In an era of college basketball that has been defined by NBA-ready one-and-done talents, this season has been an anomaly. Heralded by some as “the year of the senior,” the sport has become dominated by prolific four-year talents. The National Player of the Year race is focused on players like Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield and Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon as columnists debate whether the likely top pick in this June’s NBA Draft, LSU’s Ben Simmons, deserves to be an All-American. Meanwhile, this year’s Big 12 has become a microcosm of the sport’s larger trend as the country’s best conference is dominated by seniors. Iowa State’s Georges Niang, a potential All-American, may be the biggest match-up problem in the game and Hield’s style of play has drawn favorable comparisons to current NBA MVP Stephen Curry. The league’s regular season champion, Kansas, is also headlined by a steady-handed senior, although his quiet demeanor doesn’t lend itself to frequent media mentions. If Hield is college basketball’s Curry, then the Jayhawks’ Perry Ellis is its Tim Duncan — the understated superstar who has consistently delivered for one of this year’s top teams.

Perry Ellis delivered another big performance against Texas. (KU Sports/Nick Krug)

The senior forward’s outing against Texas on Monday night was the quintessential Perry Ellis game. He scored with efficiency, needing just 11 field goal attempts to collect his 20 points. Bill Self called the performance “unbelievable,” but in reality, it was just another day at the office for Ellis. As a senior, he ranks eighth in the Big 12 in true shooting percentage, a statistic that measures the effects of all shooting statistics. And while he only collected four rebounds against the Longhorns, his outstanding offensive game — which most closely resembles the retired guy who shows up for the after school game at the local YMCA (Note: This may be because Ellis is actually the retired guy at the YMCA gym) — is what stood out. What he lacks in size and athleticism, he makes up for with old-school craftiness and a better-than-expected three-point shot.

Still, it’s been a struggle to get here. As a junior, Ellis’ efficiency numbers dipped, likely the result of an increased role in the offense without stars Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid on which to lean. His two-point percentage dropped to 46.7 percent, a nearly 10 percent decline from his sophomore campaign. His three-point percentage also took a hit as he nearly doubled his attempts. Now, though, Ellis has returned to his more efficient sophomore self, shooting 47.2 percent on threes and and 53.4 percent from inside the arc as a senior. However, he’s still taking the same percentage of Kansas’ shots as he did as a junior and he’s actually increased his three-point attempts. Despite scoring 17.5 points and grabbing 5.7 rebounds per game this season, Ellis is not flashy or statistically-heavy enough to win Big 12 Player of the Year (even though at least one of the league’s coaches has suggested he deserves the award). That honor will likely and understandably go to Oklahoma’s Hield, but when it does, remember that there are other seniors in the Big 12 having outstanding seasons as well. One of them, despite playing for the league champs, just does it a bit more quietly than the rest.

Chris Stone (136 Posts)

Chris Stone is a contributor to the Big 12 microsite. You can find him on Twitter @cstonehoops.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016 at 11:01 am by Chris Stone and is filed under big 12, feature, microsites. Tagged: kansas, perry ellis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.