Most top basketball prospects that hail from the state of Kansas grow up with thoughts of playing college basketball for the Jayhawks. The tradition-rich college basketball powerhouse usually faces little-to-no competition when it comes to in-state players, but the competition is getting tougher each day for the No. 9-ranked player in the ESPNU Super 60, Perry Ellis (Wichita, Kan./Wichita Heights). Although schools like Kansas, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Memphis and Kansas State already are actively pursuing the 6-foot-8 forward, Ellis has taken his recruitment in stride and hasn't let all of the attention get to him. In fact, Ellis would rather the attention be focused on his summer circuit teammates, who he feels deserve credit for helping him become the player he is today. While his teammates and coaches do deserve some credit, it's Ellis that deserves the most for his continued success. He has put in hours upon hours of work to improve his game on the court. His mother, Fonda Ellis, knows that finding her son is never a hard task -- if he's not in her kitchen eating his favorite meal, peanut butter and jelly, he is surely hard at work inside a Wichita gym. During the school year -- before and after his high school season -- Ellis can be found at 5 a.m. taking hundreds of jumpers or working on post moves. After another evening workout, Ellis somehow finds the time and energy to hit the books in order to maintain his perfect 4.0 GPA. According to Fonda Ellis, his GPA is something he may take more pride in than his play on the court. "Well, I am very proud of him in the classroom too. [A GPA of 4.0] for his freshman and sophomore years makes a parent very proud. Grades are very important to him," said Fonda Ellis. When Perry Ellis is home -- which hasn't been much lately -- he has been working out with a trainer in the morning three to four times a week. Then he works out with Steve Young (his summer circuit coach) three to four times a week shooting, dribbling and running hills. He has worked a lot on shooting the three and is really focusing on being a perimeter player, being more aggressive and playing hard all the time.It only takes a minute when talking to Fonda Ellis to notice just how proud she is of her son. However, while beaming about Perry's accomplishments, she never forgets to mention how proud she is of her daughter, Savannah, who currently plays at the University of Memphis, and of her two youngest sons, Brae (entering 9th grade) and Cameron (entering 8th grade), who have been busy working to keep the Ellis name in college basketball circles for years to come."I am proud of him. He really seems like he is on a mission this summer and it is great to see that," said Fonda Ellis.Attention might not be the thing that Ellis is seeking, but his play throughout the summer is making people pay close attention to him. Aside from the number of coaches from the above-mentioned schools making their presence felt during his games, a number of new ones are now showing interest in the two-time Kansas State Gatorade Player of the Year.During a recent tournament in Wisconsin coaching staffs from Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas State barely missed a minute of Ellis in action. While those schools continue to let their interest be known to Ellis, some newer names are entering his recruitment as well. Stanford, Texas A&M, Iowa and UCLA have all made it clear that Ellis is one of their top prospects in the 2012 class.While popular opinion is that Ellis will end up choosing in-state powerhouse Kansas, Ellis is likely the person who thinks about his recruitment the least. For now, he is content with just working hard to improve his game so he can help his Wichita Heights team win its third straight Kansas 6A Championship title.Matt Scott writes for ESPN affiliate TheShiver.com