Ennis headed back to the D-League. 2 questions ?

[OttoinGrotto]

False. While effort certainly is huge, there is far more strategy playing good man to man in the NBA. The rotations and necessary switches create much more complexity for defenses to deal with.

Also, in the history of the NBA, only 5 rookies have ever made NBA All-Defense. The list includes Lou Alcindor, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and the immortal and fascinating Bobby Jones.

 

[KingOnuaku]

People who say how tough it is to watch the NBA clearly don't watch the NBA.

I've watched the Knicks closely for about a decade now, and this year's squad is the most unwatchable group of scrubs I've ever seen assembled.

I do agree with the general sentiment of your post, however. The league is filled with great young talent on bad teams that are still fun to watch.

 

[Dave85]

Is it? How much defense is Ennis going to learn at Syracuse. Honestly.

He would learn how to play with a little less ego and develop good character that comes from learning how to play team defense. Something sorely lacking in the NBA.

 

[tbonezone]

i 'd much rather watch college hoops. every single NCAA game is must win. NBA ...not so much.

as for NBA d-league games , well i for 1 certainly have never watched one. nor want to.

 

[Knicks411]

He would learn how to play with a little less ego and develop good character that comes from learning how to play team defense. Something sorely lacking in the NBA.

LOL, there is no team defense in the NBA? I mean maybe if you only watched the Knicks...

False. While effort certainly is huge, there is far more strategy playing good man to man in the NBA. The rotations and necessary switches create much more complexity for defenses to deal with.

I know, this is pretty ground breaking stuff I just said and I must be a h8r of syracuse because of it.

Nah, dont you know the only defense that you actually have to work at to learn is the 2-3 zone?

 

[two3zone]

He would learn how to play with a little less ego and develop good character that comes from learning how to play team defense. Something sorely lacking in the NBA.

This is so cliche that I don't even know if you're serious or not.

MCW stole from a department store while here and now he is looking like he is one of the best good guys in the NBA. Good kids are good kids, it doesn't take a year at Syracuse to mold them.

 

[Dave85]

This is so cliche that I don't even know if you're serious or not.

MCW stole from a department store while here and now he is looking like he is one of the best good guys in the NBA. Good kids are good kids, it doesn't take a year at Syracuse to mold them.

In a another year or two MCW will be able to buy the department store he was caught in. And MCW stayed two years in school and was pretty buffed from weight room. TE did not look like an NBA talent. If he stayed one more year he would have been a top 5 pick in my humbe opinion. But now he's going to be a perminent fixture of the D-League. What game in the D-League is going to get TE as much high profile publicity as the Syracuse-Duke game? He would have doubled his salary by waiting a year and probably would have actually played in the NBA.

 

[skurey]

he has played in the NBA, multiple times

 

[two3zone]

In a another year or two MCW will be able to buy the department store he was caught in. And MCW stayed two years in school and was pretty buffed from weight room. TE did not look like an NBA talent. If he stayed one more year he would have been a top 5 pick in my humbe opinion. But now he's going to be a perminent fixture of the D-League. What game in the D-League is going to get TE as much high profile publicity as the Syracuse-Duke game? He would have doubled his salary by waiting a year and probably would have actually played in the NBA.

What could he have improved on staying another year that he wouldn't have by focusing 100% of his time and efforts on basketball and counting tr zeros on his paycheck? Ah yes, Syracuse/Duke is more important to everything. I'm willing to bet that CJ Fair would have rather of gone 0-30 and be a first round pick than having the success and stardom he did at Syracuse.

 

[two3zone]

he has played in the NBA, multiple times

Doesn't count because he's not averaging 20 minutes a game.

 

[tbonezone]

He was NEVER going to get drafted higher than he did. He was NEVER going to learn more at SU. What he needs can't be taught: more height and quickness. Staying longer would have just taken the shine off, and put him into the 2nd Rd or free agency when he left.
From a basketball/money perspective, his decision was as right as Grant's was wrong.

you do realize the difference between pure conjecture and fact ? CAP LOCKS don't make it true!

 

[Knicks411]

In a another year or two MCW will be able to buy the department store he was caught in. And MCW stayed two years in school and was pretty buffed from weight room. TE did not look like an NBA talent. If he stayed one more year he would have been a top 5 pick in my humbe opinion. But now he's going to be a perminent fixture of the D-League. What game in the D-League is going to get TE as much high profile publicity as the Syracuse-Duke game? He would have doubled his salary by waiting a year and probably would have actually played in the NBA.

I find this idea pretty ridiculous. He's just not the kind of athlete that gets picked in the top 5.

 

[Jake]

There much less black and white and lots of grey to this whole should he have gone or not debate. There are LOTS of former players who transferred from our program or left early for the NBA who wish they stayed or stayed longer. LOTS of them. Carmelo being one of them. Its not about the $ for some of them once they leave. A lot depends on the environment the player grew up in etc.

College is FUN. The NBA is a JOB. The D-League is a BAD job. I mean, one step above flipping burgers, but having to drive on a bus 14 hours to get to your bad job. You are a rock star in Syracuse. This whole notion of "these kids never look back once they cash their first paycheck" is non-sense and not based in reality. That's not to say that some don't...but there are many, many that have the oh moment once they are in the league.. Tyler Ennis never considered that he'd be sitting on a bus for 12 hours getting to Bakersfield for his next game. The size of your bank account doesn't matter when that's the case.

