Wally Ellenson transfers to Marquette to play basketball

[GopherCountry]

Minnesota swingman Wally Ellenson of Rice Lake has transferred to Marquette and will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out this season.

Which raises the question: Will Wally's brother, Henry, eventually follow him to Marquette?

Henry Ellenson, a five-star prospect, is a 6-foot-9 power forward going into his senior season at Rice Lake High School. He is being recruited by most of the major powers, including Duke, North Carolina and UCLA.

"I'd love to play with my brother," Wally Ellenson said. "He's a very good player. But I'm a brother first. I made my decision and now he's got to make his. It would be great if we were at the same school, but he's got to look at all his opportunities and go from there."


http://www.jsonline.com/sports/gold...iting-with-brother-b99303855z1-265631851.html

 

[WanderingGopher]

My sources have told me the U offered him 50% for track.

Interesting. I was wondering if the U t&f coaches were doing anything to try to keep him. That's a pretty significant scholarship offer for track.

Pretty clear from the Milwaukee article that he wants to play basketball, plain and simple, and high jumping seems secondary. He wouldn't be the first kid to cast aside potential in his "best" sport because he likes playing another one better, but it's strange because when he was here, you got the sense that he wasn't doing everything Pitino asked of him training-wise (including bulking up) because he was concerned about high jumping. He had several quotes about how the two sports have different ideal body types.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

At some point we may need to consider something similar to this to attract top talent to our team. 3 years of Wally on scholarship is a big price to pay for Henry Ellenson, even bigger if Henry only stays a years or two. Obviously, that price can be negated by hitting on a high percentage of your other recruits. It's not a big deal to have Wally taking up a bench spot if you've got 8-9 good players. It's a much bigger deal if you're in a situation like the Gophers have been in recent seasons where we've had 4-5 guys who lacked the talent to contribute significantly to an NCAA team.

This is a risk for Wojo early in his coaching tenure, but almost certainly one worth taking.

I disagree. This lunatic family is a cancer for a program. More importantly, I don't think they will land Henry. I have no doubt that these people would be willing to lead Wojo into thinking that Henry will follow to try to leverage an offer and playing time for Wally "couldn't hit sand if he fell off a camel" Ellenson. But even if they shook hands and made a promise about Henry following (which assuredly did not happen), I don't think they would think twice about reneging on the promise if they thought there was a better offer for Henry elsewhere.

These people are petty enough that us giving Wally the playing time he deserved took us off Henry's list, but I don't think the converse would hold (i.e., giving Wally the playing time he thinks he deserved wouldn't have done anything to impress Henry in terms of considering us).

 

[Bad Gopher]

I fully expect Henry to end up at Marquette, though I don't think it will happen until later this fall. Tough blow for UW, as Henry could have been a great fit for how the Badgers use their bigs.

I thought so, too. He would be deadly in that system.

 

[Myke]

I don't really see how that applies, since Miles Plumlee was a borderline top-100 recruit and started 79 games in the NBA this year. Wally has as much chance to play in the NBA as you or me. Also, Duke doesn't need to offer packages to get elite players to go there.

Are you telling me the youngest Plumlee is worthy of a scholarship at Duke? The Dukes, UNCs, Kentuckys still have to sell to these kids. Sometimes they have to take on a 4 year bench player to land a big fish for a year or two. Hell, Ohio State took on P.J. Hill to land his sister Tayler to help the women's program on the national stage. There's a lot more to this stuff than meets the eye.

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

Are you telling me the youngest Plumlee is worthy of a scholarship at Duke? The Dukes, UNCs, Kentuckys still have to sell to these kids. Sometimes they have to take on a 4 year bench player to land a big fish for a year or two. Hell, Ohio State took on P.J. Hill to land his sister Tayler to help the women's program on the national stage. There's a lot more to this stuff than meets the eye.

Every team needs bench players, but do you seriously think a profitable men's basketball program burned a scholarship to try to land a recruit for a non-revenue program?

 

[dpodoll68]

Are you telling me the youngest Plumlee is worthy of a scholarship at Duke?

