Ellingson appreciation

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Ellingson had a great game against North Dakota and is quietly having a very good year offensively. He's shooting 61% from the floor, 55% from three, and is a perfect 10-10 on free throws. All of this adds up to him averaging over 2 points per shot, and he only has 4 turnovers in 171 minutes of play.

There were very low expectations for Ellingson this year, and many predicted he would end up transferring. While he is still limited athletically and has been caught out of position on defense at times this year, he has been a quality role player so far as he's been hitting his open shots when he gets playing time. If he can keep hitting shots at a reasonable pace and improve his defense, he will be a solid role player for the next 2.5 years.

 

[Bulldogs1974]

I'm not his biggest supporter but he played well. Dom on the other hand.....

 

[DavenportHawk8]

I'm not his biggest supporter but he played well. Dom on the other hand.....

I would put Ellington in over Dom any day. He has something between the ears right now. He has zero confidence in his game. If Im Fran I sit him down and figure it out.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't play DOM at all right now. The guy looks lost and scared to be out there. Something changed from last year. He was one of our "unsung heroes" in our run in January.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

He's been solid no doubt. He's starting to be that guy that comes in, doesn't make mistakes, in the right spot and makes open shots when they present themselves.

 

[24 so far]

Ellingson had a great game against North Dakota and is quietly having a very good year offensively. He's shooting 61% from the floor, 55% from three, and is a perfect 10-10 on free throws. All of this adds up to him averaging over 2 points per shot, and he only has 4 turnovers in 171 minutes of play.

There were very low expectations for Ellingson this year, and many predicted he would end up transferring. While he is still limited athletically and has been caught out of position on defense at times this year, he has been a quality role player so far as he's been hitting his open shots when he gets playing time. If he can keep hitting shots at a reasonable pace and improve his defense, he will be a solid role player for the next 2.5 years.

Glad you posted this (I was planning on doing the same). This kid has been putting on a show offensively when he's stepped on the floor, and making good decisions with the ball for the most part. He's still got limitations, but shooting doesn't appear to be one of them.

If you can get to the point where you trust him with the ball at all times, he's one more guy to insert into games late to knock down some free throws to hold leads as well. Kudo's to him for sure. Hope the kid keeps playing his role well, which he certainly has been.

 

[Ihawkhoops]

Agree, he hit some clutch shots last night and they were not uncontested 3's. He put the ball on the floor and drove to an open space, did not charge or get in too deep to ensure a swat. All the attention on Jok will create driving lanes. Bohannon, Moss, and Ellingson need to exploit them and look for better shots than 3's.

 

[24 so far]

I would put Ellington in over Dom any day. He has something between the ears right now. He has zero confidence in his game. If Im Fran I sit him down and figure it out.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't play DOM at all right now. The guy looks lost and scared to be out there. Something changed from last year. He was one of our "unsung heroes" in our run in January.

I was literally screaming at the TV - SHOOT THE DAMN BALL UHL! The guy was money from 3 at the top of the key last year so many times, and he's awful trying to create things on his own and throwing up wild shots and what not, but geezus man, when there isn't a defender within 10 feet of you, go ahead and get your feet set and give it a go. Not like he can't make that shot, he's proven that he can. And frankly, if he can't there is no reason for him to be out there.

I agree that I would not play him at all. I'd play Kreiner over him for one, just to see what he's got, he certainly couldn't be worse.

And cut that damn squirrels tail off the top of your head, AND stay off my lawn!

 

[BGHAWK]

I couldn't be happier for him.

 

[Suterman]

Brady played a really good game last night.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

I think the big thing for Brady will be how he does when conference play starts. Hopefully games like this will help with his confidence going into league play. Minus Purdue at home last year he really struggled shooting last season.

 

[hknation]

I'm not his biggest supporter but he played well. Dom on the other hand.....

If anyone listens to FM's post game interview, you can hear Fran call Brady "spectacular" and then lists his reasons why he was in fact spectacular.

