Why Eian Elmer testing the NBA Draft waters will pay great dividends for the Badgers

By now, almost every Wisconsin Badger basketball fan is aware of Eian Elmer, an incoming forward transfer who previously played at Miami Ohio. Many of those same fans have set fairly hefty expectations for the 21-year-old, expecting him to pick up a fair portion of the slack left behind by the departure of Wisconsin’s two leading scorers last season, Nick Boyd and John Blackwell.

However, what many fans may not know is that, along with committing to Wisconsin, Elmer also entered his name into the NBA Draft pool. He likely never had any true intentions of keeping his name in, evident by him withdrawing before the deadline. Even so, Elmer’s brief stint in the draft waters gave him the opportunity to receive feedback from NBA teams regarding what they want to see him improve on and how to go about doing it.

At face value, that seems like common sense. Every player in Elmer’s position should, and likely would, pursue feedback on what league officials want to see them improve on. However, in Wisconsin’s case, Elmer receiving that feedback may be even more impactful given the role the Badgers will likely need him to play.

Speculation on Feedback

More than likely, the biggest thing NBA teams and evaluators want to see Elmer improve on is shot creation. That applies both as a creator for himself and for others, two areas that aren’t exactly considered strengths of his game right now. Elmer has already proven himself to be a threat with the ball in his hands, possessing the ability to hit outside shots off nearly any platform, along with being solid at attacking wild closeouts when given a straight line to the basket.

Sadly, that’s about where the nuance as a creator cuts off, as Elmer clearly struggles to make plays when faced with multiple layers of defensive attention. More often than not, when he gets cut off on a drive, Elmer will either settle for a tough pull-up jumper or take a few reset dribbles before swinging the ball back around. Although having those options to fall back on is important, if Elmer truly wants to be as impactful as Wisconsin likely hopes he can be, he will have to add more nuance, specifically as a downhill creator.

Even if it’s just minor tweaks, adding counter dribble moves on drives or improving his ability to read the weak side will go a long way in his development, as even small additions like that would make him far more dynamic with the ball in his hands. Now, after getting feedback from NBA teams, he has a clearer understanding of what exactly he has to improve on and how to go about doing it.

Elmer likely would have come to similar conclusions regarding what he needed to improve on with or without NBA feedback, as nobody knows his game better than himself. However, it certainly didn’t hurt for him to go through the process, understand points of emphasis, and build some draft momentum that he can carry into his senior season at Wisconsin.

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