ALLENTOWN, N.J. — There is going to be a new player atop the Flagrant Fouls class of 2013 rankings when they are released tomorrow afternoon. Tyler Ennis, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard who plays for St. Benedict's (NJ) has earned the right to be called the best player in his class.
Ennis spoke with Flagrant Fouls while at the Summer Shootout to discuss his new honor, his recruitment, his game, and more.
"It feels good because Nolan [Shulman] was actually the first one to rank me out of any sites for North America," Ennis said of being moved to No. 1. "So, I knew he [had] seen something in me from when he first started watching."
Asked where he feels he deserves to be ranked in Canada in 2013, Ennis replied, "I would–where Nolan has me right now [at No. 1]."
Ennis said that Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Agunwa Okolie and Mikyle McIntosh are the other players in the discussion.
"That's about it, that's about who's top three, top four," Ennis said. "That's who I'd put."
Clearly Ennis' ascent to the top spot involved hard work. He talked about what aspect of his game he improved upon.
"Actually, I feel like I got a little bit faster, to be able to get to the basket," Ennis said. "[I got a] little bit stronger, although I still gotta get stronger to be [ready for] college."
Ennis made an interesting point about the increased exposure he received this summer playing for CIA Bounce, something that could have helped his stock too.
"It was good because it was really the first time we played on the Nike circuit in all the big tournaments," Ennis said. "Got to show [that] all the Canadians are as good as the Americans."
Ennis went on in detail a bit more about CIA Bounce's impressive run this summer, focusing on the U16 level.
"We played . . . real good [and we] got to play in the big tournaments," Ennis said. "We saw we weren't ranked that high [entering the summer and] we wanted to show we're one of the top three teams in the country. BABC because they play, didn't get to play them. All the other teams, we showed that we beat them."
After his major showing in July, Ennis now has a plethora of schooling coming at him.
He listed Louisville, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Rutgers, West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa State, Virginia, and Baylor as programs that have extended offers. Ennis said there are others as well and noted that Florida, Kansas and Wake Forest are showing interest.
Ennis does not have any favorites, but said Iowa State, West Virginia and Virginia are coming at him the hardest. He has yet to take any unofficial visits and has none planned. The silky smooth lead guard also noted he does not have a timetable.
"It's a plus, but it's not really gonna affect my decision," Ennis said of whether location will play a part in his choice. "It's not really a factor, but I like warm weather better than cold weather because I've been in cold weather my whole life."
Ennis listed passing and leading among the strongest points of his game and also cited his ability when it comes to "getting everyone involved."
As for his main weakness on the hardwood, Ennis remarked, "Strength right now, for the next level."
The rising junior plans to work on that by "just hitting the weight room more."
On who he compares his game to, Ennis said, "A little bit of Kyrie Irvinig [and] Deron Williams."
Alex Schwartz, Northstar Basketball
http://blog.northstarbball.com/
