PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns have signed 2014 first-round draft picks T.J. Warren (14th overall selection) and Tyler Ennis (18th overall), the team announced today.
Both Warren and Ennis made their Suns’ debuts as members of Phoenix’s entry at NBA Summer League 2014 in Las Vegas. Warren was named to the All-NBA Summer League Second Team after averaging a team-high 17.8 points on 54.4 percent shooting, while Ennis posted team-highs of 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals in addition to 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Warren, a 6-foot-8 forward from Durham, N.C., earned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year honors this past season to complete a two-year career at North Carolina State. In his sophomore season, Warren ranked third in the nation with 24.9 points per game while also averaging 7.1 rebounds and shooting an ACC-best 52.5 percent from the field. Named a Second Team AP All-American, Warren also excelled on the defensive end, leading the ACC in steals in conference games.
One of the best scorers in this year’s draft, Warren is a creative shot-maker who can get points in a variety of ways. Warren set a single-season North Carolina State record with 871 points this past season, including a career-high 42 points against Boston College. Warren became just the third player in ACC history to lead the conference in scoring and field goal percentage in the same season, in addition to posting back-to-back games with 40-plus points to join Hall of Famer David Thompson as the only two players to do so in Wolfpack history.
A 6-foot-3, 19-year-old from Brampton, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, Ennis is considered to be one of the best pure point guards in recent drafts. Ennis played one season at Syracuse, earning All-ACC Second Team honors after averaging 12.9 points and 5.5 assists in 2013-14. Ennis has also shined in international competition, leading Canada with a tournament-high 20.8 points per game at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.
One of the most clutch players in college basketball as a freshman, Ennis earned a reputation for his late-game heroics, including a buzzer-beater from near half-court in Syracuse’s win at Pittsburgh. Ennis’ poise was also on display with his superb decision-making as he ranked sixth in the nation with a 3.60 assist-to-turnover ratio.