Prospect Examination: Tyler Ennis

"I'd like to thank Coach [Jim] Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse," Ennis said in a statement as he declared for the draft. "I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fulfill my lifelong dream – to play in the NBA."

Tyler Ennis entered this years college basketball season as a nobody since he's wasn't talked about in comparison to the other freshmen. At the start of the season Ennis wasn't thought of as a potential lottery pick and as he improved throughout the season it became more obvious to the oblivious that he would declare for the NBA Draft after his strong but surprising freshmen season ended. The Canadian product wasn't known or hyped up coming out of High School and didn't receive great ranks from respected High School athlete ranking sites (I.e. scouts.com, maxpreps.com, 247sports.com and rivals.com). Actually 247 Sports had him as a five-star athlete. But his high school rankings mean nothing now as he was clutch this season showing calmness in the court the entire 40 minutes.

This season with the Syracuse Orange he was a semi-finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year and was named to the Second Team All-ACC (2014), All-ACC Freshmen Team (2014), All-ACC Defensive Team (2014). In 34 games he averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 41.1% (FG%), 35.3% (3P%) and 76.5% (FT%) in 35.7 minutes.

Ennis is expected to be a mid-late first rounder as he is believed to have more weaknesses than strengths, he is believed to be the third-best Point Guard in this years crop behind Dante Exum (Australia) and Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State). 

"If you were to ask me right now whether I'd take Ennis over Kyrie Irving, I think it's Ennis," an NBA GM said. "He does all the things that help a basketball team win basketball games. You can pick him apart on individual flaws, but I would take this kid right now and trust him to run my team. I think there's very few freshmen you could ever say that about."

Watching Ennis throughout the season it can be seen that he is very mature as a 19-year old and with that maturity he was given a bigger role and opportunity by long time Syracuse Head Coach, Jim Boeheim. Boeheim doesn't show if any admiration for freshmen but to him Ennis is different.

"Tyler, for us, he’s so valuable," Boeheim said on Ennis' importance. "He plays 40 minutes in the [ACC games]. We can’t win a game without him. Literally. If you talk about the best pro prospect (in the ACC), it’s Jabari Parker, but who’s the most valuable to his team? We don’t have a point guard, I don’t know where we would be without Tyler Ennis."

Scouts are impressed with Ennis' poise when he plays the game and it's obvious that he has a feel for the game that some players are missing which sets him apart from his other with a tremendous IQ and smooth operator like attitude. He has great handles as he only averaged 1.7 turnovers per game. On the court he has showcased leadership and great communication skills as he got his teammates into the right spots on the floor to make the offense flow like a waterfall which was a main reason as to why Syracuse started the season 25-0. Ennis will attempt to follow in the footsteps of former Orangemen guards Michael Carter-Williams and Dion Waiters into the NBA but the question is, Where will he get drafted? Most if not all NBA teams have a franchise Point Guard at this point in time and Ennis isn't good enough to become a franchise player but will be a backup in this golden age of Point Guards, the acculturation of the position is tremendous and it will be interesting to see how Ennis adjusts. 

Ennis' pick-and-roll game will translate perfectly to the NBA if he is teamed up with a good finishing big-man. If you compare Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Jrue Holiday to their respective college careers you would notice a difference in their points averaged from college to the NBA. The reason for that difference is because most colleges especially big schools have a offense they they refuse to change regardless of the players and players from smaller schools as in Damian Lillard and Jimmer Fredette who had to be scorers for their respective schools. 

Ennis is a mixture a pass-first guard and a scoring-guard; typically he's a traditional Point Guard in the first half but in the second half he's what most of this generations point guards do and that is score and if needed he will takeover. Some believe he's to unselfish, but there's no such thing of that at the point guard position since his job is to do what's best for the team and go with what  the defense gives him. He's an All-Around great Point Guard as he averaged a 3.24 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio along with having a 5.38 Pure Point Rating which was good enough for 18th in the nation. 

When in the NBA he'll need to improve his jumpshot as it is very inconsistent. This past season he averaged 4.4 made shots per game on 10.6 attempts. As the season progressed Ennis gained more confidence to take that shot and would sometimes catch fire with it when his defender least expected it; sometimes on the fast-break when you think he's going to do something else he pulls-up for the shot, his shot wasn't as deadly as his driving ability to the rim. When needed he can score in bunches in a variety of ways if it's with hit shot, driving ability, runners, floaters etc.

At 6'2" and 180-pounds he isn't the biggest defender on the court and his lack of mass is quite evident. Despite his lack of size, he did average 2.1 steals, 3.9 steal percentage and 2.2 defensive win shares all show how IQ on that side of the court but he doesn't have the potential to become a good defender and could just be average on that end; possibly a liability. 

"I think he’s a great college player," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "I think physically he probably could’ve used another year. A little bit different than Dion Waiters who I had a couple of years ago who left. I think Dion was physically better, more physically ready."

When in the NBA Ennis' might not be selected to the All-Star team but will be a solid contributor to any team he's on. He contains things not can't be taught but only born with. As a team leader he brings positivity to the court as he never seems down in any situation and seems very positive. It'll be great to see how he performs during the combine and pre-draft workouts.

