Ellenson Top 3

[MU82]

Reading that made me smile -- that is exactly how I have been describing his game to people for the last two years. TBH I never really thought we would have a shot at him. For those who have not seen him, he is the real deal. With almost a decade of one-tool bigs, we are headed into a whole new direction with Fischer, Heldt and hopefully Ellenson.

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

FW:

Thanks for the inside dope. It all sounds wonderful.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Reading that made me smile -- that is exactly how I have been describing his game to people for the last two years. TBH I never really thought we would have a shot at him. For those who have not seen him, he is the real deal. With almost a decade of one-tool bigs, we are headed into a whole new direction with Fischer, Heldt and hopefully Ellenson.

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

Awesome post

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

We sure Deiner doesn't have any eligibility left?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Reading that made me smile -- that is exactly how I have been describing his game to people for the last two years. TBH I never really thought we would have a shot at him. For those who have not seen him, he is the real deal. With almost a decade of one-tool bigs, we are headed into a whole new direction with Fischer, Heldt and hopefully Ellenson.

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

Love hearing this. Thanks Freeport

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

and he's deciding when?

I am nearly 100% confident that he will be deciding in time for the early signing period. He definitely won't sign before the visit with us (or if he does I think it's in our favor). I think we will hear a decision shortly after his visit to Milwaukee..

[moomoo]

I am nearly 100% confident that he will be deciding in time for the early signing period. He definitely won't sign before the visit with us (or if he does I think it's in our favor). I think we will hear a decision shortly after his visit to Milwaukee..

In the meantime, a couple of other bigs verballing to Michigan State or Kentucky would be nice.

[Groin_pull]

Love hearing this. Thanks Freeport

Agree. Yes, Crean and Williams had legit success at MU. I get that. However, I love that Wojo has been a breath of fresh air. It seems as though Crean and Williams were trying to overcompensate for having never played the game... using tackling dummy drills, bootcamps, etc.

Now, MU has a coach who has played the game at an elite college level. Wojo seems much more relaxed and confident than our previous two coaches. I'm sure he's much easier to be around.

[MU82]

Izzo. Krzyzewski. Calipari. Calhoun. Boeheim. Ryan. Self. R. Williams. Smart. And, yes, Crean and B. Williams.

Just a handful of the dozens of highly successful current (or recent) coaches who never played college basketball at the elite level.

This is such an overrated dynamic. If it weren't, K and Cal wouldn't have top-10 recruiting classes every year.

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

[keefe]

Reading that made me smile -- that is exactly how I have been describing his game to people for the last two years. TBH I never really thought we would have a shot at him. For those who have not seen him, he is the real deal. With almost a decade of one-tool bigs, we are headed into a whole new direction with Fischer, Heldt and hopefully Ellenson.

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

Thanks, Tim. This is great insight.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Whenever I see a post from Freeport Warrior I can't help but think "LL Bean" for some reason?


Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

Whenever he beats out a current player, I can see a "Now that's how you do it and that's why I'm telling you to do that way!"

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In the meantime, a couple of other bigs verballing to Michigan State or Kentucky would be nice.

The problem is Henry is so versatile that he can play the 3, 4, or 5. Even if UK and MSU have PFs already, there is still a spot for Ellenson. MSU especialy needs a lot of help in the post. They already have 4.3 star Deyonta Davis locked down but have two more schollies after baby Kaminski transferred.

Kentucky on the other hand has a plethora of bigs. If Henry went there he would find himself behind Cauley-Stein (Senior), Poythress (Senior), Lee (Junior), Willis (Junior), Johnson (Junior), Lyles (Sophomore), and Towns Jr. (Sophomore). Of course one to three of these guys will go pro, but not all. Not to mention the fact the Calipari is also in on several studs in the 2015 class including Derrick Jones, Brandon Ingram, Ivan Rabb, Chieck Diallo, Carlton Bragg, Diamond Stone, Stephen Zimmerman, Skal Labriesse, Caleb Swanigan, and Doral Moore.

Kentucky is a bigger threat than MSU. But Kentucky needs to decide that Ellenson is a priority for them to be a factor. MSU already has Ellenson as a priority.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Whenever I see a post from Freeport Warrior I can't help but think "LL Bean" for some reason?


Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

Whenever he beats out a current player, I can see a "Now that's how you do it and that's why I'm telling you to do that way!"

I'm really hoping we see a coaches vs. Players scrimmage this year during MU madness. Who wouldn't wanna see Wojo floor slapping and Deiner raining 3s?

[Freeport Warrior]

I'm sure he's much easier to be around.

I know three Crean players pretty well. They all pretty much say that when they heard Crean was "in the house" they would try to avoid any contact and go somewhere else because they never knew what he was going to say or do. He would go off without notice. I heard similar things from Buzz players. You just never knew. Buzz's move was freezing people out and not communicating. My buddy said Wojo just has a different way about him that is more "normal man." You give respect, you get respect. Love it all and hope it translates to winning basketball.

[Coleman]

I'm really hoping we see a coaches vs. Players scrimmage this year during MU madness. Who wouldn't wanna see Wojo floor slapping and Deiner raining 3s?

