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Oregon Ducks: Dylan Ennis Coming to Eugene, Aims to Replace Joseph Young

By Chris Godfrey

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The Villanova Wildcats were one of the most dominant teams in college basketball during this past season, capturing the Big East regular season and tournament championships en route to a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. One of the primary reasons for the Wildcats’ success was Dylan Ennis, the hard-nosed guard that started every game of the season for Jay Wright‘s club.

Despite his importance to the team, and the possibility that Villanova could be in line for another very successful season, Ennis has decided that he will leave the program after finishing his degree. Instead of continuing his legacy at Nova, Ennis will be the new point guard at Oregon for a lone season.

Ennis decided on Oregon after a long recruitment process that at one point saw him being courted as a point guard option for Duke. Eventually, Ennis veered away from that path, ultimately choosing Oregon over Butler and Illinois.

Ennis’ decision to leave Philly for the Pacific Northwest clearly reveals that he believes he is ready to be the number one option next year. Despite a hot start to last season, Ennis ended the season averaging less than 10 points per game (9.9). The number isn’t an accurate depiction of his talent level as a scorer, rather it’s indicative of Villanova’s balanced attack. Even Darun Hilliard, the team’s most decorated player from last season, only averaged 14.3 points. He often deferred to Ennis, point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, and JayVaughn Pinkston.

At Oregon, no such parity existed last year. There was a clear cut number one option night-in and night-out, and his name was Joseph Young. The electric Young dropped over 20 points per game last season, but has since moved on after exhausting his eligibility. His departure essentially leaves the opportunity for Ennis to assume the role of go-to guy.

It may seem like a stretch for Ennis to make a jump in production that would rival Young’s Pac-12 Player of the Year level of output, but Ennis has shown flashes of being a dynamic scorer. Ennis scored 15 or more points on 13 different occasions last season with a season high of 19 against Creighton. Yes, Ennis didn’t score as many points as Young averaged in any game last year, but that doesn’t mean he’s incapable. Maybe that perceived incapability was what motivated his decision.

One reason why Ennis’ scoring potential may have been stymied was a lack of time spent with the ball in his hands. While Ennis was at Villanova, the point guard duties were almost exclusively handled by Arcidiacono, thus limiting opportunities for Ennis to be ball dominant.

Regardless of Ennis’ reasoning behind the move, his decision has been made, and the Ducks have heightened aspirations based on his arrival. Ennis will run the point and play alongside Tyler Dorsey, the nation’s #38 incoming freshman. Also, the bulk of Oregon’s supporting cast returns as well, hoping to rally around Ennis as they did with Young. Most notably, that cast of characters will include Elgin Cook, a player who could also make a leap in terms of production after averaging 13 points per game last year.

The breakdown of next season’s roster is fairly straightforward. Ennis and Dorsey replace Young and three-point sniper Jalil Abdul-Bassit in the backcourt while the rest of the team returns. The Ducks will also welcome two more additional four-star recruits along with Dorsey (point guard and ESPN #90 overall Kendall Small, as well as power forward Trevor Manuel). The quartet of additions should have the Ducks believing that they can contend in a wide open Pac-12 next year, especially after finishing as a runner-up to Arizona in both the regular season and conference tournament last season.

While it remains to be seen if Ennis takes the next step as a scorer, Oregon head coach Dana Altman will surely be counting on Ennis to team with Cook to provide veteran leadership on a team that is quietly loaded out on the West Coast.

Next: NBA Mock Draft 1.0: Early Entrant Deadline

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