Kansas forward Perry Ellis puts up a shot during warmups prior to tipoff of the Jayhawks' exhibition against Washburn on Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Perry Ellis doesn’t easily fit into the profile of any position as an NBA prospect. He’s not as big as most power forwards, not as quick as the average NBA small forward.

Yet, not perfectly fitting a prototype actually works to his advantage as a college basketball player. He’s too quick, too clever with his footwork, for the average power forward to handle in the post, and too quick and skilled away from the basket for the man guarding him.

Every year, Ellis looks more comfortable, more confident, more accurate from the perimeter, extending his range each season.

His extended range has been particularly noticeable in early-season practices.

Ellis made 2 of 3 three-pointers as a freshman and 8 of 17 as a sophomore. A perfectionist, he doesn’t unveil skills often in games until he’s convinced he has them down.

“Perry’s not really a four,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of the 6-foot-8, 225-pound junior from Wichita. “He’s about a three-and-a-half. He could maybe play some three in certain situations, although we really haven’t practiced that way. He’s a good enough shooter people would have to guard him out there.”

If they don’t, he’ll burn them with threes. If they do, he can drive around them in either direction. Adding three-pointers to his arsenal makes Ellis even more difficult to guard.

“He might not shoot 100 threes this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he shoots 80, 90 threes this year,” Self said.

Last season, Ellis averaged 13.5 points (second on the team to Andrew Wiggins, 17.1), and 6.7 rebounds (second to Joel Embiid).

Ellis is an easy choice to lead the team in scoring, but 80 three-point attempts wouldn’t rank him anywhere near the top.

“There’s no question we’re going to shoot more threes just because we don’t have anybody we can throw it to in the post other than Perry that you just know you can come away with two points,” Self said. “We have guys that are going to be good scorers down there.”

Cliff Alexander, with more seasoning, will get there, but like most on this young team, he has a lot to learn.

“Perry’s the soundest guy we’ve got, without question,” Self said. “He doesn’t always play with the most energy, but I think he’s without question the soundest guy we have. Landen (Lucas) and Jamari (Traylor) would probably be right there, too.”

It’s Ellis opposing coaches will spend the most time trying to figure out how to keep from getting his hands on the ball because once he does, he has so many ways to score.