He was a top 100 recruit, had many quality high-major offers from all over the country, and is a big man nonetheless. Whether he is good now is irrelevant to whether he was worthy of a scholarship offer out of HS. What you're attempting to argue makes no sense. What would Duke have to gain by offering the younger brother of two successful basketball alumni?

Sometimes they have to take on a 4 year bench player to land a big fish for a year or two.

Name some.

Ohio State took on P.J. Hill to land his sister Tayler to help the women's program on the national stage.

That would at least make some sense. Because, you know, P.J. is older and his commitment would've occurred prior to Tayler going there. Here's another little tidbit you may not be aware of: Ohio St. isn't Duke, UNC, or Kentucky. Duke offering Marshall Plumlee (who was unworthy, according to you) solely because his two older brothers played there is quite possibly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard and makes literally no sense whatsoever.

 

[Myke]

He was a top 100 recruit, had many quality high-major offers from all over the country, and is a big man nonetheless. Whether he is good now is irrelevant to whether he was worthy of a scholarship offer out of HS. What you're attempting to argue makes no sense. What would Duke have to gain by offering the younger brother of two successful basketball alumni?

Coach K probably approached the Plumlee family when recruiting Miles (the oldest) and offered a package deal involving all 3 brothers in hopes that the younger 2 developed as well as the oldest. One did and one didn't. This isn't rocket science.

Name some.



That would at least make some sense. Because, you know, P.J. is older and his commitment would've occurred prior to Tayler going there. Here's another little tidbit you may not be aware of: Ohio St. isn't Duke, UNC, or Kentucky. Duke offering Marshall Plumlee (who was unworthy, according to you) solely because his two older brothers played there is quite possibly one of the stupidest things I've ever heard and makes literally no sense whatsoever.

If you've followed college recruiting you'd know there's a lot of politics behind those rankings. You saw it with Tyler Ulis' ridiculous rise this year (his biggest offers were UK and Mich St after that it's Bama and Butler). Coach K probably approached the Plumlee family when recruiting Miles (the oldest) and offered a package deal involving all 3 brothers in hopes that the younger 2 developed as well as the oldest. One did and one didn't. This isn't rocket science.

I guess that's your opinion but Ohio State is in the top tier of programs that compete for the top recruits in the country every year. You can take a look at their class this year and know that. Well I would have loved to continue on with this conversation in a respectful way but you're clearly not capable of doing that. Have a good day.

 

[bemidjigopher]

Are you telling me the youngest Plumlee is worthy of a scholarship at Duke? The Dukes, UNCs, Kentuckys still have to sell to these kids. Sometimes they have to take on a 4 year bench player to land a big fish for a year or two. Hell, Ohio State took on P.J. Hill to land his sister Tayler to help the women's program on the national stage. There's a lot more to this stuff than meets the eye.

Preposterous Statement of the year

 

[Dr.Don]

Are you telling me the youngest Plumlee is worthy of a scholarship at Duke? The Dukes, UNCs, Kentuckys still have to sell to these kids. Sometimes they have to take on a 4 year bench player to land a big fish for a year or two. Hell, Ohio State took on P.J. Hill to land his sister Tayler to help the women's program on the national stage. There's a lot more to this stuff than meets the eye.

Possible eligibility for a dpodoll award?

 

[MN1nAZ]

BYE WALLY

 

[GreasyGopher]

If you've followed college recruiting you'd know there's a lot of politics behind those rankings. You saw it with Tyler Ulis' ridiculous rise this year (his biggest offers were UK and Mich St after that it's Bama and Butler). Coach K probably approached the Plumlee family when recruiting Miles (the oldest) and offered a package deal involving all 3 brothers in hopes that the younger 2 developed as well as the oldest. One did and one didn't. This isn't rocket science.

I guess that's your opinion but Ohio State is in the top tier of programs that compete for the top recruits in the country every year. You can take a look at their class this year and know that. Well I would have loved to continue on with this conversation in a respectful way but you're clearly not capable of doing that. Have a good day.

So how does Miles being the lowest rated recruit of the three play into your storyline?

 

[BJN]

For what it's worth, I have read that Duke, Marquette, and Northwestern are the leaders right now for Henry.