Sports News

NBA star Monta Ellis opens basketball academy in North Dallas

Ellis Elite Basketball Academy

A new school for basketball has opened in the Dallas area: Called the Ellis Elite Basketball Academy, it's located in Coppell at 989 W. Sandy Lake Rd., and is from Monta Ellis, who played in the NBA for more than 12 years, and is sharing his skills with everyone from experienced players to schoolchildren in grades K-12.

The academy is the first in Texas for Basketball Training Systems LLC, a Missouri-based company that partners with high-profile figures like Ellis to open facilities providing training for youths seeking to excel in the sport. There are currently locations in Missouri, North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, and now Texas.

Ellis was a key player for the Dallas Mavericks from 2013-15. His career also included stints with the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, and Indiana Pacers.

The Academy affords an opportunity to improve one's basketball skills while having fun and making friends in a positive and encouraging environment. Skills taught include shooting, defense, ball handling, basketball IQ, leadership skills, confidence, and work ethic.

The Skills & Drills classes is for grades K-8, with a focus on the fundamentals of basketball, including ball handling, shooting, footwork, and defense. Coaches also prioritize character skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, and sportsmanship.
The Elevate Training Program is for athletes in Grades 6-12 who are looking to take their game to the next level. The hour-long classes are smaller to allow for more personalized attention, fast-paced, intense, and taught by the most experienced staffers. The Elevate program is great for athletes looking to make their school team, AAU team, or improve overall skill, integrating elements of strength and agility training and basketball IQ components. Students are required to pass an evaluation to be eligible for this program.
Shooting Lab is a 30-minute class designed to focus in on shooting technique, open to players of all levels. The class uses state-of-the-art basketball shooting machines that track and analyze shooting form, to see where you need to improve and make the necessary adjustments.

They also offer small group/private training, summer camps.

A monthly membership is $150.

Erik Blais, senior VP of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, who represented the landlord H2G Enterprises Inc., says that Ellis Elite was not the only tenant candidate for the turnkey space.

"We had a dozen sports-related proposals for the space, including other basketball operators," Blais says. "Ellis Elite was the perfect fit, given the operator is a well-known sports figure with 12 years in the NBA."

millennial magnet

Dallas ranks among 15 hottest U.S. metros for millennial homebuyers

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Dallas is one of the 15 hottest destinations for millennials.

Dallas and its surrounding cities have already proved to be a magnet for millennials, and now a new national housing report has established the city as one of the 15 hottest destinations for millennials, whose local homeownership rate has soared since 2018.

The number of millennials who own their homes in Dallas has grown from 229,497 to 451,826 households over the last five years (96.9 percent), according to a new housing analysis from RentCafe.

The study compared homeowner growth rates versus renter growth rates of millennials — based on Pew Research Center's definition as individuals born between 1981 and 1996 — across 107 U.S. metro areas from 2018 to 2023.

Dallas ranked No. 15 in the overall list of U.S. metros that have seen the highest increase in millennial homeowners since 2018. About 47 percent of all Dallas-area millennials own their homes, with the remaining 53 percent renting, the report found.

"The top 20 metro areas with the greatest increases in Millennial homeownership are led by sunny regions in Florida and California," the report said. "Unexpected urban hubs such as Dallas, San Antonio, Philadelphia, and New York also made the list with ownership growth rates reaching 90 percent or higher."

Dallas also ranked 27th in the national list of cities with the biggest growth rates among millennial-age renters. The number of millennial renter households jumped from 465,560 to 507,416 in five years, a 9 percent hike.

About 5.3 million millennials have become homeowners over the last five years nationwide, RentCafe's analysts said, which represents a massive 74 percent increase in millennial-owned households. The growth rate of renters was much lower in comparison.

"At the same time, the number of millennial renters in the U.S. rose by a modest 5 percent, adding approximately 600,000 households," RentCafe said. "This brings the total number of millennial homeowner households to 12.4 million, close to the 12.6 million millennial renter households."

While the rate of millennial homeowners is on the rise, the same can't be said for Gen Zers. About 12 percent of all Gen Z households in Dallas-Fort Worth own their homes, while the vast majority are renters, a separate RentCafe study found.

Elsewhere across the state, Austin (No. 7) and San Antonio (No. 10) ranked among the top 10 U.S. cities with the biggest growth rates among millennial homeowners.

The top 10 U.S. metros with the highest gains in millennial homeowners are:

No. 1 – North Port, Florida
No. 2 – Lakeland, Florida
No. 3 – Jacksonville, Florida
No. 4 – Stockton, California
No. 5 – Oxnard, California
No. 6 – Palm Bay, Florida
No. 7 – Austin, Texas
No. 8 – Tuscon, Arizona
No. 9 – Deltona, Florida
No. 10 – San Antonio, Texas

rentcafe study real estate housing report millennials dallas