Recruiting Report: Ely Hendrickson (2018)
It doesn’t take long to find Ely Hendrickson on the basketball court. He’s the guy the opposing team is pointing at yelling “shooter.”
Hendrickson, a guard from Apple Valley is one of the top shooters in the entire state. That part of his game has always been strong and he’s developed a reputation as a sniper because of it. But he’s also spending the AAU season with the Minnesota Eagles proving there’s a lot more to his game than triples.
“Teams are pretty physical with me so that gets me used to a certain style of play,” Hendrickson said. “I think if I add more pump fakes and try to get to the hole I’ve been doing that more often. If I can get players off balance I can expand my game a lot.”
Hendrickson’s played a key role in helping the Eagles — all Apple Valley kids — pile up wins this spring despite playing without arguably Apple Valley’s three best players. They certainly aren’t short on talent, but Hendrickson said there’s definitely extra motivation to beat assembled all-star teams.
“We definitely have a chip on our shoulder playing teams like that,” said Hendrickson. “It’s another challenge and we love the challenge. We know we can get it done because each one of us brings something to the team. That’s what is so special about our team.”
Hendrickson’s drawn interest from a number of local colleges including Augsburg, Hamline, Bethel, St. Mary’s and Macalester as well as Division II Augustana and NAIA South Dakota School of Mines.
Hendrickson said the biggest part of his game he’s working on improving at is man-to-man defense. That’s been a calling card for his AAU team thus far and it’s clearly having an effect on him as he’s improved quite a bit over the course of the spring.
“We take a lot of pride in getting stops,” said Hendrickson. “It’s a mindset with us. It’s been passed down throughout our whole careers. We’re talented but we take the approach that we are outmanned talent-wise and we have to make up for it on the defensive end.”