Henry Ellenson says he enjoyed his year at Marquette but he’s dreamed about playing in the NBA since he was a kid in Rice Lake. Credit: Calvin Mattheis / For the Journal Sentinel

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For Henry Ellenson, the decision to leave Marquette for the NBA after his freshman year wasn't an easy one, but in some respects it wasn't hard either.

When considering his options, his possible reasons for staying were his teammates, coaches and the strong relationships he had made in one year playing for the Golden Eagles. While the experience was positive on and off the court, it wasn't what he dreamed about as a kid while playing basketball with his family in Rice Lake.

"It was tough just because I know I won't be coming back to this, but it is something I've always wanted to do ever since I've been playing the game and can remember," Ellenson said Thursday evening at the BMO Harris Bradley Center before Marquette's annual awards banquet.

"I always looked up to hopefully being in the NBA one day, so when this opportunity came around I just took it."

Ellenson, who was a freshman All-American and Big East freshman of the year, announced his decision to enter the NBA draft on April 5. While that choice means that one of the most-decorated freshmen in Marquette's history will only have a one-year collegiate career, Ellenson only met support from head coach Steve Wojciechowski and the rest of the program.

"As a kid in Rice Lake he dreamed about this, and it's going to come true and it's my belief it's going to come true in a very big way," Wojciechowski said. "To be a small part of that journey with him is an honor....

"Henry absolutely made the right decision. I've talked to a number of NBA GMs and I'll talk to probably every one of them before the draft, and he's going to go real high. In today's NBA with his skill set, his ability and the fact that he's still just scratching the surface of who he's going to be — and I've been really fortunate to be around a lot of them, good ones, real good ones — he's going to be in that category."

Ellenson signed with Roc Nation Sports and agent Joe Branch this week and will spend the next two months in Los Angeles preparing for the NBA draft. Looking back at his one college season, he admitted it was tougher than he expected, but it helped him build confidence, understand how to be more efficient and trust his teammates among other things.

He's not sure what position he'll play — some teams are interested in him as a stretch-4 power forward while others might consider him as a center in certain lineups — but he's open to whatever is asked of him.

"I think, obviously, the NBA three-point line is stretched out there a little bit, so I've got to work on shooting farther out," Ellenson said. "I don't just play on one spot on the court. I'll just keep getting better all around — ball handling, shooting, rebounding, all of that because I want to be able to do it all at the next level, too."

Before he gets to working toward the NBA, though, Ellenson enjoyed one last event with his Golden Eagles teammates Thursday night where he was named Marquette's MVP at the team's annual awards banquet.

"He means a lot," Wojciechowski said. "Obviously he brought a great deal of attention to our program, but more importantly he played really well....We were really young and I'm not sure there was any freshman in the country that was surrounded by a younger team, and we put a lot on his shoulders and he delivered....

"He'll always be a part of the Marquette program, and we'll all be cheering for him as he puts that (NBA) logo on for the first time next year."