Tyler Ennis

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Syracuse 68, St. John’s 63

Sunday, December 15, 2013 | Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)

Tyler Ennis — PG, 6-2, 180
Freshman, 19 years old

Season (31.5 mpg): 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 5.4 APG, 2.8 SPG
30.4% assist rate, 5.5% steal percentage

Game (39 min): 21 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds

Outlook: Of all the freshman in college basketball, it’s becoming clear Tyler Ennis will play the biggest role in his team’s success this season. He’s the quarterback and the engine of this Syracuse team. Surrounded by a handful of athletic swingmen, Ennis is the only Orange player averaging over 2 assists, and he’s always on the floor in big games—40 minutes vs. Baylor, 38 vs. Indiana, 37 vs. California, and 39 vs. St. John’s.

Through 11 games, he’s been perfect. Ennis commands the offense—and opposing defenses—with the poise and basketball IQ of a senior. Terrific two-way handle, and uses very calculated actions to attack the defense and initiate offense. This is some ahead of his time stuff—in terms of consistently making the correct “basketball play”—and it’s all predicated on Ennis’ ability to handle the basketball. He protects the ball (4.07 A/TO), but most of all, it’s his ability to turn the corner that really stands out. I think Ennis turns the corner—either getting around his man or getting around the pick-and-roll—faster than any guard in the country. He has NBA speed turning the corner. (He doesn’t appear to have NBA speed to finish around the corner, though, which we’ll get to.)

15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists at halftime. All things considered, I wouldn’t be surprised if he enters the Draft at season’s end. All that being said, Ennis has a lot of strengths, but also areas that give me concern with regards to his NBA potential.

STRENGTHS

Pick-and-Roll (Passing and Scoring), Poise/Calm Demeanor

As mentioned, Ennis is extremely poised and under control. 28% of his plays are in the pick-and-roll this season, where he’s doing a nice job scoring (1.1 points per possession, 83rd percentile), and also distributing (30.4% assist rate is top-100 in the country). Good feel for where his teammates are; not only the screener, but the other three guys as well.

Ennis is crafty enough to finish on the college level. He can penetrate and finish with either hand.

Video: Assists (mostly Pick-and-Roll)

Video: Driving to the Hoop

Again, special ball-handling, and impressive leadership at this age.

Developing Jump Shot

Ennis has a smooth and confident release on his jump shot. Good form indicates he can become a consistent shooter. Right now, he’s much better in catch-and-shoot (60% conversion rate), than shooting off the dribble (24% conversion rate). He’s made 10 three-pointers on 23 attempts thus far, which is OK considering the small sample size.

Video: Perimeter Shooting

Quick Hands (Smart Defender)

It’s tough to evaluate Ennis’ defensive ability in Syracuse’s zone scheme.

He’s averaging a stellar 2.8 steals per game, but I’m not sure if this is a result of Syracuse’s zone or Ennis’ individual ability.

Based on the film, it seems he’s locked in, protects the middle of the zone, and contests jump shots. Problem is, he’s not very quick moving laterally, so he could perhaps struggle in man-to-man schemes.

Video: Defense (small snippet)

Upside

He’s 19, and has only played 11 games, so we’re definitely not evaluating a finished product. The question is: how much better can Ennis get? Or, In the NBA, how much basketball IQ is needed to compensate for athletic shortcomings?

I think he’s a terrific player who’s more polished than nearly all of his peers — but his unproven/not clearly apparent athleticism (struggles to finish at the rim) and height (6-2 in shoes) must be taken into account as well.

QUESTION MARKS

Athleticism? Undersized? Straight-Line Speed?

Ennis is smart, poised, talented, etc.

But can he hold up athletically in the NBA? Right now, I’m not sure either way. Rysheed Jordan’s length and athleticism flustered Ennis down the stretch. Ennis still converted a few layups because he’s very crafty, but Jordan also won some possessions.

In the clip below, Rysheed Jordan defends CJ Fair and Tyler Ennis… Jordan strips Ennis in the first play, and then defends him intermittently throughout the video.

Finishing Struggles

A combination of the question marks above—athletic shortcomings and not the fastest straight-line player—leads finishing struggles. 45.8% of Ennis’ attempts come “around the basket,” but he’s only scoring .97 points per possession on such attempts, ranking in the bottom 70th percentile nationally. On film, Ennis has a few missed dunks in there as well, which speaks to his average lift off the ground. He’s not a “bad” athlete, but he’s not as explosive as you’d ideally like.

