Christian Williams officially signs with Iowa

[Blair Sanderson]

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa head men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery announced today that Christian Williams has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Iowa.

Williams (6-foot-6, 195 pounds) played his prep basketball at St. Teresa High School in Illinois where he became the school's all-time leading scorer and ranks in the top-20 in scoring in Macon County with 1,587 points. The two-time all-state and three-time first-team all-league selection posted 20 career double-doubles and helped the Bulldogs win 20 games all four years on varsity.

"We are thrilled that Christian is part of our Hawkeye family," said McCaffery. "Christian is an incredibly versatile player who can play three positions. He's a terrific athlete with great length. He's a phenomenal passer and a proven winner. Christian fits very well with our style."

As a senior, Williams was tabbed first-team all-state by the Associated Press and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) after averaging 18.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 steals, and three assists. He was also recognized as the Macon County Player of the Year by the Herald & Review and WCIA and was an all-conference honoree. The combo guard helped lead St. Teresa (27-5) to an undefeated conference record and unprecedented success in postseason play. The Bulldogs captured regional, sectional, and super sectional championships, and finished runner-up at the state tournament.

In 2014, Williams averaged 18.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.8 steals while earning all-state accolades by the Associated Press and IBCA. Williams and the Bulldogs captured their second straight conference championship, while posting a 25-4 overall record his junior campaign. Williams netted a personal-best 41 points during his junior season against Monticello on Jan. 22, 2014.

As a sophomore, Williams averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks on St. Teresa's 22-6 conference champion team. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds his freshman season on a 20-9 squad.

Williams will be playing in the Illinois-Missouri All-Star Classic Saturday in Alston, Illinois. He is also slated to compete in the IBCA All-Star Game on June 13.

On the AAU circuit, Williams ran point for the Peoria Irish.

Williams joins Andrew Fleming, Brandon Hutton, Ahmad Wagner, and Isaiah Moss on Iowa's 2015 recruiting class.

2015 IOWA RECRUITING CLASS

Andrew Fleming G 6-5/205 Nashville, Tenn. (Oak Hill Academy - VA)

Brandon Hutton F 6-6/210 Chicago, Ill. (De La Salle)

Ahmad Wagner F 6-7/215 Yellow Springs, Ohio (Wayne)

Isaiah Moss F 6-5/175 Chicago, Ill. (Simeon)

Christian Williams G 6-6/195 Decatur, Ill. (St. Teresa)

 

[Hawkfreak2k15]

Decent sign for us. I don't see him playing for a few years, so hopefully he can continue to improve til then. Should be a decent player come junior and senior year.

 

[BeepBeepInMyJeep]

I think we're all a bit confused as to how it is all going to fit together, but we are not the experts that are going to have to figure it out. Seems like we have an entire team in 2016 and beyond that is nothing but combo guards and wing forwards. It will be interesting to watch, but at this point I think Fran has earned the trust of the fanbase and even an understanding amongst most reasonable fans that they will COULD take some lumps over the next couple years.

 

[GT Hawkaholic]

Originally posted by Hawkfreak2k15:
Decent sign for us. I don't see him playing for a few years, so hopefully he can continue to improve til then. Should be a decent player come junior and senior year.

We have no Point Guards beyond next year and you don't think he'll play for a FEW years? That's pretty laughable. Why would Fran sign a guy to be a 4 year project with no other PG options currently signed?

Just curious as to what you know about him or if you've watched a game of his that you could make that declaration. If Fran was comfortable enough to take him in an area of need, then I'm plenty thrilled about it.

On a side note, you can see the landscape changing for this team. Everyone is in that 6' 5" to 6' 8" mold and can play mutiple positions. It's pretty clear the direction we are headed with one true Center and at least 4 skilled guys out there at a time with tons of length of the perimeter. The only concern is obviously the teams with Gonzaga, MSU and Purdue type size.

 

[83Hawk]

Originally posted by GT Hawkaholic:

Originally posted by Hawkfreak2k15:
Decent sign for us. I don't see him playing for a few years, so hopefully he can continue to improve til then. Should be a decent player come junior and senior year.

We have no Point Guards beyond next year and you don't think he'll play for a FEW years? That's pretty laughable. Why would Fran sign a guy to be a 4 year project with no other PG options currently signed?

