Six-foot-10, 240 pound forward Henry Ellenson, the younger brother of current Gophers sophomore Wally, recently attended the Minnesota-Iowa football game. Ellenson was ranked #49 by ESPN in their updated rankings of the Class of 2015. Ellenson averaged 21.5 points per game as a sophomore as he helped lead the Warriors to a 20-5 record this past season, losing to Onalaska in the playoffs.
Gopher Hole.com caught up with Ellenson to learn the very latest on his recruitment. .
Gopher Hole: What schools have come out to watch you lately?
Henry Ellenson: Creighton, Oregon, Minnesota, Georgetown, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa State and Marquette.
Gopher Hole: That has to make you feel pretty proud that all those schools are taking the time to come and watch you play?
Henry Ellenson: Yes, it is nice of them to come out, especially when the head coaches make time, too.
Gopher Hole: What head coaches have been out?
Henry Ellenson: Creighton (Greg McDermott) and Iowa State (Fred Hoiberg).
Gopher Hole: What things have you really been focusing on to get ready for a big junior season? What things are you working on to improve yourself?
Henry Ellenson: Just everything, I guess. I have been hitting the weight room a lot, just getting big and in shape. I’ve been working on ball handling a lot. Something that I want to do to play on the wing and on the inside, too.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for Rice Lake? It is obviously going to be a different look without your brother Ellwood (who is now at Bemidji State)?
Henry Ellenson: The expectations are for us this year is to win state. I really think that we will still be a good team. We have a good point guard. We have got some size coming back from last year. We are going to be pretty good.
Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to? Do you still keep track anymore or is it hard to do anymore?
Henry Ellenson: It is kind of hard. I think that I have 14 (Arizona State, Baylor, Boston College, Creighton, Georgetown, Indiana, Iowa State, Marquette, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oregon, Purdue, Texas Tech and Wisconsin) .
Gopher Hole: Have you had a chance to visit any other schools lately?
Henry Ellenson: I haven’t. This is my only visit that I have made.
Gopher Hole: Do you have anything planned for the next couple of weeks?
Henry Ellenson: I really don’t. I think that I just want to stay home and work on my game. I can take officials, I think. I’ll start taking those.
Gopher Hole: What are your feelings about the Gophers now? Are you feeling stronger with them now that you have gotten to know the new coaching staff? How do you feel about them?
Henry Ellenson: My brother is really liking them. He likes the new things that they are bringing to the table, the up-tempo and bringing energy every day. I saw them practice today and I liked what I saw.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to play with your brother?
Henry Ellenson: It would mean a lot. It would be fun to do that again, because I had so much fun my freshman year doing that. It is something to think about.