By the way, Diener looks the exact same as he did 10 years ago when I was a student:

https://www.facebook.com/MarquetteMensBB/photos/a.516564388487193.1073741927.141090692701233/516564501820515/?type=3&theater

[mu03eng]

I know three Crean players pretty well. They all pretty much say that when they heard Crean was "in the house" they would try to avoid any contact and go somewhere else because they never knew what he was going to say or do. He would go off without notice. I heard similar things from Buzz players. You just never knew. Buzz's move was freezing people out and not communicating. My buddy said Wojo just has a different way about him that is more "normal man." You give respect, you get respect. Love it all and hope it translates to winning basketball.

Whether they are the same guys you know, I've heard the very same thing from some Buzz and Crean players as well.

[rmi210]

Izzo. Krzyzewski. Calipari. Calhoun. Boeheim. Ryan. Self. R. Williams. Smart. And, yes, Crean and B. Williams.

Just a handful of the dozens of highly successful current (or recent) coaches who never played college basketball at the elite level.

This is such an overrated dynamic. If it weren't, K and Cal wouldn't have top-10 recruiting classes every year.

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

I am pretty sure Coach K, and Boeheim did, and Roy Williams played at UNC for a year and depending on what is considered elite Calipari did play D1 ball for a few years and Izzo played at Northern Michigan.  I think the ability to relate to the game by playing it does have somewhat of an effect on coaching style.  I do not think the list is nearly as short as you think.  

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

By the way, Diener looks the exact same as he did 10 years ago when I was a student:

https://www.facebook.com/MarquetteMensBB/photos/a.516564388487193.1073741927.141090692701233/516564501820515/?type=3&theater

A little more peach fuzz now a days but generally still the same.

[swoopem]

Izzo. Krzyzewski. Calipari. Calhoun. Boeheim. Ryan. Self. R. Williams. Smart. And, yes, Crean and B. Williams.

Just a handful of the dozens of highly successful current (or recent) coaches who never played college basketball at the elite level.

This is such an overrated dynamic. If it weren't, K and Cal wouldn't have top-10 recruiting classes every year.

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

Take out the word elite and that argument holds no water because most of those guys played in college. A guy who played vs a guy who watched practice at a junior college and swept the floor is quite a bit diffrent. I'm sure players will be able to relate to the player much more than the janitor.

[Freeport Warrior]

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

I wasn't really talking about recruiting prowess, more about how the current players all really respect that "he was one of them" and because of that, they have truly bought into his vision. The fact that he played at a high level and understands their lives of balancing academics/ball is huge.

[MUfan12]

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

There was a siege mentality built up by Buzz over the past few years, and it's good to hear that a lot of that has gone away.

I have also heard the culture is a lot more businesslike now. The staff did their homework on the players, and identified the areas that needed improvement. They're being told exactly what is expected of them, and what they need to do. Buzz liked to play mind games with them, now there's none of that, and the team has responded well.

[Litehouse]

Izzo. Krzyzewski. Calipari. Calhoun. Boeheim. Ryan. Self. R. Williams. Smart. And, yes, Crean and B. Williams.

Just a handful of the dozens of highly successful current (or recent) coaches who never played college basketball at the elite level.

This is such an overrated dynamic. If it weren't, K and Cal wouldn't have top-10 recruiting classes every year.

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

There's a huge difference between "never played at the elite level" and "never played at all".  The other guys you mentioned a least played at the college level and had success, although maybe not elite.  Crean barely made it off the bench in HS and I've never seen anything to indicate Buzz even played in HS.  I don't know how much it matters for recruiting, but you can tell they don't have a feel for the flow of a game through their coaching.

[River rat]

Izzo. Krzyzewski. Calipari. Calhoun. Boeheim. Ryan. Self. R. Williams. Smart. And, yes, Crean and B. Williams.

Just a handful of the dozens of highly successful current (or recent) coaches who never played college basketball at the elite level.

This is such an overrated dynamic. If it weren't, K and Cal wouldn't have top-10 recruiting classes every year.

Might it influence some recruits or please some players after a guy like Wojo arrives? Sure. But please. The list of great coaches who never played elite basketball is far longer than the list of great coaches who did. It's probably not even close.

umm ...without counting to make exactly sure,  approx. half of this list did in fact play D1 ball.

[brandx]

I am confident that Henry will make his decision by the early signing period. I am less confident, but still confident that his decision will be to be a Warrior.

Come on H2, Henry and Haanif!

Why so?

We already knew before this that Kentucky, MSU, Duke, and UW among others were interested. That he has trimmed some of those should increase our confidence.

But like others here, I was, and am, most worried about Izzo.

And if we get both guys - looks to be a top 3 class.

[brandx]

A little bit like Dirk, but I'll continue to say that he reminds me more of Kevin Love than Dirk.

You mean he isn't going to play defense?

[StillAWarrior]

Reading that made me smile -- that is exactly how I have been describing his game to people for the last two years. TBH I never really thought we would have a shot at him. For those who have not seen him, he is the real deal. With almost a decade of one-tool bigs, we are headed into a whole new direction with Fischer, Heldt and hopefully Ellenson.

I met with my former MU player friend yesterday a few hours after he met with Wojo for the first time and he said the vibe around the bball program has totally changed. Said the players love Wojo and the staff because they played the game and know what they are going through. Says it was so much more relaxed and positive. Where Crean and Buzz used fear and isolation to rule, Wojo uses respect and personal responsibility. Just loved hearing this. He also said the Steve Taylor Jr. is looking huge and he's super excited about the season. Also said Wojo can still hoop with the best of them.

And reading that made me smile.