Just curious as to what you know about him or if you've watched a game of his that you could make that declaration. If Fran was comfortable enough to take him in an area of need, then I'm plenty thrilled about it.

On a side note, you can see the landscape changing for this team. Everyone is in that 6' 5" to 6' 8" mold and can play mutiple positions. It's pretty clear the direction we are headed with one true Center and at least 4 skilled guys out there at a time with tons of length of the perimeter. The only concern is obviously the teams with Gonzaga, MSU and Purdue type size.

I like where Fran is taking the team. Sure, there will be a few teams with more size in the middle, but I'd rather have those 3-4 skill guys with length that can play the perimeter. The game is evolving into primarily a perimeter game, so glad to see the Hawks evolving, too.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Great news! Exactly the type of under the radar prospect with a chip on his shoulder that Fran has rebuilt the program on.

 

[IamHawkeye]

Interesting that they don't name the town (Decatur) instead just say St. Teresa of Illinois. Wonder how many St. Teresa high schools there are in Illinois. Anyway, glad to have him. BTW, are there All-States by class in Illinois or just one All-State.

 

[91hawki]

Rosters sort themselves out. The chance that all of these players will still be with the team in 4 years is slim to none.

We will find out very quickly this fall where Ellingson, Fleming, Moss, Hutton,and Jok stand fighting for minutes at the wing positions.

If Ellingson finds himself playing behind these guys, I don't see him sticking around.

Same goes for Hutton or Moss- if in 2 years, they aren't seeing the court much- then they probably leave or Fran helps them leave.

I think Wagner, Fleming, and Williams are the best players in this class (short and long term). Time will tell if Hutton and Moss continue to develop and make significant contributions.

 

[NevadaHawk]

I'm happy to have Christian on board. He was a pretty good HS player and I think he just might surprise some people. Thanks for coming to Iowa Christian!

 

[hawkeyemark]

Originally posted by 91hawki:

Rosters sort themselves out. The chance that all of these players will still be with the team in 4 years is slim to none.

We will find out very quickly this fall where Ellingson, Fleming, Moss, Hutton,and Jok stand fighting for minutes at the wing positions.

If Ellingson finds himself playing behind these guys, I don't see him sticking around.

Same goes for Hutton or Moss- if in 2 years, they aren't seeing the court much- then they probably leave or Fran helps them leave.

I think Wagner, Fleming, and Williams are the best players in this class (short and long term). Time will tell if Hutton and Moss continue to develop and make significant contributions.

I tend to agree with the general thought here even if Ellingson sticks around as he might- he seems like he can play a really helpful role for us but time will tell. While Fran seemingly will play more mid-size players based on the recruiting I think he will still find room for some size as well as you see him continuing to recruit traditional centers. Fran's future teams may not resemble his teams at Siena that much nor last year's squad where we had all that size.

 

[hawkitd]

Originally posted by GT Hawkaholic:

Originally posted by Hawkfreak2k15:
Decent sign for us. I don't see him playing for a few years, so hopefully he can continue to improve til then. Should be a decent player come junior and senior year.

We have no Point Guards beyond next year and you don't think he'll play for a FEW years? That's pretty laughable. Why would Fran sign a guy to be a 4 year project with no other PG options currently signed?

Just curious as to what you know about him or if you've watched a game of his that you could make that declaration. If Fran was comfortable enough to take him in an area of need, then I'm plenty thrilled about it.

On a side note, you can see the landscape changing for this team. Everyone is in that 6' 5" to 6' 8" mold and can play mutiple positions. It's pretty clear the direction we are headed with one true Center and at least 4 skilled guys out there at a time with tons of length of the perimeter. The only concern is obviously the teams with Gonzaga, MSU and Purdue type size.

bump, I'd like to hear the explanation too


I'll take a 2 time all stater from Illinois anytime. I really like this class!

 

[nattybumpo]

Originally posted by 91hawki:

Rosters sort themselves out. The chance that all of these players will still be with the team in 4 years is slim to none.

If Ellingson finds himself playing behind these guys, I don't see him sticking around.

Same goes for Hutton or Moss- if in 2 years, they aren't seeing the court much- then they probably leave or Fran helps them leave.

I think Wagner, Fleming, and Williams are the best players in this class (short and long term). Time will tell if Hutton and Moss continue to develop and make significant contributions.

