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.
“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
