Stan Van Gundy gave Henry Ellenson a glowing review last week. It apparently didn’t go to the rookie’s head. He was even better in Sunday’s practice.

“He was great today. I mean, tremendous,” Van Gundy said after Sunday’s practice. “He finally missed a shot at the very end. We were all surprised, because he didn’t miss any others. He’s good. A really talented kid offensively.”

It’s earned him a tangible reward, too: playing time in the preseason that Van Gundy doesn’t normally grant to players outside the rotation.

“I don’t know for how many minutes, but the plan right now is we’re going to get him out there every night in the exhibition games,” he said. “I just like the way he’s approached things and the way he’s played the game.”

That means fans coming to tonight’s preseason home opener against San Antonio – or watching online at Pistons.com, which will stream the game for fans within a 150-mile radius – will get a glimpse of the 6-foot-11 rookie.

He’s caught his teammates’ eyes, too.

“Man, Rook is going to be a hell of a player,” Marcus Morris said. “I like Rook a lot. He’s going to be a good player.”

“Man, Henry – Henry’s talented,” Ish Smith said. “He is the perfect stretch four. Henry can shoot it, he can drive it, he can make plays and he’s a sponge. He does so many things out there. When Coach asks him to do things one time, he does it the next time and he doesn’t make the same mistakes. Henry has a fan in me and he’s going to give me a lot of assists. Henry can shoot the ball.”

Constantly heard from Ellenson’s teammates and coaches is praise for his aptitude. An inability to grasp concepts and master schemes far more complex than what they’re accustomed to usually holds rookies back more than lack of physical maturity or ability. Ellenson needs to add strength and become a better defender, but mentally he’s well ahead of the game.

“Fantastic – and a great approach,” Van Gundy said. “Tries to do everything you want, tries to get better every day, takes coaching, takes criticism, listens to his older teammates. You couldn’t have a better approach than what he has.”

On another roster or in another era of Pistons basketball, Ellenson likely would be looking at the certainty of a rotation role. But he’s got a lot of capable players blocking his path to playing time, Van Gundy said.

“The hard part is for him, it’s Marcus and Tobias (Harris) and Jon (Leuer), so it’s three really good players ahead of him – and experienced guys, guys who’ve been out there. It’s tough for him right now, but I’ll tell you what: It’s not like he goes out here every day and he looks like those guys are in a different league from him. Not at all. He can hold his own, particularly on the offensive end. There’s nobody having an easy time stopping him.”