The Marquette transfer hopes to make an impact in the ACC
POSITION: Guard
HEIGHT: 6’3
YEAR: Graduate
LAST SEASON (Marquette): 7.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 88.7 FT%
CAREER HIGHS: Points-25 (1/11/22 vs Depaul) Rebounds-6 (2/17/21 vs Butler) Assists-9 (11/29/17) Steals-4 (3 times) Blocks-4 (11/27/17 vs Eastern Illinois) Field Goals Made-7 (2 times) Free Throws Made-9 (2/12/22 vs Butler) Three-Pointers Made-6 (12/11/21 vs UCLA)
Greg Elliott, hailing from Detroit, is next up in our player preview season series. The graduate transfer chose to join Jeff Capel’s Pittsburgh Panthers squad following four seasons playing for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Elliott was a prototypical off-the-bench role player type during his time in Milwaukee, and he does have the skills to patch up some of the more glaring flaws the Panthers have as a team. Whether Elliott starts or comes off the bench here in Pittsburgh will likely develop over the course of the exhibition schedule, but it is worth noting he started at one of the wing spots against Clarion.
Elliott will likely serve as the Panthers’ best option from three-point range. He shot at a 40.9% clip from deep during his time with Marquette, peaking in 2020-2021 at 45.5%. If defenses are forced to pay more attention to the outside shooting Elliott brings it could free space up for players like John Hugley IV to score down low.
Greg Elliot ties it up for @MarquetteMBB in Omaha!
Just another night in #BIGEASThoops. pic.twitter.com/K7usFAWIFX
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) December 15, 2020
On the defensive end, Elliott can be a sparkplug, averaging nearly two steals per 40 minutes. He’s got a ridiculous wingspan for his size that allows him to clog up passing lanes and disrupt opposing offenses. Sitting at 6’3 Elliott sits in the relative middle of heights for his position but being on the lankier side he’s prone to struggle against size and physicality.
Elliott does have a history of injury problems, redshirting his 2018-2019 season following hand surgery. Beyond that season Elliott hasn’t suffered anything major but has consistently missed a few games each year, playing in 35 games his rookie season and then not topping 30 games played in a year since.
EXPECTATIONS:
I do think Elliott will be a starter for the Panthers. Will he be a star? No. Will he be a net positive on both ends of the court? I think that’s likely. Playing in a power-six conference before transferring Elliott, is something of a known commodity. Unlike other transfers like Nelly Cummings, the debate of whether his skills will translate to ACC play are simple to answer. If I were to fathom a guess on his stat line for this upcoming season, it would look something like: 10.5 PPG, 1.8 APG, 2.5 RPG.