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Brady Ellingson
Bio: Freshman (RS), 6'4, 190 lbs. (Sussex, Wis.)
Last season: Redshirted
What we saw last season: Not too much. Ellingson played in seven games during late November and December, never more than eight minutes in a single game. He took eight shots during those games, making 4/6 from behind the arc and 0/2 inside it. Ellingson injured his foot in late December, and was never seen again. The minimal participation meant that he could still take a redshirt for the season and basically start over this year.
What we need to see this season: Ellingson is here to do one thing: Shoot threes. Iowa has not found a consistent three-point threat in years; the last Hawkeye to shoot better than 37.5% from three and make more than one three-point shot per game was Matt Gatens in 2012. And while Jarrod Uthoff (and, to a lesser extent, Peter Jok and Anthony Clemmons) were reasonably effective from the perimeter last year, a pure gunner could really help.
The open question remains as to whether Ellingson is that guy. His recruiting profile made him precisely that, but both the extremely limited pre-injury playing time for a team that could use an outside shooter and the decision to shut him down for the year after the injury occurred do not bode well for Ellingson's ability at this level. Iowa has added a handful of perimeter threats in this class, and has more on the way. In other words, Ellingson needs to step up this season or risk being passed by the newcomers.
Best case scenario: Ellingson quickly asserts himself in the old Josh Oglesby role: An off-the-bench catch-and-shoot perimeter threat, good for about 15 minutes a game and a 40% success rate from beyond the arc. That translates to 7 points per game and an out-of-nowhere 20-point performance in at least once conference game.
Most likely scenario: Ellingson doesn't progress enough to stay ahead of Andrew Fleming and (to a lesser extent) Isaiah Moss, and the freshmen get the minutes and shots. It sucks, but it seems most likely.