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WSN15: Boys Basketball Top Players #5 -- Henry Ellenson, Rice Lake

04/12/2018, 10:00am CDT
By Mark Miller

The WSN15 series will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of WisSports.net by looking back at the top players, teams, and moments of the past 15 years (2003-2017). 

The WSN15 boys' basketball series continues with the Top 15 Players of the WSN Era.

Big, strong and skilled.

Those three words pretty much sum up Henry Ellenson on the basketball court. 

The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward from Rice Lake was a match-up nightmare for opponents because of his ability to score with his back to the basket in the post or pop outside to the perimeter and knock down three-point shots. 

Ellenson averaged 27.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots as a senior in 2014-15, leading Rice Lake to a 22-6 record and a runner-up finish in the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament.

Ellenson scored 26 points and snared 12 rebounds in the Warriors' 72-64 victory over Greendale in the Division 2 state semifinals at the Kohl Center in Madison, but he sustained a broken hand in the contest and was unable to play in the title game, a 58-46 loss to Mount Horeb. 

As a junior playing for coach Kevin Orr at Rice Lake, Ellenson averaged 27.2 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots to help Rice Lake to a 23-3 record and a runner-up finish to Wisconsin Lutheran in the Division 2 state-championship game. 

Ranked among the top 10 players nationally by ESPN, FoxSports.com and CBSSports.com, Ellenson finished his brilliant prep career with 2,295 points.

Ellenson shared the Mr. Basketball award in 2015 with Diamond Stone of Dominican, and was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game, the Jordan Brand Classic and the Nike Hoops Summit, though he was injured and did not play in any of those events.

Ellenson elected to attend Marquette University on a basketball scholarship and was named Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 2015-16. He also earned first-team all-Big East honors after averaging 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds for coach Steve Wojociechowski and the Golden Eagles. 

Ellenson opted to enter the NBA Draft following his freshman season at Marquette and was selected with the 18th pick of the first round by the Detroit Pistons. 

Ellenson played in just 19 games as a rookie with the Pistons, but appeared in 38 games this past season while earning $1.7 million. Ellenson scored in double figures in each of his final four games of the 2017-18 campaign, including a career-high 17 points in a loss to Memphis.

For the latest and most up to date boys' basketball news and recruiting information, follow Mark on Twitter @wisbbyearbook. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Mark by clicking here.

Tag(s): News Archive  BBB News  Mark Miller  WSN15