Before Ellis."