Former Rice Lake High School standout Henry Ellenson has been drafted 18th overall to the Detroit Pistons.
The 6-foot-10 power forward out of Marquette makes it two years in a row a player from a Wisconsin high school has been drafted in the first round. Sam Dekker, out of Sheboygan Area Lutheran, was selected by the Houston Rockets in last year’s NBA Draft, also 18th overall.
Ellenson averaged a near double-double with Marquette, posting 17 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest in his lone season with the Golden Eagles. Projected by many to go much higher, Ellenson will join a Pistons front court that ranked second in the NBA in rebounding. He also offers the ability to spread the floor and can be utilized in pick-and-pop situations, as shot 29 percent from behind the arc last season.
Henry Ellenson at 18 is an absolute steal. Wow.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) June 24, 2016
In Wisconsin’s lone meeting with Ellenson this past season, the big man put up 15 points and 11 rebounds, but his comments afterwards are what stole the show.
“This is bragging rights. I wanted to show who’s the best team in the state.” – Henry Ellenson #MUBB
— Sconnie Sports Talk (@SST_WI) December 12, 2015
Ellenson has improved greatly since leaving Rice Lake to where he is now. Prior to the draft he noted that his work in the weight room is one of the main reasons he will hear his name being called.
“I went in (to Marquette) and I couldn’t do a pullup and now I can do eight,” said Ellenson, who was recently measured at 6 feet, 111/2 inches in shoes and 242 pounds. “(I) just keep getting stronger as time goes on; it doesn’t happen right away.”