photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Perry Ellis (34) catches a pass in the paint before Connecticut forward Shonn Miller (32) during the first half on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Nine days shy of opening play in The Basketball Tournament event in Wichita with nine fellow KU alums, former Kansas forward Perry Ellis solidified his future on Tuesday.

Ellis, who spent the early portion of his pro career playing in the NBA’s G League as well as overseas in Australia, Italy, Germany and Turkey, has plans to add a new stamp to his passport.

According to a report from Sportando.com, Ellis has agreed to join the Osaka Evessa club in Japan for the upcoming season.

Ellis, a four-year star at Wichita Heights before coming to KU, spent last season split between Germany and Turkey.

Ellis played last season at Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi in Turkish BSL league and averaged 13.8 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Ellis also played for Oliver Baskets (BBL) in the German league, where in 12 games he recorded averages of 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He also played 9 games in the FIBA Europe Cup, where he averaged 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

He joins fellow former KU big man Landen Lucas as recent Jayhawks to try their luck in Japan.

“I’ve been working out hard,” Ellis said while recently back in Lawrence. “You just never know what’s going to happen. I’ve been playing overseas and I’ll just kind of see if an opportunity comes up and if not just go overseas and continue to play.”

Before then, of course, Ellis will team with Lucas, Elijah Johnson, Tyshawn Taylor, Travis Releford, Jeremy Case, Mario Little, Kevin Young, Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson with Self Made in TBT, a winner-take-all, $2 million summer tournament featuring some recent college stars.

While some players on the Self Made roster have played in the tournament before, this will mark the first team made up entirely of former Jayhawks.

As was the case every time they stepped on the floor at Allen Fieldhouse or in a KU uniform, Self Made has just one goal in mind — to win it all.

“That’s the goal, man,” Ellis said recently. “It’s like a tournament like March Madness. If you lose, you’re out, so it’ll be fun.”

Self Made opens play in the TBT at 6 p.m. on July 25 against Sideline Cancer at Wichita State’s Koch Arena. For more information, or to purchase tickets, log on to www.thetournament.com.