Wally Ellenson offered

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Per Ryan James, Wally Ellenson was offered a scholarship by Tubby today.

I'd love to know what the Gophers 2012 recruiting strategy is, but I don't think the coaching staff could even answer that question.
 

long overdue and well deserved. easily my favorite local talent for 2012 even with Joey King's strong performance today, Drake may end up with a steal if he plays like that all the time. Zierdon was suppose to visit Creighton this weekend. Sayani likely to Harvard, Lumpkin committed to Northwestern, not a great class but I think Wally has everything we are looking for, we we're heavy favorites of him and his mom at one time, hopefully it plays out like Oglesby did for Iowa. It also doesn't hurt that his 15 year old brother is considering a big time talent.
 

We need post players too. Mo Walker, EE, and Ingram are our only options next year, with Oto if he plays 4. It'd be a shame to waste our good looking backcourt in 2012-2013 without much talent or depth in the post outside of Mo
 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Johnny, I always like to read them. The few clips I've found on Ellenson online make him look like quite an athlete and dropping 30 on the Atlanta Celtics is certainly impressive. I know you posted on your frustration with the staff for not offering Wally in the past. Do you think their is a pecking order among wings or will the Gophers just take the first to accept (Price, Dorsey-Walker, Ellenson)?
 



I have some reliable sources in the Northwest Wisconsin basketball loop, and they all agree that Ellenson is a phenomenal athlete and player. They also all agree, though, that he is a bit of a hot head/head-case. Who knows how he will turn out in college, but their fears are that he won't pan out in college due to his mentality as a player. From what I have heard, his dad (who played for the badgers for a bit) is equally hot headed. I don't know the details, but there was a law suit the Ellenson's had against the Eau Claire school district for the bullying of Wally when he was younger (he went to EC memorial his frosh year). This all could be nothing, and hopefully what I have heard has been overstated, but I guess it has raised some red flags for me when I hear his name in recruiting. I guess my position on Wally is a bit indifferent. If we get him, great. If not, oh well, maybe we'll get someone else with the same or better skills.
 


I am told the 2 front runners are WVU and Minnesota. Very gifted athlete who has worked to handle the ball better and shoot a little better. Wally is a good kid...hot head is not a word I would use. He has a lot of outside pressures and I'll leave it at that. Would probably be a red shirt type of player, but is a tireless worker on his game and would be a great addition to the Gophers. I would compare him a bit to Sam Jacobson, just not the shot that Sam had.
 

Marcus tweet:

"Gophers target and Rice Lake (WI) wing Wally Ellenson, who was offered last wk, told me he's making an unofficial visit here this weekend."

Go Gophers!!
 



Someone said Wally had a problem with bullying or something eariler and transferred? Is that really the type of kid that survives in Tubby's old school approach? The weak-minded transfer here. Hope Wally knows what he's getting himself into.
 

Another reason the local kid will look hard at coming to the U before anywhere else. People who are worried about what happened to a 5-6th grader and are able to translate that to a 18 year old man. I'm gonna guess that isn't a concern on the Kansas, WVU, UConn boards. Or are these comments meant to distance the fan base from the player if he chooses to go elsewhere ala Sid Hartman?

The legitimate concern for Wally is style of play. Does he want to go to the U and grind it out over the next 4 years as the Gophers are apt to do or play the uptempo style at WVU for example which clearly fits his style.

My guess he signs with WVU and has a nice career there.
 

Marcus blog: Could Ellenson be Tubby Smith’s first 2012 recruit?

When Smith finally called last week to offer him a scholarship, Ellenson, now a senior at Rice Lake (WI), was excited. He’s planning to make an unofficial visit Saturday.

“I didn’t expect it to be this late, but it’s good to finally get it,” the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Ellenson told the Pioneer Press this week. “I have a lot of great opportunities. I’m just going to see what is the best fit for me.”

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2011/08/09/could-ellenson-be-tubby-smiths-first-2012-recruit/

Go Gophers!!
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
The legitimate concern for Wally is style of play. Does he want to go to the West Virginia and grind it out over the next 4 years as the Mountaineers are apt to do or play the uptempo style at Minesota for example which clearly fits his style.

My guess he signs with the Gophers and has a nice career there.
Click to expand...

http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=West Virginia

WVU is slower than the Gophers. I fixed the above for you.
 



I appreciate the adjust to my response but stats are like a bikini. What they reveal is interesting what they conceal is vital.

