Tyler Ennis declaring for the NBA Draft had become all but a formality by the time he did so on March 27. 

His ascension from an unproven freshman to college star had taken just a matter of months. 

A 1-for-9 shooting performance against Minnesota on Nov. 25 was followed by a career-high 28 points against California the next night. He took over at home against Pittsburgh on Jan. 14, singlehandedly turning a one-point deficit into a three-point lead with five seconds remaining. 

Then, on Feb. 12, a 35-foot, buzzer-beating 3-point shot to beat the Panthers on the road. 

“Teams know what I can do on the court in games,” Ennis said. “We just have to wait and see what actually happens in the draft. I think there’ll be a lot of surprises.”

Now, with the draft on Thursday night at Barclays Center, Ennis’ stock isn’t as sure as his road to having one. He sees himself getting drafted anywhere between No. 7 or No. 20, but he was once almost exclusively projected as a lottery pick.  

But the topic of conversation has shifted from his unprecedented poise to questions about his outside shooting and man-to-man defensive abilities. 

“I think his stock is kind of all over the place right now,” said Jonathon Givony of Draftexpress.com “It’s hard to get an accurate read on exactly where he stands.”

Givony has Ennis going at No. 19, but said that he’s concerned about the consistency of his 3-point shot, noting that he didn’t take many at Syracuse. He also called his man-to-man defense a “big question mark” because SU plays a 2-3 zone. 

In the past few weeks, Ennis has worked nearly every day with Jay Hernandez in Long Island to develop those skills. Hernandez has him taking NBA 3s coming off of pick and rolls, working on his conditioning and defending other NBA draft hopefuls.

“The one thing that you expect from lottery picks,” Hernandez said, “is that they can control the environment, they control the game with their style of play.

“(Ennis) is a guy that really controls his team and imparts his will on the game.”

In the weeks leading up to the draft, Ennis has worked out for the Raptors, Lakers, Kings and Magic. He’ll showcase his skills then typically have dinner with team officials so they can get to know him better.  

On his trip to Los Angeles, he was able to catch up with Steve Nash, who he met when Ennis played in the FIBA Under-19 World Championships. 

In many ways Ennis is trying to be the player Nash has spent the past 18 years solidifying himself as — a pass-first point guard that can also threaten with his shooting ability. 

But he has a long way to go. 

“He’s showing them what he can do, and that’s really all you can do,” said his father Tony McIntyre.

Even though Ennis has seen his stock dip, McIntyre insists it’s not a concern. Whichever team that drafts him, he said, will want him. And that’s all that matters. 

Hernandez — who has trained six NBA lottery picks in the past two seasons — echoed that sentiment, still believing that Ennis is a lottery pick despite what experts may say. 

More importantly, so does Ennis himself. 

“I don’t think my stock has dropped,” Ennis said. “… A lot of things can happen draft night.” 

Asst. sports editor Phil D’Abbraccio contributed reporting to this story

Published on June 26, 2014 at 11:56 am

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