Video: Finishing Struggles

OVERALL

Ennis is only 11 games into his college career, and this was only one game. He has all the intangibles you can ask for from a point guard, and he’s only a freshman.

Tght handle, precision passing, and consistency running a team are at an NBA level. But the jury is still undecided on his finishing ability, and athleticism on both ends of the floor. Ennis will have the ball in hands all season, so we should have a better idea before the season comes to an end.

Video Breakdown: Tyler Ennis

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STRENGTHS

Offense
— Excellent passer, court vision and delivery; 3.2 Assist/TO ratio
— Quick “turning the corner” on pick-and-roll
— Polished floater
— NBA ball-handling ability; creates space and executes offense under pressure
— Values every possession. Had fewer than 3 turnovers in 30 of 34 games this season.
— Good free throw shooter

Defense
— Not the longest arms, but does a good job anticipating in the passing lanes for steals

Intangibles
— “Clutch gene”; not afraid to take big shots; has all the intangibles you want in a point guard

WEAKNESSES / AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

— Limited athleticism and quickness
— Good speed but doesn’t have the burst to blow by defenders without a screen
— Shaky jump shot
— Struggles to finish at the rim
— Doesn’t embrace contact

Strengths

* Court vision/Passing
* Pick-and-Roll potential
* Floater/Capable finisher
* Good defender in Syracuse zone
* Heart of a Champion; Clutch Gene
* Only 19, not a finished product

* Court Vision / Passing

— Assist machine, sets up teammates perfectly. Good timing and accurate passer with either hand.
— Can play at various speeds, which allows him to survey the floor and set up teammates at every pace of the game. Let’s examine.

Simple Passes

Pick-and-Roll
— Excellent timing, accurate passer with both hands. This should translate to the NBA

To Cutters
— Terrific handle to get in the lane, great peripheral vision and timing on passes

Drive-and-Dish

Drive-and-Kick

Transition
— Looks ahead, pushes tempo, and good accuracy on long-distance passes

* Pick-and-Roll Potential

“Turning the Corner”

— Excellent off the high ball screen. Lightning-quick turning the corner, and angles his body to shield away the defender.
— 33% of his scoring attempts are in the pick-and-roll. Converting 41% FG, but that doesn’t measure how effective Ennis is at simply turning the corner to penetrate, regardless if he finishes.

* Capable Finisher

Polished Floater
— Great touch and feel in the paint. Doesn’t use the backboard, just lofts it over the front of the rim.

Layups
— Capable of driving all the way and using the backboard, although he rarely does it.

Hesitation
— Good at creating space, goes north-south when handling the ball under pressure

* Good defender in Syracuse zone (for what it’s worth)

— Hard to fully assess ability due to zone defense. Nonetheless, he reads the passing lanes very well.
— 2.1 steals per game. 3.9% steal percentage (39th nationally)

* Heart of a Champion; Clutch Gene

— Consistently makes big shots at the end of games. Not afraid to fail. Gutsy and very impressive for a freshman.
— Wants the ball in his hands

WEAKNESSES / AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

* Lacks NBA quickness and athleticism (several smaller components to this)
* Shaky jump shot

* Lacks NBA quickness and athleticism

Gets blocked / poor lift
— Ennis isn’t a great vertical athlete. He often gets stuffed at the rim; it’ll be even harder to get his shot off in the NBA.

Gets walled off on drives
— If Ennis is trying to create in isolation (as opposed to working off the pick-and-roll), he really struggles to get around the defender. His lack of foot speed is apparent here.

Missed Layups
— Excellent turning the corner, but not great finishing at the hoop, especially when shooting over length.

Ennis can penetrate the lane, but he either struggles to finish at the basket, or doesn’t even try. In other words, he’s more likely to pull-up for a mid-range shot than go all the way to the basket. He is averse to going all the way at this point in his career. It’s not necessarily a detriment to his game, because he has a polished floater that should translate to the NBA. It’s just that Ennis makes it more difficult for himself this way.

Settling for a jump shot (video)
— Averts finishing. Stops short of the basket, and takes an even harder shot.

* Shaky jump shot

48% of attempts are jump shots; 36% FG on jumpers.
35% three-point; 30-85 this season

—Capable shooter, but not reliable right now.

Made 3-Pointers

Mid-Range makes

Not Reliable:

Missed 3-Pointers
— Fades away on 3′s sometimes. Not sure why.

Off the Dribble Misses
— Fluid player with good ball-handling skills, but Ennis can’t get the jumper to fall.

Bad jump shot misses
— And the occasional “ugly” miss