Tyler Ennis not surprised the Phoenix Suns drafted him at No. 18
Jun 27, 2014, 10:40 PM | Updated: 11:06 pm
Due to the fact that the Phoenix Suns already have Goran Dragic and plan to re-sign Eric Bledsoe (at least we think they will) at the point guard position, many were surprised when they selected Tyler Ennis out of Syracuse with the 18th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft Thursday night.
Ennis wasn’t one of them.
“I knew the Suns had an interest in me through interviewing with them at the combine and coming in and working out for them in front of Coach (Hornacek) and the front office,” Ennis told Burns and Gambo Friday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “They had two picks in the range I’d seen myself going, so I knew there was a good possibility that I could potentially get drafted by the Suns, and luckily I was able to get picked up.”
Even if the Suns’ starting backcourt remains in tact in 2014-15, Ennis feels he’ll offer a nice change of pace.
“I think I bring a different dynamic as far as being a pass-first point guard,” he said. “I think having more than one playmaker on the court is good for a team’s offense. Whether I’m scoring the ball or passing it, I think me playing with another point guard in Bledsoe or Dragic or Ish Smith could really get the offense working.”
Ennis made his mark in just one year at Syracuse, where he started all 34 games for an Orange team that won its first 25 games and spent three weeks as the number one team in the AP Poll. Despite his limited collegiate experience, one of the things that impressed the Suns was his on-court maturity and confidence.
“I think it’s really just knowing what you’re doing and knowing the game situation,” he said. “I’ve played basketball for a long time and I’ve been through almost every situation — or most of them — so it’sjust the having confidence that you’re going to play the right play for your team to be in the position to win.”
