Wally Ellenson Transferring to MU and Playing Basketball

[77ncaachamps]

are there really any bigger turd fans in basketball than badger fans?

- Mocking the Heldt commit - really?    Where did Kaminsky come from?   How was he rated in high school?   Well, I guess they would know the downside with Anderson, Markhoff and Gavinski

- Trashing parents of MU players - real class...

- The inferiority complex from being a good program just since 2000 really trips them up.   

Have some class Bucky fans...

Bucky fans define success as D-1 success.
That's where it ends for them.

MU fans define success as D-1 AND NBA success.
And that's why we're a better program.


Wisconsin actives in the NBA:
Devin Harris (Unrestricted FA)
Marcus Landry (Also UFA)
Greg Stiemsma (Also UFA)
Jon Leuer (Under contract)

This list might shrink to 1 or 2 from the mighty Wisconsin bkb program.
The system is good enough for NCAAs but it won't land you in the NBA.

[Bricky]

--edit--

[How do you delete a post?]

[cheebs09]

Dwyane Wade - UFA

(sorry, I had to)

[Spotcheck Billy]

the Urinal Sentinel coverage:
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/minnesotas-wally-ellenson-transfers-to-marquette-after-visiting-with-brother-b99303855z1-265631851.html
Minnesota's Wally Ellenson transfers to Marquette after visiting with brother

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."

As for Wally Ellenson, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward was known more for his track and field career with the Gophers.

He is a two-time All-American in the high jump and was runner-up in the event at the 2014 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal-best performance of 7 feet 41/2 inches at the national meet was the second-best outdoor mark in Minnesota history.

As a basketball player, Wally Ellenson came off the bench 18 times during two seasons with the Gophers. Last season, he averaged 2 points and 0.8 rebounds.

"Basketball is my first passion," he said. "It's what I do. Track is secondary. I'm pretty good at it, but basketball is my thing. I wasn't getting the opportunity I thought I deserved at Minnesota, so I decided to go somewhere else.

"Marquette is a great fit for me. I trust the coaching staff to coach me up and help me fit into the season."

The brothers both visited Marquette last weekend. It didn't take long for Wally Ellenson to settle on the Golden Eagles and new coach Steve Wojciechowski.

"The visit went a lot better than I expected," Wally Ellenson said. "The coaching staff played at a very high level, and I can learn from what they did. I'm excited for the chance to learn from them and play for them.

"I can see Coach Wojo's vision of winning a national championship. He's very dedicated to it. As a player, that's what you want to be a part of. It was an easy decision to reach."

Ellenson said he would participate in outdoor meets with the Marquette track team after the basketball season if track does not interfere with off-season basketball workouts.

Ellenson is the third player to transfer to Marquette since Wojciechowski's arrival on April 1. Former Brigham Young point guard Matt Carlino will play this season as a graduate student. Former Loyola Marymount forward Gabe Levin and Ellenson will join the squad the following season.

"We are thrilled to welcome Wally to the Marquette men's basketball family," Wojciechowski said. "Wally is a young man of outstanding character. He is an elite-level athlete and adds talent, athleticism and competitive spirit to our basketball team. We are extremely excited about the impact he will have at Marquette."

[Benny B]

Just read the Rodent board. The thing that irked me the most though was being called a mid major over and over again.

Final Four Appearance Scoreboard Since 2000

Mid-Majors: 15* (MU '03, UCONN '04, GMU '06, GTown '07, Memphis* '08, UCONN/NOVA '09, BU '10, UCONN/BU/VCU '11, Louis '12, Louis/Wichita St '13, UCONN '14)
Bucky: 2
Big Ten: 12

*Vacated

Championships Since 2000

Mid-Majors: 4 (UCONN '04, UCONN '11, Louisville '13, UCONN '14)
Big Ten: 1 (Moo U '00)

"But Benny, UCONN and Louisville aren't mid-majors, blah, blah, blah"

Answer: By either standard, if MU is considered mid-major, so are Louisville and UCONN:

Current Conference Affiliation: The American Conference is no "higher" than the Big East.  Case in point: UCONN on-going begging into the Big East.
Historical Conference Affiliation: Louisville and MU were in the same conference for 17 years.  UCONN, Nova and Georgetown were together even longer.

