by Ronnie Estoque
Basketball runs deep in the local Elleby household. In 2011, Garfield High School honored Bill Elleby as a legend for his contributions as a player during the late 1980s. He went on to play for the University of California, and the team made two National Invitation Tournament appearances and one NCAA appearance during his four years as a Golden Bear. Raised to love the game of basketball by his late uncle, Carl Ervin, Bill was a Cleveland High School and Seattle University star and was eventually drafted by the Seattle Sonics in the 1980 NBA Draft. Four decades later, the next generation of basketball talent in the family, C.J. Elleby, is officially in the NBA as the Portland Trail Blazers guard.
“The moment he [C.J.] got drafted, it was kind of surreal, I had tears fill into my eyes because I know how hard he’s worked,” C.J.’s father, Bill Elleby, reminisced. “And I know how hard it is to get to that dream — for players to get drafted.”
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