Once Norfolk State was eliminated in the MEAC basketball tournament last March by South Carolina State, power forward Devon Ellis of the Spartans had options.
Make that plenty of options.
The Illinois resident considered about “10 programs” to continue his college career, but that path fell through. Once he turned his attention to a pro career overseas, his Mansfield and Associates agency investigated clubs in Slovenia, Scotland, Romania and other countries.
Ellis wound up with club Phoenix-MT Fót, a small Hungarian town about 30 minutes by train north of capital Budapest.
“Honestly, it has been a roller coaster with a lot of uncertainty,” he said, after his team beat a club from Kosice, Slovakia, in a scrimmage at home on Sept. 12.
That came just a week after he flew from O’Hare in Chicago to Serbia and then to Budapest to begin his overseas sojourn.
After a few practice sessions, he was in the starting lineup for Phoenix.
“It is my first time leaving the country,” said Ellis, who averaged 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for Norfolk State last season. “The last few days have been hectic. Being close to Budapest, that helps a lot.”
Phoenix-MT won the league title in the second-best league in Hungary during the 2025-2026 season, which allowed the club to move up to the top circuit.
The club also brought in two other Americans: James Kinney, 35, an overseas veteran who has played several years in Hungary after finishing his college career at San Jose State in 2013; and Shereef Mitchell, who played at Creighton, then ended up at Ohio University.
“I am happy to be part of it,” Ellis said of a Hungarian club that has advanced well during its tenure.
The home arena holds about 600 fans and is next to a soccer pitch and tennis facility and a walk of about 10 minutes from the local train station.
Kinney admits there is not much else in the town, so he drove Ellis and Mitchell to Budapest soon after they arrived to let them know they were not totally isolated from a major city.
What is the biggest adjustment on the court for Ellis?
“For me, it is basketball IQ. I am pleased everyone knows where to be on the court,” said Ellis, noting there can be a language barrier with Hungarian teammates.
In the scrimmage against the club from Slovakia, Ellis at times guarded American Tyson Brown, who ended his college career last season at Radford of the Big South Conference. Brown played at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach before taking a post-grad season at Massanutten Academy in Woodstock.
After community college, Ellis played for Maryland-Eastern Shore during the 2023-2024 season, and then played a season for Valparaiso before returning to the MEAC with Norfolk State.
Last season, on Dec. 6, 2025, he was 8-of-9 from the field with 17 points and had a season-high eight rebounds in a nonconference game against JMU.
In the loss to South Carolina State at the Norfolk Scope in March, Ellis had 14 points and six rebounds as a starter in the 88-82 setback as Norfolk State ended the year 15-17.
One other former Norfolk State player with a pro team overseas, per eurobasket.com, is Jacquel Morris, who is with another club in Slovakia after being teammates with Ellis in 2025-2026.
Phoenix opens regular-season play on Sept. 26.
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David Driver