I agree that it's not likely that all of the upcoming freshmen will stick around, though I think Hutton and Moss (& Wagner) are the strength of the class, and are not likely to leave because of lack of playing time.

Also, according to Dochterman, Ellingson was the best shooter on the team last year. So, he may stick around and contribute more than you expect.

 

[hooper56]

Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

 

[Quintana]

Originally posted by IamHawkeye:
Interesting that they don't name the town (Decatur) instead just say St. Teresa of Illinois. Wonder how many St. Teresa high schools there are in Illinois. Anyway, glad to have him. BTW, are there All-States by class in Illinois or just one All-State.

looks like they have class 1A/2A (small school) and 3A/4A (large school) all state teams.

Williams was 1st team 1A/2A
Moss was special mention 3A/4A
Hutton was special mention 3A/4A

special mention is below the 4th team, but above the honorable mention.

a couple points of interest: Evan Boudreaux and Ed Morrow were 1st team 3A/4A as was a kid named Charles Moore.

was Charlie a Senior this year or a Junior? the list shows him as grade 12, but doesn't the front page article list him a s 2016 recruit? also, the only other under classman to make 1st team large school was Jordan Goodwin... a sophomore!


edit to add Morrow.

This post was edited on 4/15 1:18 PM by Quintana

 

[mstp1992]

Originally posted by Quintana:

Originally posted by IamHawkeye:
Interesting that they don't name the town (Decatur) instead just say St. Teresa of Illinois. Wonder how many St. Teresa high schools there are in Illinois. Anyway, glad to have him. BTW, are there All-States by class in Illinois or just one All-State.

looks like they have class 1A/2A (small school) and 3A/4A (large school) all state teams.

Williams was 1st team 1A/2A
Moss was special mention 3A/4A
Hutton was special mention 3A/4A

special mention is below the 4th team, but above the honorable mention.

a couple points of interest: Evan Boudreaux was 1st team 3A/4A as was a kid named Charles Moore.

was Charlie a Senior this year or a Junior? the list shows him as grade 12, but doesn't the front page article list him a s 2016 recruit? also, the only other under classman to make 1st team large school was Jordan Goodwin... a sophomore!

Moore is a 2016 recruit.

I know we had an offer for Boudreaux and he signed elsewhere, but I seem to recall there may have been something more to the story than one school being a better fit for him than Iowa.

 

[combes]

There are four classes of basketball and four state champions, but there are just two all state teams. As you noted, they combine the smaller two and the larger two.

Someone asked about Williams at Decatur St. Teresa. St. Teresa is a small private school while the other Decatur schools are much larger. He may learn to play the point, but he was not a point guard in high school. He has talent, though, and he may be able to make the switch.

Moore is only 5-7 and played the two guard. He is a 2016 recruit. He does have point guard skills but he has been a shoot first guard in high school. As I mentioned elsewhere, Lovett handled the ball the majority of the time. I would guess that next year, he plays point all the time.

Also, the scoring stats for Moore (and Lovett and others on the team are skewed). Moore did not average 24 a game. If you add up the totals for the players on the team, they would have averaged 90+ a game if the stats were correct. They did not average anywhere near that much. Chicago Public League schools are notorious for padding scoring averages. A few years ago, another CPL team was at state, and they displayed each player's scoring average and the total of the averages was close to 130 a game. Not a knock on Moore. My guess is that he probably averaged about 18-19 a game. Lovett about the same instead of 23+ for him, too. They had other kids listed at 15, 14, 12, etc. lol

I see Iowa offered Simpson, too. Heck of a player. Better prospect than Moore, imo.

 

[IamHawkeye]

Combes, are the CPL schools divided into classes? Or..how do they still qualify CPL schools for State. I thought I saw Uplift was going to play Simeon for the title, then saw Uplift was going to play in the Regionals. Back in the day the CPL winner went to State. At least I think I remember that, but that was when there was one class.

Sorry, OT.,but Williams' school played Uplift, so some connection. And... Iowa has a recruit from Simeon.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Welcome Christian.

