Carl Ervin Seattle Scouting Service to Colleges

This Seattle scouting service is named in honor of my "basketball dad," Carl Ervin.

As a kid, I was inspired to play basketball by my late uncle, Carl Ervin (RIP). I grew up in the same house and attended every one of his HS games. Carl was the PG for the Cleveland Eagles. This Seattle high school went 50-1 in two years, won AA in 1975, and AAA State in 1976. The 1976 Cleveland Eagles HS team was voted Team of the 20th Century by Washington State sportswriters and coaches. Carl Ervin still holds the assist record for the AAA state tournament. He was selected first team all state all time team and Cleveland Eagles 1976 team, the best prep team of all time in Washington State. Cleveland was picked over Garfield (24-0), led by Carl's best friend and future teammate at SU, Keith "Silk" Harrell (RIP); Mercer Island 1985 team (28-1), led by Quinn Snyder (Duke University) and Coach Ed Pepple, one of the greatest coaches in Washington State HS history (I played for Coach Pepple two summers on the Washington BCI AAU Team in the summers of 1986 and 1987); Everett's 1940 team (29-0); and my favorite, the 1975 Eagles, who went 26-0 -- Carl Ervin led a deeper team that blew out the competition. Carl Ervin also led his AAU team to a national championship in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1976 with Jawaan Oldham and James Woods. Clint Richardson from O'Dea HS almost beat Cleveland in 1975 but lost in double OT. Clint averaged 33.4 ppg at O'Dea and 18 ppg at SU with Carl Ervin. Clint would later play in the NBA (Philadelphia 76ers) and win an NBA championship ring with Dr. J and Moses Malone. Carl was all state along with James Woods (6'8") and Jawann Oldham (7'0''). Carl Ervin turned down Louisville to stay home and attend Seattle University, convincing Jawaan Oldham to sign on with him. James Woods went to UW and ended up playing with my uncle's best friend and rival Lorenzo Romar in the late 1970s. (Lorenzo was like another uncle to me, and gave me his wrist bands as a kid. I would later coach against Lorenzo Romar when he was assistant at UCLA and was an assistant at Cal. UCLA won the national title that year but had one loss that season to my Cal Bears led by Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray, and Yogi Stewart, all three of whom went on to play in the NBA.) Six-foot-four-inch muscle man Eli Carter went on to Division One from Cleveland as well. Carl Ervin, Jawaan Oldham, Clint Richardson, and Keith Harrell were all on the same team at SU; what a pleasure for me to learn the game from the best ever PG Carl Ervin and these other Seattle legends. Carl Ervin was inducted into the SU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. I didn't realize it at the time, the 1970s was a special time in Seattle basketball. Carl, Jawaan and Clint all got drafted to the NBA out of SU but I still have trouble understanding why Carl turned down Louisville, UCLA and other top schools at the time.

Carl showed loyalty to the 206 his whole life by attending SU, coaching SU men's college basketball, coaching youth at Rotary and Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club and being part of the Dream Coach Team a O'Dea HS with Al Hairston (five rings at Garfield in 11 years). I played for Al and was part of two state championship-winning teams with Al Hairston, the best high school coach in Washington State history. Carl ran the NBA Summer League for Doug Christie and Jamal Crawford. In fact, Carl made sure Jamal played in the NBA program out of HS in the summer.

Today, I am starting Seattle Elleby Recruiting Assistance and Carl Ervin Scouting Service to Colleges to help kids in Seattle go to college, save thousands of dollars in college fees, and compete in college athletics. Carl always encouraged and coached the kids in the Seattle community, whether they were star players or average players. We will mentor these high school athletes and help them improve athletically, socially and academically. My staff and I put the kids first and try to find the best college fit for them. We also have expert training and conditioning. I spent many hours working out with Carl and his Cleveland teammates at the house on Beacon. Cleveland HS legends Phil Petty, Buddy Williams, James Woods and Jawaan Oldham, all members of the teams of the century, would spend countless hours playing basketball with me and encouraging me to play the game. We will spend many hours training kids to prepare to play college basketball. Academics are important -- no academic qualification, no participation in sports. Kia Franklin heads our Academic Department that will help kids prepare for the SAT and ACT tests to qualify them for college.