Is Jamal Murray the next Tyler Ennis?
Like Ennis, Murray is Canadian, he is a talented point guard and he is being ignored in the ESPN rankings.
When the latest ESPN.com Class of 2016 rankings came out, the 6-foot-4 Murray was nowhere to be found in the Top 25.
Tony McIntyre, Ennis’ father and Murray’s CIA Bounce coach, isn’t buying it.
“He is a Top-5 player and will prove it this summer,” McIntyre told SNY.tv.
It’s not a shock that ESPN is downplaying a Canadian player. Ennis was consistently ranked low in the Class of 2013 by The Worldwide Leader until he was finally moved “up” to No. 20 — where he slotted in behind fellow point guards Andrew Harrison, Kasey Hill, Rysheed Jordan and Nigel Williams-Goss.
Right now, Ennis has Syracuse at 19-0 and No. 2 in the country.
Murray, meantime, is a bit off the radar in the U.S. because he’s playing for Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ontario — which we featured in September — instead of an American prep powerhouse like Huntington Prep, Findlay Prep or St. Benedict’s Prep.
“There really hasn’t been a lot of buzz [about Murray] because they really haven’t been down there [in the U.S.] a lot,” McIntyre said.
Still, Murray was named MVP of the Jordan Brand International Game last April in Brooklyn.
McIntyre believes Murray may be the next Canadian point guard in line after his son.
“If you call our program a pipeline, he’s that next kid at point guard who’s going to make some noise and has all the attributes that Tyler had in terms of running a team, his offense, he shoots it well,” McIntyre said.
“He’d be the next guy in line. If somebody were to like [Tyler], they’d like [Murray] as well.”
As far as his recruitment, it’s still early, but McIntyre said a few schools are in the mix.
“I would say that Syracuse has checked in about him,” he said. “Syracuse, Illinois and Michigan are the ones calling the most.”
Photo: Kelly Kline / Jordan Brand