"He’s a tremendous player and a very, very smart point guard," Jim Boeheim said. "And I think the one thing I think is point guard is probably the hardest position to break into in the NBA, it’s a very difficult position, but he’s got the skill set to do that. It’s just a question of him landing in the right place."

NBA Comparisons: Chauncey Billups, Ray McCallum, George Hill, Austin Rivers

Best fits: Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks & Toronto Raptors.

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Dion Waiters: Destined To Be A Career 6th Man?

Written By Clevis Murray 

The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Dion Waiters with the 4th pick in the 2012 NBA draft.  The franchise hoped that they had found their shooting guard of the future by pairing him up with the Rookie of the Year and the 1st overall pick of the 2011 draft Kyrie Irving. Dion Waiters being drafted so high in the 2012 NBA draft was a bit of a surprise since he only played 71 career games at Syracuse University under Jim Boeheim and never started however he was considered the best sixth man in college basketball, being named the Big East's sixth man of the year. During his rookie season in the NBA (2012-13) Waiters came off of the bench 13 times in the 61 games he played.  Due to the averages in his rookie campaign 14.7 points, 3 rebounds and 2.4 assists he became known as a scorer......nothing more and nothing less.

As Dion Waiters second NBA season began many believed he was poised for a breakout but new Head Coach Mike Brown wanted to try something different and put Waiters on the bench stating that "The one thing Dion gives us is a nice punch off the bench with the ability to play pick and roll and create shots not only for himself, but for his teammates." With the statement being said former 6th Men of the Year James Harden, Manu Ginobili, J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford all come to mind.  All four had previously ran the pick and roll the most when coming off the bench and were obviously the best at creating their own when coming off the bench with the exception of James Harden who is now a starter with Houston.  For the most part, the players are combo guards who can handle the ball and can get their teammates involved.

Thus far this season Waiters has played his best when coming off the bench rather than starting.  One can say that he has to a point been hindered by teammates.  During his brief stint with the Cavaliers, center Andrew Bynum would demand the ball in the post. Kyrie Irving is known for dominating the ball as well which limits the amount of possessions that Waiters can potentially have.  The situation reportedly grew toxic and there were rumors of fighting.  Waiters reportedly wanted to be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers "because he thinks he'd be the best player on the team." Andrew Bynum was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" and eventually traded to and released by the Bulls.

Waiters is putting up season averages which make him look like a role player but scoring and shooting like a 6th man.  He is averaging 13.5 shot attempts per game, 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 rebounds along with 41% FG & 38% from the 3-point line. Comparing his sophomore season to his rookie season shows that there is no improvement at all and he is basically the same player and doesn't follow the motto "Getting better over the summer." But to be fair he is a young player in his 2nd season and will most likely get better over time especially on defense as Mike Brown recently said "defensively he has the capabilities of being a great defender. He’s in the process of learning and growing on that end."

A Bad Reflection?

Dion Waiters has been compared to many players for example Dwyane Wade but he doesn't have the size Wade had when he was younger but does have similar quickness and is truly skilled when heading to the basket but one would be wise not to compare Waiters to a future Basketball Hall of Famers like Wade.  A more accurate comparison for Dion Waiters is Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson or to keep it more current it would be Rodney Stuckey but the most accurate comparison at this time would be J.R. Smith.  The career path of Dion Waiters is becoming very similar to Smith's.  Despite Waiters career still being young, it's still growing similar to Smith's. The perception of Waiters is that he takes bad shots but that’s not the reality, Waiters doesn’t take bad shots but his low shooting percentage is what fuels the perception.

Both J.R. Smith & Dion Waiters have are both two immature NBA players with tons of talent. Remember when people thought J.R. Smith was a future All-Star when he was with the Denver Nuggets but all that changed when he didn't develop, listen and had too many off the court problems which have led to suspensions and hefty fines. His coach Mike Woodson recently said "[He] has got to grow up and do the right things." J.R doesn't listen and was recently fined $50K for untying shoes and his value around the league is continuing to decrease.

In similar fashion to Smith, Waiters usually starts sulking on the court and on the bench when things don't go his way and like Smith he thinks people are after him and nobody is on his side.Waiters has also gotten into an argument with Cavs guard Kyrie Irving and Head Coach Mike Brown. Waiters defensive effort decreases whenever he's not effective on the offensive end displaying his immaturity and like Smith, his teammates can't deal with it on and off the court but thankfully he isn't as immature as Smith off the court with the smoking of marijuana and uncalled for antics.

Dion will hopefully mature as a player and more importantly a person and exceed the expectations that were placed onto him but as of now he's a future sixth man who makes some bad decisions and his teammates are starting to grow tired of it.  There's usually a growth period of about five NBA seasons to see how a player develops as they should have carved out their niche by then, but let's see if Dion Waiters is really a future sixth man. With the way Dion is progressing he is showcasing a limited work ethic but for a young player with a huge upside and it shall be interesting to see how things will turnout down the line.

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