Much debate has been made of this year’s class of talented freshmen. Syracuse’s Tyler Ennis and Duke’s Jabari Parker are two of them – arguably the two best – and Daily Orange beat writers Stephen Bailey and David Wilson make their respective arguments for the two rookies. See David’s case for Parker here.

The strong contingent of Syracuse fans in Joel Coliseum let out a collective gasp late in the second half Wednesday night. Tyler Ennis had turned his ankle.

Not the cold-blooded, courageous freshman. Not the horse SU has rode through all but 31 minutes of its 13 games against power-conference teams. Not the Orange’s golden ticket back to the Final Four.

Ennis stood with his hands on his knees, teammates circling around him at the free-throw line. Jim Boeheim asked the referee to check on him.

Did he need to come out?

Ennis lifted his head toward the official, held up his right hand and shook his head. No.

But for one brief moment, the same thought crept through everyone’s head — what would Syracuse do without him?

“It’s hard to say,” SU forward Jerami Grant said. “It’s something that we really haven’t been able to think about because he’s been there the whole season.”

Said C.J. Fair: “He’s the most important piece of the team.”

Ennis turned in his third straight heroic performance with 16 second-half points against Wake Forest. He gave No. 2 Syracuse (20-0, 7-0 Atlantic Coast) a chance for its best start in program history when it hosts No. 17 Duke (17-4, 6-2) and fellow stud rookie Jabari Parker on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Parker is touted by many as the ACC’s best player, but flash and flair and scoring ability will only get you so far in the college game. Great players have the ability to raise their individual performance, but the best players have the ability to raise their team’s performance.

In the last five minutes of games this season, Ennis hasn’t committed a single turnover and is shooting nearly 50 percent.

“Tyler Ennis is having as good a year as any freshman,” Boeheim said after the St. John’s game on Dec. 15.
That was back when Ennis was still getting going. He’s since proven more than a court general. He’s the team’s best crunch-time option.
Against Pittsburgh on Jan. 18, he tallied the go-ahead bucket, another layup and two free throws in the final 1:48 as part of a 14-point second half. Against Miami last Saturday, he scored a crucial three-point play and the go-ahead jumper. And against Wake Forest on Wednesday, he had two more field goals in the second half alone than any of his teammates had all game.

Parker, who shoots 46.5 percent, hasn’t made more than half of his shots in a game since Dec. 19. His rebounding numbers have been staggering, but Ennis counters with the most steals per game in the conference.

“He’s smarter than I am,” Boeheim joked.

Even during the other 35 minutes of each game where Ennis hasn’t been superhuman, he’s been Syracuse‘s only capable ball handler.

Without him, SU would have at least a few conference losses.

Junior Duke transfer Michael Gbinije’s attempted transformation from small forward to point guard has been a failure, and Trevor Cooney isn’t much better against pressure. The point guard depth is so bad that even freshman Ron Patterson could be considered the next-best option.

“Without Tyler this team would be totally different,” Fair said. “I think coming into Syracuse, he knew what the challenge was going to be and he did a good job prospering in the system.”

In the locker room after the Wake Forest game, Grant cut me off before I could even finish the question.

Which freshman is more val—

“Our freshman is more valuable than theirs,” he said.

Why?

“Because he’s better.”

Ennis said he doesn’t like to compare himself to other players on an individual level, especially when they play different positions. But he brought the conversation back to a player’s ability to help his team win.

This Saturday, Ennis said, the final score will prove who wins the individual matchup between him and Parker.

Said Ennis: “So as far as matchups, I think whoever wins the game is going to be the one who wins the matchup.”

Stephen Bailey is the sports editor at The Daily Orange where his column appears occasionally. You can contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Bailey1.

Published on January 31, 2014 at 4:48 am