Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis is already receiving preseason recognition before playing a regular-season game for Syracuse.

Ennis was one of 46 players named to the preseason Bob Cousy Award Watch List on Tuesday, an honor given to the nation’s best point guard. Ennis is a five-star recruit and rated the No. 5 point guard in his class by ESPN. He averaged 10 points and three assists per game in the Orange’s four-game trip to Canada in August. On Friday, Ennis showcased his precision passing in his Carrier Dome debut at Orange Madness.

Head coach Jim Boeheim said Ennis will play about 38 minutes per game this season.

“Tyler is a very steady player, he knows what he is doing all the time,” Boeheim said at SU media day on Friday afternoon. ” He plays a lot like a veteran point guard, which is very impressive coming in as a freshman.

“He has an excellent skill set. He has the ability to be explosive and make plays, but he also can run the team efficiently and make good decisions in the half court.  I think he’s as well prepared as any freshman point guard we’ve had here.”

Ennis is one of four freshmen tabbed to the watch list, joined by Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison, Florida’s Kasey Hill and Washington’s Nigel Williams-Goss. The list of candidates will be trimmed to 20 in early February and five in early March.

Here’s the full list of candidates:

Kyle Anderson, UCLA
Keith Appling, Michigan State
Dominic Artis, Oregon
Eric Atkins, Notre Dame
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
Billy Baron, Canisius
Devon Bookert, Florida State
Jason Brickman, LIU
Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Siyani Chambers, Harvard
Semaj Christon, Xavier
Jordan Clarkson, Missouri
Justin Cobbs, California
Brett Comer, Florida Gulf Coast
Quinn Cook, Duke
Aaron Craft, Ohio State
Brandyn Curry, Harvard
Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado
Michael Dixon, Memphis
Kris Dunn, Providence
Tyler Ennis, Syracuse
Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
Tim Frazier, Penn State
Andrew Harrison, Kentucky
Kasey Hill, Florida
Anthony Ireland, Loyola Marymount
Joe Jackson, Memphis
Chris Jones, Louisville
DeAndre Kane, Iowa State
Walt Lemon, Bradley
Derrick Marks, Boise State
T.J. McConnell, Arizona
Preston Medlin, Utah State
Shabazz Napier, UConn
Jake Odum, Indiana State
Marcus Paige, North Carolina
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Elfrid Payton, Lafayette
Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State
Trevor Releford, Alabama
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Markel Starks, Georgetown
Keifer Sykes, Green Bay
Chaz Williams, Massachusetts
Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington
Kendall Williams, New Mexico

 

Published on October 22, 2013 at 12:59 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1