Michael Carter-Williams had one of the greatest NBA rookie debuts of all-time Wednesday night, but by the end of Friday night, Tyler Ennis left no doubt Syracuse’s new court general is fit for the job.

After taking an outlet pass from Jerami Grant, Ennis stormed up the court. Coasting diagonally from right to left, he maneuvered his way through Holy Family’s 2-3 zone before stopping on a dime on his left foot, turning and banking in a lefty layup.

Ennis ignited the Syracuse offense in its preseason scrimmage against Holy Family in the Carrier Dome on Friday night, finishing with 10 points and three assists as the Orange cruised to a 79-41 victory. He showcased his deft passing ability to find teammates in their optimal place on the floor while attacking the rim when the opportunity presented itself.

With the Orange already out to a 5-0 lead, Ennis took a C.J. Fair rebound and raced up the court. Cutting into the lane, he flicked a scoop pass to a curling Trevor Cooney on the right wing. Cooney rose up and drained it 2:09 into regulation.

Six minutes later, Ennis penetrated the Tigers defense from the left baseline. As Isaiah Gans collapsed, Ennis leapt and dished to Grant for an open 15-footer. 14-2.

And after corralling a rebound on one of Alberto Munoz’s six missed 3-pointers in the first half, Ennis zoomed a three-quarters court chest past to Grant, who caught it in transition and flipped it in on the reverse.

The Orange continued to thrive on the offensive end, building a 35-11 lead with 3:49 left when Ennis canned a 3 on one possession and carved up the Holy Family defense for his coast-to-coast score on the next.

By halftime, Ennis was not only Syracuse’s leading assist man, but one of its leading scorers with 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line.

He played more sparingly in the second half, but turned in one more highlight-reel play before the night was over.

Running out on a Holy Family miss, Ennis hauled in a Fair outlet and elevated at the rim, going chest-to-chest with Ervin Ezell.

As he hit his peak and began to decline, Ennis swirled a left-handed circus shot up and straight down through the hoops, barely touching the net.

Sitting on the bench with eight minutes left in the Orange’s rout, Ennis hung a towel around his neck, loosened his shoelaces and flashed a smile — one that he rarely displays on the court.

It was only a scrimmage, but Ennis displayed a clear command of the SU offense.

Published on November 1, 2013 at 8:58 pm

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