MILWAUKEE – Henry Ellenson is getting to see a lot more of the NBA than the NBA is getting to see of him in his rookie season.
Monday he got to see plenty of familiar faces, though they didn’t get to see him in uniform. Ellenson sat in street clothes behind the Pistons bench, inactive, as former Marquette teammates, college friends and family members watched the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Pistons in the place where Ellenson played home games in his only season of college basketball before declaring for the NBA draft as a 19-year-old.
That a teenager from small-town Rice Lake, Wis., is playing in the NBA is the upset here, not that Ellenson has seen only spot duty in 14 games covering 56 minutes. He hit a 3-pointer at Minnesota before about 40 Rice Lakers in December and actually played meaningful first-half minutes at Sacramento in January.
Other than that, Ellenson’s more critical work has come for the Grand Rapids Drive in 13 D-League games where he’s averaged 18.4 points and 9.5 rebounds and begun the process of learning how to defend a wide variety of players – from smaller, more athletic types masquerading as D-League power forwards to post players he might find himself guarding when the Pistons use him as a stretch five down the road.
All in all, the reality of his rookie NBA season has matched his expectations. He didn’t come to the league expecting to set it ablaze immediately.
“It’s been a good year for me,” he said before Monday’s game. “I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better throughout the year. Right away, coach Van Gundy in our first meeting laid down how the year was going to be for me. Just to keep getting better every day, just to keep learning and just be ready to go whenever. I feel like I’ve been doing a good job of that. Just staying focused on the day-to-day stuff.”
Van Gundy sees two things in Ellenson that make him a virtual lock to have a long and productive NBA career: the natural scoring ability in a 6-foot-11 package and a peerless work ethic.
“His main issue is strength,” Van Gundy said. “Offensively, he’s really good. He’s skilled. He can put it on the floor; he can create his own shot; he can shoot the ball. So it’s his strength and his defense.”
Ellenson has worked with strength coach Jordan Sabourin since last June’s draft and feels the emphasis on building his legs and core muscles has already produced marked gains.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger. My lifting has been more consistent this year. It’s been real good for me. I feel a lot quicker. Getting some time with the Drive, I feel like I’ve made the most of that. Guarding those smaller fours, which seems to be the way the game is, especially down there. It’s just learning what we do, defensively where to be and just being smart on that side, being in the right position. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that and been improving.”
The D-League shuttle can be deflating for young players accustomed to AAU pampering and college adulation, but Van Gundy didn’t expect Ellenson to do anything other than embrace the process.
“I think he’s handled it really well and I think he understands it,” Van Gundy said. “We had talked about it when he first came in as a possibility and I think he enjoys getting a chance to play basketball. The season is long and it’s a lot longer when all you do is practice and work out before games and never get to play. We’ve played him down there and we’ll get him more after the (All-Star) break. He’s taken good advantage of it. I think he understands the purpose of it, he’s approached it the right way and I think he’s enjoyed it.”
While Ellenson’s minutes in NBA games have been sparing, in another way he’s been kept exceptionally busy. The back and forth between the Pistons and Drive means Ellenson sometimes practices in the morning with the Pistons and drives across the state – usually with fellow rookie Michael Gbinije as his passenger – and plays with the Drive that night. When the team gets a rare day off from practice – like today after playing back-to-back games at Toronto and Milwaukee – Ellenson is in the gym getting in strength training and shooting drills.
So he’ll enjoy the All-Star break as much as his older teammates, most of whom try to squeeze in a few days in a tropical climate. None of that for Ellenson, though.
“I’m going home to watch my sister (Ella) play (for Rice Lake High) and then going to watch my brother, Ellwood, play (for North Dakota-based Valley City State). It’ll be a good time. Not going anywhere warm. I’ve got to wait for that.”
And also to claim a larger role for the Pistons, who expect Henry Ellenson to be well worth that wait.