Aces’ new assistant coach will focus on improving team’s defense

Ty Ellis, who has coaching experience in the NBA and G League, was named an assistant coach for the Aces on Thursday.

Ten minutes after the hiring went public, Ellis paused an interview to put his phone on “do not disturb.”

“Everybody’s calling me now,” he said. “I went from nobody calling to everybody calling!”

Ellis, 47, will fill one of two vacancies that opened on coach Becky Hammon’s staff this offseason. Assistant Natalie Nakase left to coach the expansion Golden State Valkyries, and player development specialist Tyler Marsh was hired as the Chicago Sky’s coach.

“I feel extremely blessed and grateful right now,” Ellis said. “(The Aces) care about the small details. It’s a family environment, and they’re so committed to excellence.”

In the absence of a general manager — Natalie Williams’ contract was not renewed — the two-time WNBA champions attributed the announcement to Hammon in their release.

“I’m super excited to add Ty Ellis to our coaching staff,” she said in a statement. “He brings a wealth of experience both as a head coach and as an assistant from the NBA, G League and international play. Not only is his energy palpable, but his character and work ethic are things I highly value.”

Ellis, a Dallas native, has eight years of experience as an assistant coach with USA Basketball, including the 2021 and 2022 USA World Cup qualifying teams under Indiana Pacers assistant coach Jim Boylen. Ellis also helped coach the 2017 gold medal-winning USA AmeriCup team alongside Jeff Van Gundy.

Ellis was the coach of the G League’s Stockton Kings for two seasons from 2018 to 2020. He was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns during the 2017-18 season. He was also the coach of the G League Northern Arizona Suns, along with other G League stops spanning to 2012. After being fired by the Stockton Kings following the 2020 season, Ellis and his wife, Ericka, founded The Ellis Performance Group, a leadership consulting firm.

“These four years, I’ve been away from the grind of basketball,” he said. “I’ve gotten so much better as a communicator, as a leader.”

Ellis has obligations with USA Basketball until late this month.

How Hammon found Ellis

Hammon visited a Pacers practice during the summer and connected with Boylen, whom she worked with when she was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.

As she watched, Hammon was intrigued by a set of markings on the hardwood as the team worked on defense under Boylen, who told her it was Ellis’ philosophy.

In the wake of Nakase’s exit, Hammon began the search for a “defensive person” and called Ellis, he said.

“We talked basketball for maybe three minutes in the whole hour,” Ellis said. “She was just getting to know me.”

Ellis later met Aces president Nikki Fargas with Hammon and the Aces’ two remaining assistants at the time, Marsh and Charlene Thomas-Swinson for an in-person interview. He was offered the job a few days later.

Hexagon defense

The markings that caught Hammon’s attention were part of a scheme Ellis helped create called Hexagon defense. It’s primarily one-on-one without an emphasis on help defense.

“We’re athletic on one end, and we’re going to require them to be athletic on defense, which will result in easy baskets on the offensive end,” Ellis said.

Defense was an incessant problem for the Aces last season, which ended in a defeat to the New York Liberty in the WNBA semifinals.

Ellis said he believes the energy and desire to get stops were there but the consistency wasn’t.

Center A’ja Wilson finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year, and Ellis expects her to continue to be the defensive “cornerstone” for the Aces.

“When the rest of the ladies are knowing their job and doing their job, I think that’s the key,” Ellis said.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.