KU basketball lands top-50 recruit: Tristan Enaruna from Netherlands
Tristan Enaruna, a 6-foot-10 senior guard/forward out of Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, has decided to play college basketball at Kansas.
Enaruna on Tuesday announced for KU over Creighton and Miami in a post on Twitter.
“I’m blessed to announce my commitment to one of the most prestigious programs in the country! I’m super excited to join this great community and see what and where this journey will bring me. I’m ready. Rock Chalk,” Enaruna posted.
Enaruna, who is originally from Almere, Netherlands — he arrived in the U.S. midway through his junior year of high school — is ranked No. 44 in the recruiting Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, No. 53 by 247sports.com and No. 97 by ESPN.com.
The versatile player, who emerged as an elite prospect at a Basketball Without Borders event in mid-February in Charlotte, North Carolina, remains somewhat of a mystery, considering he’s listed as 6-foot-10 on his high school roster, 6-9 by 247sports.com, 6-8 by ESPN.com and 6-7 by Rivals.com.
Enaruna’s high school coach, David Evans, confirmed to The Star that Enaruna is a 6-10 guard capable of playing all five positions on the court.
“Tristan Enaruna is a walking bucket from anywhere on the hardwood. As an uber-versatile wing, his work rate on both ends of the floor is second to none,” reads his profile on Wasatch Academy’s official website.
“With a wingspan of 7-foot and a sizable weight of 198 pounds to go with his 6-10 frame, he is one of very few players in high school who can legitimately guard all five positions for extended stretches.”
Enaruna — he averaged 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game his senior season at Wasatch Academy — was considered one of the top international players at the Basketball Without Borders event.
“The light has been flickering for Enaruna as a prospect throughout his senior season at Wasatch Academy. It went from flickering to ‘on’ at Basketball Without Borders,” writes Evan Daniels and Josh Gershon of 247sports.com. “Enaruna has always had the physical tools, possessing fine length and good athleticism, but his game and confidence are advancing. At Basketball Without Borders, Enaruna played with purpose, knocked down long-range shots with ease and showed an impressive feel and IQ for the game. Enaruna has the versatility to play as a wing or a face-up 4-man in college. Oozing with potential, Enaruna’s best days are ahead of him and with added strength he’ll evaluate further as a prospect.”
Enaruna on April 15 cut his list of schools to KU, Creighton and Miami. He heard from Duke and Kentucky the past year as well as Texas, Texas Tech, Georgia Tech, Illinois and others.
“I’m looking for a place that gives me an opportunity to grow as a player, get a lot bigger — somewhere I can play right away, somewhere I can trust people that recruited me so that when I go somewhere I won’t be doing stuff we’ve never talked about or sit the bench the whole game. I think that’s the most important thing,” Enaruna told Draftexpress.com in an interview conducted during the Basketball Without Borders event.
Enaruna fits the profile of a modern big man — somebody who can play both on the perimeter and in the paint.
“Today’s game is about skill and versatility and Enaruna has proven to have both,” writes Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. “He can play as a big wing or you can play him as a face-up 4-man in a smaller lineup. He didn’t come to the United States from the Netherlands until mid-year last season and added exposure has helped his cause quite a bit.”
If Enaruna keeps progressing, he projects to play professionally some day.
The Netherlands has produced six NBA players — big men Dan Gadzuric, Francisco Elson, Rik Smits, Geert Hammink and Swen Nater, plus guard Hank Beenders.
“I think I fit in because today the NBA is basically positionless,” Enaruna, whose dad was born in Nigeria and mom in Netherlands, told Draftexpress.com. “Bigs right now can drive and shoot and have got to be able to guard more than one position. I think I’ll fit in that situation pretty well. For me, it’s really important if I’m looking at the NBA to work on my body a lot. I’ve got to get stronger, get some weight on. I think that will be good.”
Roel van de Graaf, the youth director of BC Apollo Amsterdam, told the Omaha World-Herald that his former pupil has the work ethic to take him far in the game.
“Basketball is one of the toughest sports in the world to teach, with so many aspects, so many technical skills,” van de Graaf told the World-Herald. “Tristan is a very quick learner. He has a great understanding of the game — together with a passion that you don’t see a lot.”
“This year, he just turned a corner,” his high school coach, Evans, told the World-Herald. “And, I mean, lately in open gym? He’s been killing it. He gets better every day.”
Enaruna’s brother, by the way, is Iyen Enaruna, a 6-9 freshman forward at Cloud County Community College in Kansas. Iyen Enaruna averaged 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds his freshman season. He started nine games and averaged 19 minutes a game.
Enaruna’s coach said Tristan is planning on signing his letter-of-intent Wednesday and then faxing the letter to KU.
KU, which also has signed guards Christian Braun and Issac McBride, has several scholarships to award in the spring signing period, which will last until May 15.
Scholarship players who at this time are expected to be on the 2019-20 roster: Udoka Azubuike, Marcus Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and Mitch Lightfoot. Freshman point guard Devon Dotson is testing the NBA waters, but there is a strong possibility he will return to school.
Freshman Quentin Grimes and junior Dedric Lawson are expected to remain in the NBA Draft. Sophomore Silvio De Sousa has said he will pull his name out of the draft pool if he wins an eligibility appeal with the NCAA. Teams are allowed to have 13 players on scholarship.
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 8:08 PM with the headline "KU basketball lands top-50 recruit: Tristan Enaruna from Netherlands."