JB's whole point of advice is he wants players to put themselves in a position where they are insulated as much as possible from BS promises that agents and GM's make that never materialize - for whatever reason. Tyler might not have improved physically (other than strength) but maybe he would have made himself more marketable. Regional MVP or something. He felt both he and Jerami could do that.

Neither Tyler nor Jerami had put themselves in that position. Same with Donte Green. All got the same "you need to return speech". Dion, Melo, a couple others got the "you're ready to go if you want" speech.

Tyler's dad thought he was going top 10, Jeremi thought late first round, Donte though he was edge of lottery - JB disagreed with all of those predictions. He was right. I don't disagree that some of it was a self serving position for JB, but truth is an absolute defense.

 

[Knicks411]

JB's whole point of advice is he wants players to put themselves in a position where they are insulated as much as possible from BS promises that agents and GM's make that never materialize - for whatever reason. Tyler might not have improved physically (other than strength) but maybe he would have made himself more marketable. Regional MVP or something. He felt both he and Jerami could do that.

Tyler's dad thought he was going top 10, Jeremi thought late first round, Donte though he was edge of lottery - JB disagreed with all of those predictions. He was right. I don't disagree that some of it was a self serving position for JB, but truth is an absolute defense.

I think this is the key. My guess is that most of the kids who end up leaving early and regretting it are the ones who got bad info and thought they were going higher than they did.
That being said, I still think there is a really good chance Tyler's draft stock peaked last year and wasn't going to get any better.

 

[skurey]

I don't understand how JB got brought into this.

 

[two3zone]

I don't understand how JB got brought into this.

Because I guess JB is an expert when it comes to the draft.

 

[realorange]

You don't learn defense, unless you are talking about our zone, defense is about effort for the most part[/QU

Effort by itself on defense won't trump ability with effort.

 

[djcon57]

Avery Bradley
Quincy Acy
Cole Aldrich
Tony Wroten
Robert Covington
James Johnson
Patrick Peterson
Amir Johnson

JJ Barea
Patrick Beverley
Donatas Montiejunas
Kosta Koufas
Jon Leuer
Patty Mills
Cory Joseph
Danny Green
Luke Babbitt

...and that's just me going through 2 random divisions and only guys who play a decent amount, but yeah lol D league and all that.

 

[Bayside44]

He also might have more clearly exposed his weaknesses or been injured and seen his draft position drop as a result. And it wouldn't have been the first time a kid returned and fell out of favor. While I would have loved to have seen him on this year's team, I can't fault him for cashing in.

So your argument is that he needed to game the scouts because he would never be good enough? I think he could become good enough, but clearly isn't today.

 

[Bayside44]

The competition in the D League is way better than D1

I don't watch, every review makes it sound unwatchable - if the competition is better than last week's Villanova game, our Duke games, etc I would be stunned (and America would be massively missing out)

 

[Bayside44]

Will you get better at something if you do it for 20 hrs a week or 40-50 hrs? I know it's more common to say that hoops players aren't always students first, but to stay eligible they do need to go to class and do work, which cuts into time devoted to becoming a basketball player.

Maybe some people missed the Grant story where he talks about the extra free time he has in the NBA and how he uses that time in the gym, and how he is able to have a healthier diet. He didn't mention if he had a personal nutritionist, but that is what a lot of players have and certainly beats eating at Goldstein..

A guy like Ennis is probably working a lot with the Suns staff during practices to get familiar with their system, which is better for his long-term future than playing another year of 2-3 zone. Again, the NBA has changed a lot in the last 5 years and playing in the D League is like a baseball player spending some time in AAA.

You think an NBA staff is spending a ton of time working with the 15th or so guy on the roster when they need to win that night? Our guys get all the meals they want from the team, they aren't surviving on chicken wings.

Baseball has even changed, Triple A is for the guys that are subs, the talent goes from AA to the majors. This big time guys spend minimal time there.

 

[HOFCeluck]

So your argument is that he needed to game the scouts because he would never be good enough? I think he could become good enough, but clearly isn't today.

I honestly can't think of a single guy who stayed in school and improved his prospects. I can easily rattle off a few names who did the opposite.

what is he going to get better at by staying at syracuse? Zone defense?

 

[CuseHulk]

Let them leave out of high school. If they choose to go to college stay minimum 3 years.

 

[anglerman]

In a another year or two MCW will be able to buy the department store he was caught in. And MCW stayed two years in school and was pretty buffed from weight room. TE did not look like an NBA talent. If he stayed one more year he would have been a top 5 pick in my humbe opinion. But now he's going to be a perminent fixture of the D-League. What game in the D-League is going to get TE as much high profile publicity as the Syracuse-Duke game? He would have doubled his salary by waiting a year and probably would have actually played in the NBA.

MCW stayed because he had to! He is very far from buff, I mean very far. I stood next to him a be he's really skinny. The difference between the two is oppurtunity. They were drafted by very different teams. One was loaded with good guards the other wasn't.

 

[Knicks411]

I honestly can't think of a single guy who stayed in school and improved his prospects. I can easily rattle off a few names who did the opposite.

what is he going to get better at by staying at syracuse? Zone defense?

Winning games for SU fans. Can't forget that one.

Tyler, to me, just doesn't have the profile of a guy who is going to go near the top of the draft. He's short, he doesn't have a ton of tools, to steal a term from baseball. He's a really steady player. That's great, it helped us win a lot of games, and the difference in PG play is the biggest difference between last years team and this years, but like you said, there is every chance he comes back and the scouts get another look at him and his flaws become more magnified. It's not as linear as "come back, get better/improve your draft stock" (which, btw, aren't exactly the same thing)