Tyler Ennis could only smirk. He had heard the question before and will likely hear it again.

“You comfortable shooting the 3?” a reporter asked bluntly.

“Yeah,” Ennis responded.

Ennis, who came into the game 0-of-3 from downtown, nailed 4-of-6 3-pointers to finish with 12 points. The freshman point guard flaunted a silky smooth jumper SU fans hadn’t seen, as No. 9 Syracuse (3-0) beat Colgate (0-2) 69-50 in front of 25,519 at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.

He quelled any doubt of whether he could shoot from deep.

“I wouldn’t blame you guys for thinking that,” Ennis later said. “I don’t shoot a lot.”

All four of his 3s came in a 6:30 span. He sparked a 19-8 run by draining four shots from downtown, turning a surprisingly close game into a lopsided contest.

Against Cornell and Fordham, Ennis said the defense was playing him to drive. So that’s what he did. On Saturday, Colgate played him to shoot, which proved to be a costly mistake.

Colgate’s zone left Ennis open. His teammates caught the ball in the high post and fed him outside. The Raiders filled in on C.J. Fair and Trevor Cooney, which left Ennis wide open.

His first 3 came off a pass from Jerami Grant, and it barely grazed the net. The next one swished through as well and bumped the lead to 13.

“If teams play me for the 3,” Ennis said, “that’s definitely something I’ll take.”

Ennis finished with no assists. He didn’t really need to find his teammates. He shot just 28.6 percent from the field and racked up six assists per game to start the season, deferring to other shooters.

But on Saturday, Ennis looked to shoot. In 21 minutes, Ennis attempted nine shots, including six from beyond the arc.

He showed off the only element of his game around which there was still a bit of uncertainty. It was a side of Ennis that Syracuse fans hadn’t seen.

The sharpshooter.

“Other games he was looking for everybody else,” Syracuse center Baye Moussa Keita said, “and today he was looking to make shots.”

It wasn’t that Ennis’ shots were ill advised. In fact, all but two were uncontested. In the first two games, though, he deferred to Fair and Cooney. Ennis only shot the ball 14 times from the field before Saturday.

But on an afternoon where Cooney shot just 2-of-9 and Syracuse finished 36.8 percent from the field, Ennis was the main consistent presence besides Fair.

Grant said Ennis doesn’t shoot unless he’s open. Against Colgate he was open, so he shot. His ability to knock down 3s opened up lanes and jumpers for his teammates.

Syracuse had shot just 2-of-9 from 3-point range before Ennis’ first shot ended the dry spell.

Michael Gbinije said Ennis drains 3s regularly. It’s nothing new.

“I’m usually guarding him,” Gbinije said, “so I don’t really give him that many shot attempts, but whenever he’s open he does hit them.”

Gbinije said the talent around Ennis makes the point guard’s job much easier. Ennis spent much of his time on the floor with Cooney, Fair,

Grant and Keita. Having three reliable shooters gave Ennis openings.

Many Syracuse players can beat you from downtown. Today, Gbinije said, it was Ennis’ turn.

“You can’t guard everybody,” Gbinije said, “so sometimes you have to leave certain people open.”

Saturday was a glimpse into the future. It was a glimpse at the Ennis who torched Canadian competition and confidently breezed through AAU competition. It was a glimpse of who he usually isn’t, but has the potential and talent to be on occasion.

When he needs to shoot from 3, Ennis can shoot from 3.

“He can make that shot,” Keita said. “Today he just proved it to everybody.”

Published on November 16, 2013 at 10:25 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass