A year before Impact Basketball was born, Joe Abunassar took a trip to Jackson, Mississippi, to see the city’s top high school prospect.
Abunassar was one of the first few people who saw and nurtured Monta Ellis’ basketball gifts.
Ellis, the 2005’s Mr. Basketball USA, a McDonald’s All-American and a two-time 4A state champion in Mississippi, packed his bags and stayed with Abunassar at the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, to prepare for the 2005 NBA Draft.
A few months later, the former Lanier High School star became the 40th pick, and it was just a matter of time before he showed the NBA what Abunassar saw in him.