Cliff Ellis

Book excerpt: The spectacular season turned in by the Auburn Tigers in 1998-99, when the SEC champions earned a No. I seed in the NCAA Tournament, is just the latest in a long line of outstanding achievements generated by the coaching of Cliff Ellis. In his nearly six years at Auburn, Ellis has led the rejuvenation of Tigers basketball, helping the school enjoy the high level of success it had not experienced since the days of NBA standouts Charles Barkley, Chuck Person, and Chris Morris. Since surprising all the doubters during his first season with the school, Ellis has helped build Auburn into a consistent winning program -- and one that exploded onto the national scene in 1999. Clearly, Cliff Ellis has worked his coaching magic once again, and he looks forward to leading Auburn basketball successfully into the new millennium.