Henry Ellenson wasn’t the last player in the NBA green room. In fact, he wasn’t the last freshman in the green room … or the last freshman power forward/center sitting there for an eternity, waiting to hear his name called and shake Adam Silver’s hand.
Two others, also projected as lottery picks for weeks, had much longer waits. Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere didn’t go until the tail end of the round, 28th, while Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis was pushed to the first pick of the second round, 31st overall.
All three were rated so highly for their seemingly boundless potential. But only one of them translated their talent into high-end production during their only college season: Ellenson.
“The draft is always about potential and what a guy can be down the line, but I think you’ve got to balance some potential with production,” Pistons assistant general manager Brian Wright, who heads the organization’s amateur scouting efforts, said late Thursday night. “I think what you saw from Henry in his freshman season at Marquette was, you see the potential, you see the upside. He’s a young kid. But he was also able to produce at a high level and kind of carry his team. That was something we took into account as well.”
Ellenson averaged 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds a game to carry an undermanned team to a 20-13 record. Labissiere had trouble seeing the floor, averaging 16 minutes a game at Kentucky after entering his freshman season considered a contender for the No. 1 overall pick. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds and didn’t make a 3-point shot all season despite the fact shooting range was considered one of his strengths. Davis played 19 minutes a game for Michigan State, averaging 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.
“He did have to play a huge role,” Stan Van Gundy said of Ellenson’s only season at Marquette. “You’re talking about a freshman in a major conference averaging 17 and almost 10. That’s really, really hard to do as a freshman. There’s a handful of guys that do that, so that’s great production.”
It’s uncertain how the Pistons viewed Labissiere and Davis, but there can be no question they rated Ellenson as a premier prospect. Stan Van Gundy said after the draft he was the 10th-ranked prospect on their board, an unusually wide gap between ranking and actual slot at that stage of the draft.
Among the qualities they valued in Ellenson beyond his production, though not necessarily unrelated to it, is the obvious passion with which he plays and the consistent reports they received regarding his work ethic and team-first aura.
“He’s a hard-playing guy, a really hard worker, a guy we think will get better because he’ll really, really work at the game,” Van Gundy said. “I think we’ve got really good people on our staff to help develop him, so I think it’s a good fit for us and a good fit for Henry, too.”
“He’s an interesting basketball player,” Wright said. “Offensively, he can do a lot of things for his size – 6-11½, can handle, shoot, pass the ball. I think he can play a couple of positions offensively and he really fits – not just the way the league is trending, but something we didn’t really have on our roster moving forward. He’s just a very unique and interesting basketball player.”
Ellenson was one of 11 players Wright told Van Gundy would be unavailable to the Pistons at 18, so sure was the scouting staff of his status as a lottery pick. As some surprising picks were made ahead of the Pistons – Thon Maker 10th, Taurean Prince 12th, Giorgios Papagiannis 13th, Guerschon Yabusele 16th – Wright and Van Gundy began to consider the possibilities. The Pistons wound up choosing Ellenson over two other players, unidentified by Van Gundy, they also had highly ranked.
“With three picks to go, I told (Pistons owner) Tom Gores, ‘We’re going to get 10, 11 or 12 on our board. You’re 18 and you’re going to get at least 12 on your board, you feel pretty good. But we actually got the highest-ranked guy (left) on our board, so we were really excited.”
Ellenson is scheduled to fly from New York to Detroit this morning, along with second-round pick Michael Gbinije, who also was in attendance at Thursday’s draft. Ellenson’s family will fly from their Wisconsin home to Detroit, as well, with all scheduled to attend a 1 p.m. introductory press conference at The Palace. We’ll have more later today on the draft and other developments.