Boy, was this Tyler Ennis’ week. I’m sure you’ve seen it by now, but the freshman hit a buzzer-beater while running up the court to give Syracuse a two-point victory over Pitt.
If preventing his undefeated team from losing against a top-25 team on the road was not enough, he was named to the Naismith watch list yesterday. He’s one of 30 players on the watch and one of just six freshmen.
Plus, he is a Syracuse Orangeman. The last time the 76ers drafted a Syracuse guard was Michael Carter-Williams. He’s the only member of the team at All-Star weekend (in the Rising Stars Challenge) so it’s safe to say it worked.
Earlier in this series, we mentioned that freshmen are tough to project so we’d try saving them for later, but Ennis is a bit easier to project. Plus, it is just a great week to showcase the Canadian.
As far as his skill set and make-up, there is a lot to like. Ennis is your prototypical point guard, standing at 6’2’’. He is a general on the floor and takes charge, setting up his teammates well.
Not much of a shooter, Ennis is able to set the offense to put his team in the best position to score points, making everyone around him better. In the Orange’s thrilling overtime victory against Duke two weeks ago, Ennis only attempted five shots from the field despite playing 40 minutes. But his nine assists, as well as a perfect 8-for-8 from the line allowed Syracuse’s offense to function well enough to score 91 points.
Perhaps the biggest reason their offense is able to function so well is Ennis’ ball-handling ability. His handle is simply outstanding and rather amazing for a 19-year-old. The freshman has committed just 35 turnovers in 24 games this season. In those 24 games, he is averaging to play all but five minutes of those games. Ennis’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.97 is third in the nation. Not bad for a kid just out of high school!
Though he is not much of a scorer, as mentioned earlier, he can often shoot well when he does take shots. Being very selective, Ennis is shooting 38% downtown for three.
While he may be off to a strong collegiate career, which will likely be brief, the freshman’s game will be limited at the pro level. Not being a great scorer, he may be just an average player at the next level, one who can start for probably half the teams. But on a championship team, it is hard to envision Ennis as a starting point guard.
Pro Comparison: George Hill
The Verdict: He is a great player, and going to be a solid pro. But if I’m Philadelphia and I’m tearing down everything and starting from basically Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel, it be rather foolish for me to draft another point guard—even if from the same school as Carter-Williams. Ennis will do a lot of good things for some team in the near future. It just is hard to see how he would be a good fit in Philadelphia with either pick, their own or the one New Orleans owes them. Before you wonder about him falling to the second round, that simply will not happen. Come time to decide whether to leave school or stay, players will have a better idea of where they will be drafted and if he starts slipping down people's boards to the second round, there frankly would be no reason to even leave school. In short, not happening.
