Canadian Tyler Ennis will enter his name in 2014 NBA draft

Canadian guard Tyler Ennis will enter his name in the 2014 NBA draft, announcing his decision less than a week after his rookie season at Syracuse came to an end.

"I'd like to thank coach (Jim) Boeheim, the coaching staff, my teammates and the amazing fans of Syracuse for the opportunity to play at a great university like Syracuse," Ennis said in a release posted on the Syracuse website Thursday. "I feel this experience has helped prepare me to fullfil my lifelong dream — to play in the NBA."

The 19-year-old from Brampton, Ont., started all 34 games for the Orange and averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.1 steals. He also averaged 35.7 minutes per game, the second-highest on the team.

Syracuse opened March Madness with an easy 77-53 victory over Western Michigan last week in Buffalo. They were eliminated from the tournament Saturday in a 55-53 loss to Dayton.

Ennis earned spots on both the all-ACC defensive and freshmen teams.

He is one of six finalists for the 2014 Wayman Tisdale freshman of the year award and the Bob Cousy award that goes to the NCAA's top point guard.

He's one of 15 players on the final ballot for the Wooden Award as the NCAA's top player along with fellow Canadians Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) and Nik Stauskas (Michigan). He's also one of 15 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, which goes to the top NCAA player as voted on by the United States Basketball Writers Association.