It's ironic, Brady was the player that many poster said he could or should transfer.......hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[Kurt Warner]

Brady is shooting like he was known for. He is coming in and knocking them down and i couldn't be happier. Keep up the good work brady

 

[2432Hawk]

I would put Ellington in over Dom any day. He has something between the ears right now. He has zero confidence in his game. If Im Fran I sit him down and figure it out.

I hate to say it, but I wouldn't play DOM at all right now. The guy looks lost and scared to be out there. Something changed from last year. He was one of our "unsung heroes" in our run in January.

Dom's lost confidence in his jumper, but that's ok.... he's still valuable at being a strong defender on the wing with his foot speed and length, as well as being active on glass and has shown now to be able to beat his guy off bounce and find the open man. As long as he can bring energy and not turn it over and take bad shots he's got minutes to play.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Dom getting on the glass and getting to the FT line would do wonders for him offensively. He's a rhythm player. The more he gets involved the better his overall game is offensively. Amazing how seeing a few FTs go through can do wonders for your confidence. He's obviously pressing right now on that end of the floor. Defensively he's been pretty solid.

 

[RoundRock620]

I am a bog Dom Uhl supporter, his athleticism and his ball handling. If Uhl can learn to finish penetration, he will be unstoppable. It will come.

 

[kzoohawk80]

I think it really comes down to how Fran uses him. Keep him under 20 minutes a game and he can be a decent role player. Maybe there's games where he can play more then that if the matchup dictates it. It's up to Fran to use him correctly. His offensive game is good but he still doesn't really offer anything defensively.

 

[Ronman]

Hey, we've been on a bit of a roll. No need to denigrate any of the players. I thought they all contributed something positive last night. Just get Cook back, keep working hard and hopefully we'll have a positive conference season.

 

[DodgerHawki]

Ellingson had a great game against North Dakota and is quietly having a very good year offensively. He's shooting 61% from the floor, 55% from three, and is a perfect 10-10 on free throws. All of this adds up to him averaging over 2 points per shot, and he only has 4 turnovers in 171 minutes of play.

There were very low expectations for Ellingson this year, and many predicted he would end up transferring. While he is still limited athletically and has been caught out of position on defense at times this year, he has been a quality role player so far as he's been hitting his open shots when he gets playing time. If he can keep hitting shots at a reasonable pace and improve his defense, he will be a solid role player for the next 2.5 years.

He's playing well. His value is tied to an extreme degree to his ability to make 3-point shots. He's not going to do much handling the ball, rebounding or playing defense (he doesn't hurt in any of those areas, just not a + skill for him). So when he's 55% from 3-point land, fans view him as "good." Inevitably, his 3-point % is going to drop as the competition gets better and natural regression occurs (in other words, expecting him to make 55% of his 3's all year is not very realistic). The key is whether the regression is to a 40% 3-point shooter (still very good) or to a 27% 3-point shooter (his 2015-16 numbers).

If he can make 40+% of his 3-point shots, he can be a very useful role player. If he's at 25%, not so much.

 

[DodgerHawki]

I was literally screaming at the TV - SHOOT THE DAMN BALL UHL! The guy was money from 3 at the top of the key last year so many times, and he's awful trying to create things on his own and throwing up wild shots and what not, but geezus man, when there isn't a defender within 10 feet of you, go ahead and get your feet set and give it a go. Not like he can't make that shot, he's proven that he can. And frankly, if he can't there is no reason for him to be out there.

I agree that I would not play him at all. I'd play Kreiner over him for one, just to see what he's got, he certainly couldn't be worse.

And cut that damn squirrels tail off the top of your head, AND stay off my lawn!

Ask yourself Uhl's true ability as a shooter is the 9 for his first 10 3-pointers he made at the start of conference play last year, or the 28 out of 101 3-pointers he's made outside of that one hot streak in his Iowa career? He's take open 3 after open 3 this year and made exactly 5 of 24, or 21%. At some point, you have to determine that's not your thing. I have no issue with him taking 1 a game (first half) when left wide open, but it's silly of him to shoot 5 or 6 when he's going to shoot such a low percentage.

The last few games, Uhl's effort on defense has been much, much better. He's starting to get loose balls and defend. With his combination of height and lateral movement, he is a key guy off the bench if he can play defense, rebound and get loose balls.

