As stretch fours take over the league and every general manager is circling the globe trying to find one that can shoot threes and defend, Henry Ellenson is out to prove he’s the next versatile forward to make his name in the NBA.
The Denver Nuggets welcomed the 6-foot-11 Ellenson to Denver Thursday, for their first individual pre-draft workout.
While Ellenson excelled offensively and put up big counting stats at Marquette during his freshman season to the tune of 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, he struggled defensively. Guarding versatile four-men at the next level is what could prevent Ellenson from getting drafted higher in the lottery, but Ellenson’s confident he’s improving on that end of the floor throughout the summer and pre-draft process.
“I feel like I’m getting a lot more athletic,” Ellenson said. “I think I’m a lot better defender than some people give me credit for. I’m just continuing to just keep going as a player, offensively and defensively. I think just being able to guard smaller players at 6-foot-11 is huge and just being a versatile defender, not just an offensive player.”
While his struggles on defense are known, Ellenson is a technician on the offensive end. He can stretch the defense to three, has a strong face-up game and is also comfortable operating in the post. The 19-year-old only converted on 28.8 percent his 3-point attempts during his freshman season but thinks he’s a better shooter than the number show.
“I think I can shoot a lot better, I know I didn’t shoot a high percentage at Marquette. I know I didn’t shoot my best, but a lot of things go into that,” Ellenson said. “I took some tough shots this year, I think. Also, I’m just getting better at stretching out the court. I feel like I’m a lot better shooter than the stats show.”
Ellenson, who’s already worked out with the Suns and Lakers plans to visit Milwaukee in the coming days for another individual workout. He said it could be his last workout until the draft in two weeks unless a team calls him back for a second time.
“It’s crazy because you just don’t know until draft night,” Ellenson said of the pre-draft process. “Everyone’s been saying I’ve been doing good. We’ll see who picks me.”
Nuggets to host six more prospects Friday
Denver welcomes another group to the Pepsi Center practice court for a group workout Friday, featuring more projected late first and second-round picks.
Bembry, a 6-foot-6 wing out of Temple might be the most intriguing prospect of the bunch. The 21-year-old averaged 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists with the Owls last season and shot 47.9 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from three. Bembry is extremely versatile and spent time at point guard, power forward and played on the wing in college as well.
There will also be some local flavor to the workout. Antwan Scott, a 6-foot-2 guard from Colorado State, who averaged 16.4 points and shot an impressive 41.6 percent from three, will follow in the footsteps of the Colorado’s Josh Scott, Wyoming’s Josh Adams and Colorado Mesa’s Ryan Stephan who have already worked out for the Nuggets ahead of the draft.
Scott, who just finished up his redshirt senior season at CSU, is projected to go undrafted.