Great to have another player with PG skills, although Christian probably has a lot of work to do before he is ready to be a B1G PG. If Mike and Sapp are healthy, Williams will probably see limited time next year. He could even be a redshirt candidate?? Unless we sign two PGs in the next class, I am pretty sure that the coaches are expecting/hoping Williams will play some at PG after next year.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

Agree. There is ALWAYS a spot for a pure 3 point shooter in college, especially one that moves well without the ball and has a quick release.

 

[DanL53]

I'll make a bet this is (almost) a very accurate assessment of our seven incoming newbies (including Jones)

A) Meyer, Ingram, Clemmons, Jok, White, Marble, Basabe

B) Ellingson, Fleming, Hutton, Wagner, Moss, Williams, Jones

Now all you have to do is draw a line from one player in line A to one player in line B. Not by position...but talent level.

The trick is knowing who to draw a line to and from.

That part I haven't figured out yet. Nor do I know if by the time we're done we have six lines and not one oddball. (As if no one earns the White level or no one ends up exactly like Ingram)

But, it can't be any harder than any other complete guesswork!

 

[hansenhawk]

WTF, isn't Moss supposedly the highlight of the class?

This team/class can be great tho, as long as we add a top 20 PG, and 2 top 100 PF and C with it.

 

[FootballChamp1]

Whatever happened to Dale Jones? I know he came on a visit but did he sign somewhere else? With Williams signing today does that mean Fran is all out of scholarships to offer?

 

[Birky]

Originally posted by FootballChamp1:
Whatever happened to Dale Jones? I know he came on a visit but did he sign somewhere else? With Williams signing today does that mean Fran is all out of scholarships to offer?

I think he is actually visiting this weekend.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[2432Hawk]

Jones visits this weekend and we still have the 1 left to fill....for Jones
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

Iowa needs big players. Only very very talented B1G teams win consistently, and I can't think of very many, can win without big power players. Look at Iowa NCAA history over last 45 years.

When have the Hawks gone to the NCAAs with a small run/gun type team? Not in 2015, 2014 (Woodbury/Olaseni); not last NCAA teams in 05 and 06 (7' Erek Hansen); not before that (6'11" Jared Reiner); not before that (6'10" Guy V Rucker).

Ryan Bowen was the center at 6'9" in 95 & 96, and Russ Millard was around until 95 I think to provide a very big strong 6'8" guy before that....and those teams struggled inside against bigger opposition and had a ton of talent at every other position. Three seasons before those NCAA teams were centered by 6'11" Acie Earl. 89 center was 7'1" Les Jepsen.

88 was a little freaky in the line up department I'll admit. 87 was Jerry Wright, also 6'8" and an athletic freak.

Then we're back to starting centers, 6'10" Greg Stokes (I always thought closer to 6'8" than 6'10" but the official NCAA roster says 6'10"), 6'11" Mike Payne, 6'10" Steve Kraficisin and 6'10" Steve Waite; 7' Kevin Kunnert.

That's 45 seasons and Hawks have had little success without big players inside. Big boys aren't sufficient to ensure a successful season but they are necessary.

 

[clickhere 01]

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

 

[BBHawk]

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Not the OP but Ellingson shot over 48% from the 3 (86 of 179) and over 90% from the FT line as a senior in HS. He is a great shooter. The only question is whether he can do that on the college level. Based on the little I saw in his 21 minutes (4-6 from the 3), I would say the odds are good he will make a good percentage of the 3s he takes. The only question is whether he can defend well enough to be a B1G guard. But he definitely has skills.

This video shows him working out: https://vimeo.com/72143320. Strangely enough, I think his jump shot form looks a lot like that of a mostly hated ex Iowa coach when he was a college star...

 

[IamHawkeye]

Originally posted by The Sleeping Dog:
Iowa needs big players. Only very very talented B1G teams win consistently, and I can't think of very many, can win without big power players. Look at Iowa NCAA history over last 45 years.

When have the Hawks gone to the NCAAs with a small run/gun type team? Not in 2015, 2014 (Woodbury/Olaseni); not last NCAA teams in 05 and 06 (7' Erek Hansen); not before that (6'11" Jared Reiner); not before that (6'10" Guy V Rucker).

Ryan Bowen was the center at 6'9" in 95 & 96, and Russ Millard was around until 95 I think to provide a very big strong 6'8" guy before that....and those teams struggled inside against bigger opposition and had a ton of talent at every other position. Three seasons before those NCAA teams were centered by 6'11" Acie Earl. 89 center was 7'1" Les Jepsen.

