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As the Nike EYBL circuit opens up this weekend in Minnesota, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will be on hand to focus his attention on Tyler Ennis.
The 6-foot-3 rising senior point guard from St. Benedict’s Prep is squarely on Syracuse’s radar, as is his teammate, 2015 guard Isaiah Briscoe. Boeheim was at the Newark school earlier this week to watch both talented guards and has also spoken with Ennis on the phone.
“He tried to show his interest and everything,” Ennis told SNY.tv by phone. “He told me he’s going to be there this weekend at all of our games to show how dedicated he is and everything like that.”
He added: “It feels good to have a Hall of Fame coach coming out to your games to watch you and show interest in you.”
The Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year, Ennis said he’s hearing mostly from Arizona, Syracuse, Memphis and Villanova.
“Baylor was there [Thursday],” he said. “I talked to them on the phone.”
He has already visited Syracuse and Arizona, but has no visits planned right now and said he “will most likely wait till next year.”
Still, Syracuse has long been a favorite for both Ennis, who grew up in Toronto, and Briscoe, a Newark native.
“It’s always been the closest school to home, so we went out for the Syracuse tournament when I was younger,” Ennis said, referring to a tournament at the Carrier Dome. “That’s pretty much the only school I’ve seen when I was young.”
Syracuse assistant Adrian Autry is heavily recruiting both Ennis and Briscoe, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility they could both end up with the Orange.
“He would be coming two years after me,” Ennis said of Briscoe. “I think that would be a great combo for a college team, especially one in the ACC.”
Ennis has a busy summer ahead and plans to play with CIA Bounce on the EYBL circuit, while also hopefully attending the Chris Paul and LeBron James Academies.
He also plans to play with Canada in the FIBA U18 World Championships in Brazil June 16-20.
In the meantime, he’s ready to suit up with a loaded CIA Bounce team that includes fellow Canadians Andrew Wiggins, Denzel Taylor, Isaiah Watkins, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Tanveer Bhullar and Kevin Zabo, among others.
“[Our goal is] just to finish at the top of our pool and make the Peach Jam and doing a lot better than we did last year at the Peach Jam,” he said.
**For the SNY.tv documentary on Ennis, watch here.
Photo: St. Benedict’s Prep
