The Fizz’s SU Top 100 list carries on with one of the best one-and-dones in Syracuse Men’s Basketball history. Coming in at the No. 66 spot is Tyler Ennis. The Canadian only played for the Orange during the 2013-2014 season, but man was that a good season. Before we get into details, just look at this list of accolades he racked up in one year as a freshman.
- USA Today All-American Second Team
- College Sports Madness All-American Fourth Team
- All-ACC Second Team Team
- ACC All-Defensive Team
- ACC All-Freshman Team
- National Association of Basketball Coaches Freshman All-America Team
- National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District Second Team
- U.S. Basketball Writers Association Freshman All-America Team
- U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District 1 Team
- Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association All-Conference Second Team
- 4x ACC Rookie of the Week
- CBS Sports Rookie of the Week
- Finalist for the Wooden Award
- Semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy
- Finalist for the Tisdale Award
- Finalist for the Cousy Award
Do you really need any more convincing that he should be on the list? Fine, here’s some more. As a freshman, Ennis ranked first in the ACC with 2.1 steals per game, first with 5.7 assists per game, and second in assist/turnover ratio at 3.6. On top of all of that, he averaged 13 points per game. Ennis was the second leading scorer on a team that was in the top-five of the AP poll for the majority of the season.
You can make a very strong argument that Ennis is the second best one-and-done player in Syracuse history. Obviously, Carmelo Anthony holds the top spot on that list, but Ennis could easily be next. Donte Greene is up there as well, but Ennis was as dominant as you can be on both ends of the court.
It is difficult to be a conference all-defensive type of player while in the two-three zone, but Ennis did it and he did it in his first year in the system. On the other end, he could score when needed and dish the rock when needed.
So you are probably wondering why he isn’t any higher on our list, right? Well, he got bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a three seed. Plus, as great as his one season was, it was only one season. So, some of his stats aren’t enough to get him any higher on our list. But still, Tyler Ennis was a beast and now holds the No. 66 spot on the Fizz’s SU Top 100.
