What to expect from KU basketball’s newest player, Tristan Enaruna
Tristan Enaruna, a 6-foot-9 senior guard/forward and Rivals’ 44th-ranked player in the class of 2019, committed to the Kansas men’s basketball team on Tuesday night.
Here’s a Q-and-A with Rivals national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi on KU’s newest basketball pledge.
Q: For those people who haven’t seen him, how would you describe Tristan’s game?
A: He’s got a game that’s a skill-based game: Thinks the game at a pretty high level, passes well, handles the ball pretty well for a guy with his size. Has a good-looking shot, and he’s a pretty athletic kid to go along with that. Now, he’s not a finished product by any means and is still a little bit raw — maybe a little bit green in terms of experience. But once it all comes together and he finishes maturing physically, he’s got a pretty high upside to him.
Q: What would you say is his greatest strength as a player?
A: In the college game, it’s about versatility and guys who can play multiple positions. I think he should be able to do that some. I like him best, on the college level, probably as like a face-up 4 man type, but he can play the wing and is comfortable out there. He gives you some flexibility to play big or play a little bit smaller with him as a frontcourt or backcourt player.
Q: In the latest Rivals ranking update this week, Enaruna was the biggest positive mover, jumping from 105th to 44th. What led to that?
A: A lot of it was getting to see more of him, because he was still pretty new to the States this time last year. Not many people had gotten to see a lot of him. Seeing how much more athletic he’s gotten and seeing how he’s grown — he’s pushing 6-9. I think the guys at Wasatch claim he’s 6-foot-10; I don’t know if he’s quite that big. But he’s a big kid with skill and athleticism. They tend to make a big move in the rankings.
Q: What are some things he needs to work on?
A: Strength is going to be a big deal for him. And just consistently playing to his talent level and pushing himself. It’s not a case where he doesn’t play hard or anything like that, but confidence and experience mean a lot for a young player like him, continuing to adjust to the American game. But that’s the great thing about being able to bring guys on campus before the year starts now is you can help get a head start with that stuff.
Q: How is he as a shooter?
A: I think he’s a good shooter, not a great shooter. But the key is, he’s got pretty good mechanics I think and does a good job of setting up. It’s just going to be a matter of repetition for him and getting in the gym and getting the reps up to become a consistent shooter.
Q: It seems like he might have a different sort of skillset compared to recent KU players. Would you say he’s unique in that regard?
A: I don’t know if it’s necessarily that he’s unique to someone who comes to Kansas, but I would say if you’re looking at recent Kansas teams — the past 6-7 years or whatever — there’s not a guy that jumps out like, ‘Oh yeah, he reminds me of him.’
Q: What do you think of his fit at KU and with coach Bill Self and his staff?
A: I think he should be a good fit. I think they were looking for a skilled frontcourt player who could come in and hopefully be able to play some pretty big minutes early, which I think he’s certainly got the capability to do. Especially this time of year, with not many things left, and he’s a guy they targeted very heavily in the winter, getting him done was really important, because if he’d gone to Creighton or Miami, that would have left Kansas in a pretty rough situation with trying to figure out a replacement for him.