My point is style of play not necessarily productivity. The huggybear's style of offense is much more conducive to Wally's style then the "throw it down low" style the Gophers have played during the past few years. Wally's strengths are NOT running set plays. They are getting out, reacting etc. I could see Wally end up in Smith's doghouse real quick ala RW his freshmen year with the style he plays.
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
I appreciate the adjust to my response but stats are like a bikini. What they reveal is interesting what they conceal is vital.

My point is style of play not necessarily productivity. The huggybear's style of offense is much more conducive to Wally's style then the "throw it down low" style the Gophers have played during the past few years. Wally's strengths are NOT running set plays. They are getting out, reacting etc. I could see Wally end up in Smith's doghouse real quick ala RW his freshmen year with the style he plays.
Click to expand...

Are you familiar with the term "Tubbyball"?

While there has not been much of it at MN (I'd argue mostly due to the lack of athleticism in previous years), I suggest you look it up as it is a very uptempo, fast, style of play.
 

If WVU is a fast breaking, free flowing offense, then were are the possessions? Tempo has nothing to do with productivity in this case.

And Rodney wasn't in the dog house due to his style of play. It was his inability to dribble, pass, play solid defense, and make a shot outside of 4 inches from the basket.
 

scher215 said:
Are you familiar with the term "Tubbyball"?

While there has not been much of it at MN (I'd argue mostly due to the lack of athleticism in previous years), I suggest you look it up as it is a very uptempo, fast, style of play.
Click to expand...


Are you familar with the term Reagonomics? Another completely outdated term like "tubbyball".
 

Ouch on RW. Huggins has historically played a very uptempo game and I suspect when he has all of his own recruits we'll see a similar style to the Cincinnati days.
 

Huggins tempo rankings by year:
http://kenpom.com/history.php?c=Bob Huggins

He hasn't cracked the top 100 since 2005, when Cincinnatti was 95th. In 2010 they were 314th. So perhaps your perception of Huggins is outdated

Not that Tubby is some sort of run a team off the floor coach, but his teams historically have operated at a faster pace. His average tempo ranking since 2003 is 181 while Huggins clocks in at 214.

Conclusion: neither coach should be known as "uptempo" but Tubby's teams play faster than Huggy's.
 

In This Thread: DS tries to throw down some negativity, instead other posters throw down some knowledge.

I like it
 

fryguy22 said:
In This Thread: DS tries to throw down some negativity, instead other posters throw down some knowledge.

I like it
Click to expand...

I'm just trying to figure out why someone would come on to a message board suggesting that a potential recruit should go somewhere else. Clearly I'm missing something.
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
Huggins has historically played a very uptempo game and I suspect when he has all of his own recruits we'll see a similar style to the Cincinnati days.
Click to expand...

No, Huggins has not had historically up tempo teams - not even some of his Cincy teams. His teams play a grind it out offense and an in-your-face, physical, hard-nose defense. Huggy's trademark is defense, much like Tubby's. Huggy's Cincy teams did press a lot, which led a lot of easy baskets, but I don't think they were a free-wheeling offense.
 

I'm trying to figure out where my comments were negative or where I said he should go somewhere else. In the past five years Huggins teams have averaged about 72 pts per game where Smith's have averaged about 67.5. As pointed by the above poster Huggins style is press (hence uptempo) and more conducive to the style of play shown by Ellenson. Much like RW (anybody watch HP Summer league), he is better in a freewheeling offensive scheme then he has shown to be in the drain the shot clock style of Smith.

I'm gonna guess everyone who's posted about my comments have seen Wally play 1 or MAYBE 2 times. My point is more about the number of transfers the U has had and whether or not kids are good fits given the style of play shown by Smith since he came here. Anyone of you want to tell me how well Smith has recruited since he arrived in Mn? No? Drinking the kool-aid is fine. But somebody tell me why Ellenson is a great fit for this program? I've seen Wally play at least 40 times over the past 2 years all AAU. Just don't see how he fits here. Someone explain it to me.
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
I'm trying to figure out where my comments were negative or where I said he should go somewhere else. In the past five years Huggins teams have averaged about 72 pts per game where Smith's have averaged about 67.5. As pointed by the above poster Huggins style is press (hence uptempo) and more conducive to the style of play shown by Ellenson. Much like RW (anybody watch HP Summer league), he is better in a freewheeling offensive scheme then he has shown to be in the drain the shot clock style of Smith.