 

[Kurt Warner]

I am a bog Dom Uhl supporter, his athleticism and his ball handling. If Uhl can learn to finish penetration, he will be unstoppable. It will come.

When's he gonna learn? When he's 50? If it ain't happen by now it's probably not gonna. Sorry.

 

[Ronman]

If you think real hard, you can probably figure out why Uhl was left wide open.

Ellingson would have to miss his next 21 three pointers to get down to 27%

 

[hexumhawk]

I think he is really playing well and within himself. Taking shots when he is open and making them, rebounding, not turning the ball over.

Uhl is a mystery. Almost like he hasnt shot a ball since the end of last season.

 

[unoHawkeye]

Ellingson has been awesome off the bench. We're really going to need him in conference play, and as the freshmen begin to hit the proverbial wall. He, Pemsl, and Baer have been our most efficient players this year - taking smart shots and being able to knock them down. Hope they can all keep it up.

 

[24 so far]

I am a bog Dom Uhl supporter, his athleticism and his ball handling. If Uhl can learn to finish penetration, he will be unstoppable. It will come.

I was too at one point, but that's been so long ago I don't even remember why.

He's possibly only slightly better than Wagner on the offensive end, so there's that. He seems to make up his mind that this time I'm gonna throw up a shot, and then proceed to slash and turn and spin and throw up a brick. I'm all for Dom Uhl getting playing time. He's apparently going to class and practices and all that good stuff. About 4 minutes a game would be plenty.

 

[Ree4]

Ellingson had a great game against North Dakota and is quietly having a very good year offensively. He's shooting 61% from the floor, 55% from three, and is a perfect 10-10 on free throws. All of this adds up to him averaging over 2 points per shot, and he only has 4 turnovers in 171 minutes of play.

There were very low expectations for Ellingson this year, and many predicted he would end up transferring. While he is still limited athletically and has been caught out of position on defense at times this year, he has been a quality role player so far as he's been hitting his open shots when he gets playing time. If he can keep hitting shots at a reasonable pace and improve his defense, he will be a solid role player for the next 2.5 years.

Thanks for posting this. I was thinking the same last night as well. I think too many people have drawn the likeness of his role to that of Josh Oglesby who seemed to underwhelm pretty regularly. Brady seems to be able to make shots consistently though and is a better all around player, including able to dribble drive and finish in the paint and near the rim, something Josh rarely did.

I'm excited to see him develop and continue to improve!

Glad you posted this (I was planning on doing the same). This kid has been putting on a show offensively when he's stepped on the floor, and making good decisions with the ball for the most part. He's still got limitations, but shooting doesn't appear to be one of them.

If you can get to the point where you trust him with the ball at all times, he's one more guy to insert into games late to knock down some free throws to hold leads as well. Kudo's to him for sure. Hope the kid keeps playing his role well, which he certainly has been.

Ditto

 

[HawkLogic]

BradyE surprised me. Fran can hide Brady's defensive problems by pairing Brady with better defenders at guard...like Moss/CW playing at same time as BradyE...

 

[JerryDennard]

Uhl had a nice assist in the paint, and generally played good D. I re-watched his recruiting video and he had a different shot in high school and was more of a finisher around the rim. Of course, against lesser and smaller competition, that would be expected

 

[hawk_it]

Brady Ellingson had great mid range game. What I like is how he moves without the ball on ball screen cuts and curl cuts. If teams double Jok he has been making them pay. Like how his confidence is growing. Will be an important player over the next 2.5 years. Confidence makes so much difference.

 

[EastIowaHawk]

I like the way Brady has been hanging in there and improving his game. We will need him especially against Purdue because our bigs may get brutalized, and outside shooting may keep us in the game. I think he'll keep getting more and more minutes in place of Williams and Dailey.

 

[tedboy78]

When our bench is on the floor without Jok and Ellingson, we have no balance (Williams, Uhl, and either Pemsyl or Wagner with Baer). Just him being out there when Jok needs a rest keeps things open on the inside. He has to be accounted for the way he's shooting. Playing with a lot of confidence right now.

