EAST HELENA — It’s the first two-person signing class in East Helena boys basketball history.
Vigilante seniors DeonDray Ellis and Talen Thatcher signed national letters of intent Monday in the East Helena High School gym. Ellis is taking the JUCO route with Columbia Basin College in Washington. Thatcher is staying close to home with Carroll College of the Frontier Conference.
“I mean, it was amazing playing for East Helena for four years, playing varsity,” Thatcher said. “With the whole community, the coaching staff is just amazing. For everyone to be here, supporting me, and doing it with a teammate that I’ve been playing with for years, it was just very memorable.”
Thatcher and Ellis both said they are excited to start their respective college careers — but they’re also grateful that they go to make their plans official while sitting side by side.
“It’s huge,” Ellis said of his joint signing ceremony with Thatcher. “Especially being here with my boy, too. We’ve been playing basketball with each other since like sixth, seventh grade. And now we’re here, senior year, signing together — it’s like, it’s awesome. It’s a crazy feeling for sure.”
During their Vigilante basketball careers, Ellis and Thatcher helped build East Helena into a winning program. And the duo’s high school coach said he couldn’t be prouder of his players.
“DeonDray and Talen’s sophomore year, they went to divisionals for the first time,” East Helena coach Ty Ridgeway said. “Their junior year, they go to state for the first time. Divisionals again last year, and so I think these younger kids are seeing that, and they’re hungrier now and want to continue what they’ve laid down.”