88 was a little freaky in the line up department I'll admit. 87 was Jerry Wright, also 6'8" and an athletic freak.

Then we're back to starting centers, 6'10" Greg Stokes (I always thought closer to 6'8" than 6'10" but the official NCAA roster says 6'10"), 6'11" Mike Payne, 6'10" Steve Kraficisin and 6'10" Steve Waite; 7' Kevin Kunnert.

That's 45 seasons and Hawks have had little success without big players inside. Big boys aren't sufficient to ensure a successful season but they are necessary.

Iowa won a lot of games before Gerry Wright's broken hand was healed in 86-87, depending on 6-7 Horton, who, however,,was a wide body.

 

[hooper56]

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Oh, you probably didn't realize that the players have practices so they can improve their skill. Often they scrimmage and work on plays. When one observes practice one can form opinions regarding players' abilities.

 

[TheHawkeyeDudeAbides]

Originally posted by Quintana:

Originally posted by IamHawkeye:
Interesting that they don't name the town (Decatur) instead just say St. Teresa of Illinois. Wonder how many St. Teresa high schools there are in Illinois. Anyway, glad to have him. BTW, are there All-States by class in Illinois or just one All-State.

looks like they have class 1A/2A (small school) and 3A/4A (large school) all state teams.

Williams was 1st team 1A/2A
Moss was special mention 3A/4A
Hutton was special mention 3A/4A

special mention is below the 4th team, but above the honorable mention.

a couple points of interest: Evan Boudreaux and Ed Morrow were 1st team 3A/4A as was a kid named Charles Moore.

was Charlie a Senior this year or a Junior? the list shows him as grade 12, but doesn't the front page article list him a s 2016 recruit? also, the only other under classman to make 1st team large school was Jordan Goodwin... a sophomore!


edit to add Morrow.

This post was edited on 4/15 1:18 PM by Quintana

Glad someone else saw this item... I watched the 3A/4A IL HS state title games and saw how talented that Jordan Goodwin kid really is at this time. At 6'3" and a sophmore, he will probably grow another inch or two but he is a great CG who his HS coach would let play PG more if they did not have a couple of other smaller but comparably talented players on their roster.Jordan is very talented, IMHO.

Fran needs to offer Jordan while he can make an early impression. Fran needs to keep hitting the St. Louis area as well as the Chicago area from more athletic BB talent.

 

[hawk-i bob]

Originally posted by HoustonREDHawk:

Welcome Christian.

Great to have another player with PG skills, although Christian probably has a lot of work to do before he is ready to be a B1G PG. If Mike and Sapp are healthy, Williams will probably see limited time next year. He could even be a redshirt candidate?? Unless we sign two PGs in the next class, I am pretty sure that the coaches are expecting/hoping Williams will play some at PG after next year.

you are spot on... Iowa has brought in Williams to play the point..at least that is the intention.

 

[hawkeyeguy69]

Welcome CW! Looking forward to watching this fella play. Go Hawks!

 

[BGHAWK]

Originally posted by BBHawk:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Not the OP but Ellingson shot over 48% from the 3 (86 of 179) and over 90% from the FT line as a senior in HS. He is a great shooter. The only question is whether he can do that on the college level. Based on the little I saw in his 21 minutes (4-6 from the 3), I would say the odds are good he will make a good percentage of the 3s he takes. The only question is whether he can defend well enough to be a B1G guard. But he definitely has skills.

This video shows him working out: https://vimeo.com/72143320. Strangely enough, I think his jump shot form looks a lot like that of a mostly hated ex Iowa coach when he was a college star...

Someone posted a few of his AAU games between his jr and sr year and he was absolutely clutch in tight games down the stretch. He's one player I hope will get some playing time, not get discouraged, and stick around because whether or not he helps us this next year, as he matures I think he can be a great asset his last 3 years.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

Originally posted by hooper56:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Oh, you probably didn't realize that the players have practices so they can improve their skill. Often they scrimmage and work on plays. When one observes practice one can form opinions regarding players' abilities.

Wasn't Josh also a great practice player? I see a Josh 2.0 in the making here ...