Ipso facto, Mid-Major > Big Ten > Bucky

Well, most of them would know....keep in mind that half of them went to UW Waukesha, Osh Kosh, Marathon County or Stout.

 
Look at Chicos!!!  Being all witty and funny for once.

[Schmidtyfactor]

Wally is better than his stats show from Minnesota.

Gopher fans weren't shocked or concerned that he left. if anything, it opened up a scholly. Glad he's at MU. Hope he helps the team. But hope he helps recruit Henry more than anything.

[Black Swan]

I put this in another thread but I don't know who reads what around here. I earlier mentioned that I had heard from a coach recruiting Ellenson (not MU) that MU, NW and Duke were his top 3 and that UW was out. I heard today that he feels the Wally signing has wrapped it up and that Henry is a MU lock. Now I would never pull a #DoneDeal on this as this is just one man's opinion (though a very educated opinion). His exact words were..."this is a package deal". I guess we will see. I have seen too many recruits change their mind to put a "sure thing" label on this (including one of MU's all time favorite players, who had made up his mind to go to a rival school but changed the night before his announcement) but it looks promising at this point.

[keefe]

 But I'm a brother first.

I thought Ellenson was a white dude?

[Sharpie]

I thought Ellenson was a white dude?

Shhh. Don't tell ThatDude. He might absolutely lose his mind.

[MUEng92]

Ellenson said he would participate in outdoor meets with the Marquette track team after the basketball season if track does not interfere with off-season basketball workouts.

I love that line. Basically saying "sure, if I can find the time, I will give the school a chance at an individual NCAA championship"

[ChicosBailBonds]

 
Look at Chicos!!!  Being all witty and funny for once.

Wit is the lowest form of humor.
Alexander Pope

[Dawson Rental]

--edit--

[How do you delete a post?]

You don't, it's not an option.  If you ever see a nm which stands for no message, then the poster decided after posting to erase.

[Bricky]

You don't, it's not an option.  If you ever see a nm which stands for no message, then the poster decided after posting to erase.

And all this time I thought people were just showing their love for New Mexico like it was some sort of meme.

[muwarrior69]

Wit is the lowest form of humor.
Alexander Pope

Also
To err is human to forgive divine.

[mr.MUskie]

You don't, it's not an option.  If you ever see a nm which stands for no message, then the poster decided after posting to erase.

I thought it was Never Mind.

[We R Final Four]

NM

[keefe]

NM

[Tugg Speedman]

I found a post about Wally Ellensen on a Track & Field message board from May:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5793487&page=1

They cannot believe how good a high jumper he is on little to no practice.  Some argued he would be world championship caliber and make millions if he focused on high jumping.

Then the conversation turned to what is the high jump world record for someone who played basketball (college any level or pros).

Some examples they found.

Wilt Chamberlain 6-6
Bill Russell 6-9
2012 NBA slam dunk champion Jeremy Evans 6-10
Mason Plummle jumped 6'8 in high school
Rodney Carney jumped 6'11 in high school (mom was a world class sprinter)
Bob McAdoo jumped 6'7 in 1970
Jeff Trepagnier jumped 7'1 at USC

Best football player jump they found was Herman Moore at 7-3 in college.

The best overall was 1996 tOSU bball captain Otis Winston who also cleared 7-4.5 (at the 96 Olympic trials) for a school record.  Winston also played professionally in Russia.

http://www.ovac.org/HallOfFame/Details/124

So while no one keeps such a record, Wally Ellensen jump last month of 7-4.5 to get second at NCAA Outdoor equaled the best ever jump by a basketball player in world history!  He has two years to break it.  

Hopefully this puts into context how good he is, especially for someone who does not really practice it.

[MUDPT]

Kammron Taylor was also in the D League.

I've heard from a couple of people here in Madison that Bo gave NBA scouts bad reviews on some of his own players (poor work ethic, etc.).  I have no idea why.  Also heard Hughes told Vander not to come to UW if he wanted to play in the NBA on his official visit.  UW is not a pipeline for the NBA, sorry.

[Eye]

Pretty sure someone was being facetious about Ellwood, but he wouldn't have much of a shot IMHO to contribute at MU. Wally on the other hand ...