Marquette Basketball: Henry Ellenson Has Officially Entered The NBA Draft

On Sunday, ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported that Marquette freshman forward Henry Ellenson would be hiring an agent and entering the NBA Draft.  On Tuesday, Ellenson took to his Instagram account to officially make his announcement.

I, officially announce that I will be entering the NBA Draft, and hiring an Agent. This has been my dream ever since I fell in love with the game growing up in Rice Lake. Without the love and support of my Mom, Dad, brothers-Wally and Ellwood, and sister, Ella, this opportunity would not be possible. I want to thank Coach Wojo and the rest of the coaching staff at Marquette for the help they have given me to grow as a player and as a person. I would also like to thank President Dr. Lovell, Athletic Director, Dr. Scholl, Academic Advisors, Adrienne, Katie, and Meryl, Strength Coach Todd, Trainer Yoder, and the office personnel and managers for all their support. In addition, I want to thank my teammates for their trust and friendship we have built over this last year as a brotherhood; I know these bonds will last a lifetime. Furthermore, I would like to thank the fans for their unwavering support for the team throughout the season. Lastly, I will like to thank my entire family for continuing to inspire me to do great things, and letting me know there are no limits to what I can do.

A photo posted by Henry Ellenson (@henryellenson13) on Apr 5, 2016 at 2:28pm PDT

If you're not seeing the text on the post, it reads as follows:

I, officially announce that I will be entering the NBA Draft, and hiring an Agent. This has been my dream ever since I fell in love with the game growing up in Rice Lake. Without the love and support of my Mom, Dad, brothers-Wally and Ellwood, and sister, Ella, this opportunity would not be possible. I want to thank Coach Wojo and the rest of the coaching staff at Marquette for the help they have given me to grow as a player and as a person. I would also like to thank President Dr. Lovell, Athletic Director, Dr. Scholl, Academic Advisors, Adrienne, Katie, and Meryl, Strength Coach Todd, Trainer Yoder, and the office personnel and managers for all their support. In addition, I want to thank my teammates for their trust and friendship we have built over this last year as a brotherhood; I know these bonds will last a lifetime. Furthermore, I would like to thank the fans for their unwavering support for the team throughout the season. Lastly, I will like to thank my entire family for continuing to inspire me to do great things, and letting me know there are no limits to what I can do.

Ellenson led Marquette in scoring and rebounding this season, breaking the freshman season records in both departments.  He led the Big East in rebounding as well, and along with finishing third in scoring in the league, he became the first freshman since Carmelo Anthony to be named First Team All-Big East.  As could be expected, he was also named the Big East Freshman of the Year.

Draft Express currently tabs Ellenson as the #9 pick in the NBA Draft in their most recent Mock Draft.  ESPN's Chad Ford lists Ellenson as the #6 prospect on his draft board.  Both numbers are subject to change after the NBA Draft Combine and the NBA Draft Lottery, of course, but it seems that Ellenson is a lock to become the Marquette player with the highest draft slot since Dwyane Wade went #5 to the Miami Heat in 2003.

With Ellenson's departure made official, Marquette now has one scholarship available for the 2016-17 season.  Here's how the scholarship situation looks right now.

Last thing: It has been AWESOME to watch Henry Ellenson this year.  I intentionally upgraded my season tickets by moving three sections towards center court so I could sit behind the Marquette bench (in row Z, but still) this season to get a better view of what was taking place this year.  Through some lucky math, I got to be in the Bradley Center when Ellenson broke the freshman scoring record.  I got to watch the best freshman season long performance in Marquette history in person 19 times, and it was made even better by watching the road games on TV or listening to Homer and Mac relay the accounts and descriptions of history taking place each and every night.

It's been a delight to watch Ellenson dominate opponents while wearing the familiar blue and gold.  It's been amazing to see the Rice Lake native help establish the cornerstone of what Marquette basketball means for the Steve Wojciechowski era.  I say THANK YOU to Henry Ellenson for all of his hard work this season, and I look forward to seeing him tear it up while cashing checks next year.  Go get that paper, and make us all even prouder than we are right now.