 

[mstp1992]

Originally posted by DesMoinesHawki:

Originally posted by hooper56:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Oh, you probably didn't realize that the players have practices so they can improve their skill. Often they scrimmage and work on plays. When one observes practice one can form opinions regarding players' abilities.

Wasn't Josh also a great practice player? I see a Josh 2.0 in the making here ...

Based on your extensive observations of him?

 

[GT Hawkaholic]

Originally posted by DesMoinesHawki:

Originally posted by hooper56:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Oh, you probably didn't realize that the players have practices so they can improve their skill. Often they scrimmage and work on plays. When one observes practice one can form opinions regarding players' abilities.

Wasn't Josh also a great practice player? I see a Josh 2.0 in the making here ...

I'd like to hear the insight on this, I'm sure it's good.

Because one guy didn't pan out in 2 of the 4 years he played and had a practice player legendary reputation, that means a kid who hasn't even had a chance to prove himself yet is going to be 2.0?

You should let Fran know your insights so we suggest he moves on right now.

 

[hawkeyemark]

Originally posted by GT Hawkaholic:

Originally posted by DesMoinesHawki:

Originally posted by hooper56:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Oh, you probably didn't realize that the players have practices so they can improve their skill. Often they scrimmage and work on plays. When one observes practice one can form opinions regarding players' abilities.

Wasn't Josh also a great practice player? I see a Josh 2.0 in the making here ...

I'd like to hear the insight on this, I'm sure it's good.

Because one guy didn't pan out in 2 of the 4 years he played and had a practice player legendary reputation, that means a kid who hasn't even had a chance to prove himself yet is going to be 2.0?

You should let Fran know your insights so we suggest he moves on right now.

I think we tend to pigeonhole kids who come in as great 3-point shooters as non-athletic and not all around good players. Ellingson strikes me as a very good basketball player as well as a good shooter. I think Josh's career went astray his sophomore season when he muscled up and seemed to lose the touch on his shot and while he had moments he never seemed to get back on track. It really seems a mistake to assume that Ellingson will have a similar path.

 

[HRiscool]

The more Christians on this team the better!

 

[rillo 62]

Originally posted by BBHawk:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Not the OP but Ellingson shot over 48% from the 3 (86 of 179) and over 90% from the FT line as a senior in HS. He is a great shooter. The only question is whether he can do that on the college level. Based on the little I saw in his 21 minutes (4-6 from the 3), I would say the odds are good he will make a good percentage of the 3s he takes. The only question is whether he can defend well enough to be a B1G guard. But he definitely has skills.

This video shows him working out: https://vimeo.com/72143320. Strangely enough, I think his jump shot form looks a lot like that of a mostly hated ex Iowa coach when he was a college star...

I certainly hope you're right but i don't think high school stats do much to advance the narrative that he's a great shooter and win some games for us.

This post was edited on 4/16 4:39 PM by rillo 62

 

[hawkeyemark]

Originally posted by rillo 62:

Originally posted by BBHawk:

Originally posted by clickhere 01:

Originally posted by hooper56:
Ellingson can flat out shoot the rock and moves very well off the ball. he can hit a standstill three or hit it coming off a screen with a hand in his face. He will win some games for us.

What are you basing this on,his 21 minutes played and 8 shot attempts?

Not the OP but Ellingson shot over 48% from the 3 (86 of 179) and over 90% from the FT line as a senior in HS. He is a great shooter. The only question is whether he can do that on the college level. Based on the little I saw in his 21 minutes (4-6 from the 3), I would say the odds are good he will make a good percentage of the 3s he takes. The only question is whether he can defend well enough to be a B1G guard. But he definitely has skills.

This video shows him working out: https://vimeo.com/72143320. Strangely enough, I think his jump shot form looks a lot like that of a mostly hated ex Iowa coach when he was a college star...

I certainly hope you're right but i don't think high school stats do much to advance the narrative that he's a great shooter and win some games for us.


This post was edited on 4/16 4:39 PM by rillo 62

It certainly advances the notion that he played well and won games for his team at the level he played at against his peers. So it does seem reasonable to think that he has a good chance of shooting well at the college level as well even though we'll just have to see. I frankly don't get why so many fans dismiss Ellingson so very early in his career when he has barely played. It really doesn't make sense when what glimpses we have had he seems like a pretty decent player who can definitely shoot.