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Dylan Ennis graduating, transferring from Villanova

04/02/2015, 11:30am EDT

By Josh Verlin

Dylan Ennis (above) announced he will graduate and transfer from Villanova after two seasons as a Wildcat. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Villanova's projected logjam in the backcourt next year got a little less congested on Thursday, with the announcement that senior guard Dylan Ennis will graduate and play his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

Ennis, a 6-foot-2 guard from Canada, came to Villanova in the summer of 2012 after playing his freshman season at Rice. After sitting out the 2012-13 season, he played the following two years at 'Nova, averaging 7.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 2.7 apg in 66 games in a Wildcats uniform.

With Ryan Arcidiacono, a fellow senior, entrenched as a starting point guard, with sophomore Phil Booth and incoming freshman Jalen Brunson all likely to see minutes at the position, Ennis felt that his best opportunity to be on the ball was elsewhere; he will graduate with a degree in Communications and be eligible to play immediately.

“Dylan is interested in finding a program that will allow him to play the role of a traditional point guard so he can be the primary ball-handler,” head coach Jay Wright said in a statement. “We support Dylan and thank him for all of his efforts as a student and athlete at Villanova.”

As a redshirt junior this past season, Ennis started all 36 games, averaging 9.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 3.5 apg, helping 'Nova go 33-3 and capture both Big East regular-season and tournament titles; the Wildcats were then ousted in the third round of the NCAA Tournament by N.C. State. Where the Wildcats will really miss him is on the defensive end, where the athletic, muscular guard was often matched up against the opponents' best perimeter scorer.

His departure means Wright will have a little more than 82 minutes to replace next year, along with the graduations of seniors and fellow starters Darrun Hilliard (14.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and JayVaughn Pinkston (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), but the 14th-year head coach has plenty of talented players on the roster with which to do so.

Brunson, a McDonald's All-American, is considered the best pure point guard prospect in the entire 2015 class, and could certainly be good enough to earn a starting spot right away. It also could mean bigger minutes for another incoming freshman, Salesianum's Donte Divincenzo, though the 6-4 scorer will likely see more minutes at the off-guard position rather than on the ball right away.

Booth, a 6-2 rising sophomore, had a very impressive freshman campaign, contributing 5.8 ppg in not quite 15 minutes per contest, shooting 48 percent on his 3-point attempts.

Also almost certain to slide into the starting lineup will be defending Big East Sixth Man of the Year and Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player Josh Hart, a 6-5 rising junior wing who averaged 10.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 25.5 minutes per game off the bench.

Ennis is the second player to announce he'll be graduating and transferring from a City 6 school this week, joining Drexel's Damion Lee, who will be leaving Drexel as the eighth-leading scorer in school history with one season of eligibility remaining.