Bob Lutz: KU’s Perry Ellis says he feels great, but does he? (VIDEO)

OMAHA – Perry Ellis is a fine, upstanding young man who would never intentionally try to deceive anyone.

So if he says he “felt great” in his 23 minutes during Kansas’ 75-56 second-round NCAA Tournament win over New Mexico State on Friday, I’m inclined to believe he believes he feels great, even if he doesn’t.

This is the NCAAs. Ellis is determined to overcome.

But it didn’t look like Ellis, his right knee sporting a big brace and wrapped in adhesive tape, felt all that great Friday.

He lumbered. He missed an early dunk. His spring was not springing.

Ellis scored nine points and made a three-pointer. He played sporadically because KU coach Bill Self wanted to get him off that knee. More than two weeks after suffering the injury in a game against West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse, Ellis’ return to form is a work in progress.

That’s what I believe.

“There’s still a time when I might feel a little hesitant,” Ellis said. “But overall, I feel great. No pain.”

I believe the part about feeling no pain and so does Self, who said there is no structural damage.

It looks, though, like Ellis is having a difficult time letting go, trusting that the knee will hold up if he plays with a more no-holds-barred mentality.

“I think physically, Perry is pretty good,” Self said after the Jayhawks breezed through New Mexico State by making 9 of 13 three-point shots. “He’s shown no indication of the knee bothering him during practice the last three days and that kind of stuff.

“He just doesn’t have the same explosiveness, the same bounce. To me, he looked a little tentative out there, very tentative, and he got off to a rough start. He had the dunk that he missed and a layup right after that he missed and it looked like after that that he didn’t really explode on the knee.”

When asked how close to full speed Ellis looked, Self gauged it at 70 percent with a caveat.

“With the potential to be 100 percent later (Friday night) because I don’t think it’s anything structural.”

The Jayhawks are starting to right their ship from long range after an awful six-game stretch when they were 11 of 71 from three-point range.

A healthy and springy Ellis, though, would be a huge asset against Wichita State on Sunday. The winner heads to Cleveland and the Sweet 16.

Ellis is one of the best high school players to come out of Wichita, where he won four state championships at Heights. He never seriously considered going to Wichita State, though, because his heart was set on playing at Kansas from an early age.

Ellis’ progression this season has been fun to watch. He’s an All-Big 12 player and KU’s MVP. He was playing his best basketball before tweaking his knee and missing a couple of games before returning for two in last weekend’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

There’s still some rust left.

Ellis admitted that the knee is on his mind some. That’s normal. He thinks about protecting it and not doing something that will cause a setback. His mind isn’t yet free.

“I’m still trying to get through it mentally a little bit and trying to trust what I can do,” Ellis said. “But I feel like I’m almost there.”

Wichita State-Kansas is almost here, as well. It’s been a long time.

Ellis wasn’t yet born the last time the Shockers met the Jayhawks, a 103-54 1993 KU win in Allen Fieldhouse. He didn’t have a lot to say about it after KU’s win because Indiana and Wichita State were playing.

“I just know a lot of fans are talking about it,” Ellis said.

Ellis and Wichita State junior Evan Wessel, who won three state championships together at Heights, will be reunited, much as KU’s Darnell Valentine and Wichita State’s Antoine Carr, also Heights graduates, were reunited for the KU-WSU 1981 NCAA Tournament game in New Orleans.

Landen Lucas has picked up some of Ellis’ slack recently. The 6-foot-10 Lucas had seven points and nine rebounds against New Mexico State and has 39 rebounds in the five games Ellis either has missed or been at less than full speed.

But if Kansas is to win more games in the tournament, the Jayhawks are going to need Ellis to dramatically throw that knee brace into the stands and shout that he’s back to being Perry Ellis. Or something like that.

“I talked to Perry before the game,” KU sophomore Wayne Selden said, “and I told him, ‘You’re the best player on the court, go out there and show it.’ I’m confident in him.”

If Ellis starts feeling great, he can definitely be the best player on the court. But despite what he says, I don’t think he’s quite there yet.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: KU’s Perry Ellis says he feels great, but does he? (VIDEO)."