I'm gonna guess everyone who's posted about my comments have seen Wally play 1 or MAYBE 2 times. My point is more about the number of transfers the U has had and whether or not kids are good fits given the style of play shown by Smith since he came here. Anyone of you want to tell me how well Smith has recruited since he arrived in Mn? No? Drinking the kool-aid is fine. But somebody tell me why Ellenson is a great fit for this program? I've seen Wally play at least 40 times over the past 2 years all AAU. Just don't see how he fits here. Someone explain it to me.
Click to expand...

I think you are right on the money, the Gophers will probably press more and be a little more open on offense this year, but lets face it Tubby's offense stinks. They stand around, use up the shot clock, and a more than they should take desparation shots at the end of it. I'm sure it impacts recruits, especially those with strong offensive talents.
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
Huggins has historically played a very uptempo game and I suspect when he has all of his own recruits we'll see a similar style to the Cincinnati days.
Click to expand...

Is it possible that the same can be said about Tubby now that he has his own recruits? Actually we were starting to play a more up-tempo style when we had Nolen. This year with Sampson and Mbakwe we'll still be looking to dump it inside but after that I can see the Gophers get back to that "Tubby Ball" with some of the athletes he's starting to assemble.
 

Sure we could start playing more uptempo. With a faster tempo comes more mistakes. Ellenson is more like Westbrook. Is Smith going to be able to change his coaching style to be more tolerant of the rushed shot or forced outlet that results in a breakout the other way? One of my biggest knocks on Smith is he hasn't show that level of "mistake acceptance" since he's been here. In my opinion, when you recruit kids like Colt, Eliason, Sampson, you aren't screaming let's get out and run you are saying you want a more controlled offensive scheme which is completely fine but just not what Ellenson does well.

I'm SICK to death of all the transfers. I just want to know the U is recruiting kids who fit their offensive scheme.
 

Duthasmon Smith said:
I'm trying to figure out where my comments were negative or where I said he should go somewhere else. In the past five years Huggins teams have averaged about 72 pts per game where Smith's have averaged about 67.5. As pointed by the above poster Huggins style is press (hence uptempo) and more conducive to the style of play shown by Ellenson. Much like RW (anybody watch HP Summer league), he is better in a freewheeling offensive scheme then he has shown to be in the drain the shot clock style of Smith.

I'm gonna guess everyone who's posted about my comments have seen Wally play 1 or MAYBE 2 times. My point is more about the number of transfers the U has had and whether or not kids are good fits given the style of play shown by Smith since he came here. Anyone of you want to tell me how well Smith has recruited since he arrived in Mn? No? Drinking the kool-aid is fine. But somebody tell me why Ellenson is a great fit for this program? I've seen Wally play at least 40 times over the past 2 years all AAU. Just don't see how he fits here. Someone explain it to me.
Click to expand...

No, WVU scores more points because they make more baskets. Points per game is not an accurate representation of style of play. And as pointed out before, there is no evidence what so ever than a warped memory lodged in the deep recesses of your brain that Huggins plays uptempo. No one has argued that he is a "great fit" just that your perception of reality is askew.

And you ask where you wrote he should go somewhere else? How about "Just don't see how he fits here."
 

What are you a 6 year old? Curious to see if the posters that seem to insult quickly like you, would be so quick to do if you weren't hiding behind your little screen name. Feel free to send me a private message. Otherwise grow the hell up.

Back to the point explain to me how he fits? And if you can't explain how he fits, then I suggest moving on to another thread. My desire is to build a program with players that fit the style that Smith plays. Simply believing that every player offered is somehow going to build a program is naive.

And for your edification a well thought out response to "Just don't see how he fits here" might have been to explain with your obvious vast Kenpom reference basketball knowledge how he will fit.

Insults are easier to throw though aren't they?
 

^^^Explain where the insults are? I didn't see any thrown around. Did I miss them? Otherwise maybe chill out a little bit.

Look, it is fine if you think there are other schools that may be a better fit for Wally. However, when you made your original point your claim was that WVU would be a better fit specifically because of a faster tempo/style of play. Numerous posters have since given evidence refuting your point. If you want to backtrack on your statements and admit you were wrong that's fine; just don't get all offended and act like we were saying you're an idiot and there is no way Wally would ever fit anywhere but here. We were responding to your claim that WVU was better due to a faster tempo; that is straight up false.
 


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