It’s even more impressive that he reached this feat in only his second season with the Cougars.
“It’s definitely a big accomplishment,” said interim Coach Alex Birge. “One thousand is a large amount of points in just under two complete seasons. If he has a good season next year, he has a chance to get to 2,000 career points at IU Kokomo. He’ll probably end up being our all-time scoring leader.”
Birge noted that Elliott is not only a great athlete, but a great teammate.
“He’s been a special player for us at IU Kokomo. I’m really proud of him, not only for the basketball player he is, but the student he is.”
Elliott [Culver/Culver Community H.S.] thanks his teammates for helping him achieve the honor.
“Basketball is not a one-man sport,” he said. “I’ll get the game ball, but I can’t do this without my big man screening for me, point guards feeding me the ball, and and people getting me open so all I have to do is hit the shot. They make my job easier.
“We say ‘family,’ when we break it down, and we truly are family. Off the court we’re just as together as we are on the court. It’s been a great experience.”
Elliott made the shot with less than two minutes left in the game, on a free throw. He scored 18 points and brought down five rebounds in the 99-90 loss to conference foe Brescia University.
He is averaging 22 points per game this season, and has been named River States Conference Player of the Week twice.
In the classroom, Elliott is a marketing major in the School of Business. He’s enjoyed the personal attention he receives, attending a small campus.
“You can’t beat one-on-one and small class experiences, while earning an IU business degree,” said Elliott, who transferred from Fairmount State University in West Virginia after his freshman year. “At a bigger school, you don’t get to interact with your professors, and you don’t get to know your classmates. Here, people know you by name.”
He plans to find a job in north central Indiana after he graduates in May 2018.
“A marketing degree can take you lots of places, but this is home,” he said.
Elliott is the second Cougar to reach 1,000 points this season, following Deja Felder, who was the first female athlete to hit the mark. Jared Lawrence was the first, in December 2014.
Indiana University Kokomo serves north central Indiana.