 

[The Sleeping Dog]

Yeah, I too have been down on Ellingson but he's clearly improving. Those little half runners in the lane. He's not really B1G quick but he's shown a fairly quick first step with the ball that produce the 8-12' shots. Obviously you have to guard the shot fake 'cuz the scouting report is Ellingson is a shoot first player.

He's never going to be a great defender but as our big boys behind him mature Ellingson's occasional defensive lapses will be less damaging than right now; and less frequent with improved maturity. Hopefully the kid will continue to improve and become an even bigger factor off the bench. You can never have too many good shooters on the floor.

 

[RocknRollface]

I havent been real high on him in the past but I also said it was stupid to start labeling him Oglesby just because he shot a poor percentage his first year.

First year players shooting a poor percentage is common but its extremely uncommon for a guy known as a "shooter" to struggle like Oglesby for 4 years.

Common sense was that BE would continue to shoot better every year even if he never saw allot of PT. Because thats what normally happens in college basketball.

 

[DanL53]

Some nice comments about Ellingson. Brady gives as much as any Iowa player, and it is nice to see the shots falling.

As to Uhl, to play couch coach for a minute. I'm not for benching Uhl entirely and I don't think he's a bust. Much like Eric May his junior year, Dom is not getting the most of his abilities. What I'd like to see is a "specialist" role for him of about 12 minutes a game.

Have him come in and spend energy trying to be a defensive stopper, go for steals, penetrate and dish, and hit the boards.

Last year as a backup there were times when he and Baer together actually outperformed the starters for short stints. I'd look for that level of results this year.

Not everybody can play 25/30 mpg and score double digits. Role players are important as well.

 

[hawk_it]

Soon as Dom finds something that works for him offensively I think his confidence will grow. Thinking back to last year when he had that stretch in the beginning of B10 play, if he could get it going what a difference it could make for this years team.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Ellingson has been awesome off the bench. We're really going to need him in conference play, and as the freshmen begin to hit the proverbial wall. He, Pemsl, and Baer have been our most efficient players this year - taking smart shots and being able to knock them down. Hope they can all keep it up.

JoBo, Moss, and Brady.I like it. Cordell, work on FT and Baer keep being a bear.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Ellingson had a great game against North Dakota and is quietly having a very good year offensively. He's shooting 61% from the floor, 55% from three, and is a perfect 10-10 on free throws. All of this adds up to him averaging over 2 points per shot, and he only has 4 turnovers in 171 minutes of play.

There were very low expectations for Ellingson this year, and many predicted he would end up transferring. While he is still limited athletically and has been caught out of position on defense at times this year, he has been a quality role player so far as he's been hitting his open shots when he gets playing time. If he can keep hitting shots at a reasonable pace and improve his defense, he will be a solid role player for the next 2.5 years.

I'm happy that Brady is contributing well. But what really catches my eye now is how he can dish to others! And he is cutting into the lane nicely.

 

[IAHawk2011]

Ellingson has been great offensively but he needs to have a limited role on this team due to his defensive deficiencies. Statistically (and to anyone with functioning eyes) he is the worst defender on the team, and having him and Bohannon on the court together defensively is not good. That being said, if he can continue to play 10-15 minutes per game and knock down shots when he gets them, he will be a valuable contributor to the team.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Ellingson has been great offensively but he needs to have a limited role on this team due to his defensive deficiencies. Statistically (and to anyone with functioning eyes) he is the worst defender on the team, and having him and Bohannon on the court together defensively is not good. That being said, if he can continue to play 10-15 minutes per game and knock down shots when he gets them, he will be a valuable contributor to the team.

Totally agree on the defense.

 

[HawkLogic]

Fran seems play bad combinations at times. Lineups that can't score or can't defend. JayBo + Ellingson is bad defensive combination. Any lineup without at lease one scorer (Pemsl or JOk) is also bad.

 

[Georgia_Hawk]

BradyE surprised me.

He is a "surprise" to many (not necessarily you, Hawklogic) because they had him pegged as Version 2.0 of a certain predecessor. That is totally unfair to Brady.