Good luck and best wishes to Tyler Ennis, who will leave Syracuse University to embark on a professional basketball career.
Years from now, when Orange fans think of Ennis, they'll probably recall his thrilling 3-pointer that defeated Pittsburgh as time expired on Feb. 12.
Or his outstanding freshman season, in which he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in both assists and steals, while averaging 12.7 points per game.
Or, perhaps, his overall mature and measured court presence, which served as the foundation for the team's outstanding season.
It's too bad SU fans had just this one chance to watch Ennis play. But that's the way it is in college basketball, with so many of its young talents departing college after one year. Indeed, Ennis is one of six underclassman who so far have officially announced their availability for the NBA Draft. By ESPN's estimate, 10 more are likely candidates to leave college and another couple dozen were possible, but unlikely, to declare themselves eligible.
Those departures would have disturbed college fans a generation ago. Today, it's understood that the romance of college sports has faded against the reality of big contracts, which make the decision to turn pro strictly a data-driven business call.
And the call for Ennis was easy: Turn pro.
We thank him for making his year in the Carrier Dome so exciting and wish him well wherever he plays next. We hope he pursues a college degree at some point, if only to send a valuable message to impressionable young fans who themselves dream of making it big in the NBA but stand no chance.
And SU fans? Well, they'll do what they've become accustomed to doing. They'll turn their attention to the next young job applicant in an Orange jersey, someone who will step onto the court for their own season-long interview.
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