Tyler Ennis learning from the sidelines early in his rookie NBA season

TORONTO – Sitting on the sidelines in a sport jacket, dress pants and sneakers likely isn’t the way Tyler Ennis once envisioned his homecoming.

A year ago, the Brampton, Ont., native was the star point guard at Syracuse University, but now he’s facing the reality of life as a rookie in the NBA, on a Phoenix Suns team with a talented – and crowded – backcourt.

Ennis’s first trip to Toronto for a game against his hometown Raptors was also the 13th time he’s been inactive for the Suns this season.

He’s played in just two games for a total of 18 minutes and has scored one basket.

The 20-year-old admits he’s not in the best situation when it comes to playing time; however he sees positives in his pro experience thus far, especially in what he’s been able to learn from a group of guards that includes Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas.

“They’re three of the best guards in the league so every day, whether that’s games or practices, I see them go against each other and just watch the things that make them successful,” Ennis, said prior to a 104-100 Suns loss Monday night. “That’s good for me, I’ve learned a lot from them even in the short season we’ve had.”

He also feels he benefited from a brief stint in the D-League with the Bakersfield Jam where he averaged 22 points and 7.5 assists in two games.

“A lot of people look at it as a bad thing, like the D-League is something horrible, but it’s not like we’re stuck down there for the year,” he said. “They let us [T.J. Warren was also sent to Bakersfield] know they want to see us play and see us stay in shape and we thought it was a good thing as far as us going down and playing well and I think I was able to show that I should be at this level.”

Ennis isn’t the first Canadian point guard who’s had to bide his time in the NBA. As Michael Grange pointed out in a piece for Sportsnet.ca, Steve Nash was selected 15th overall by the Suns – Ennis was picked 18th overall in 2014 – 18 years ago and the British Columbia product had to fight for minutes behind Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd in his rookie season.

A more recent Canadian example would be San Antonio Spurs point guard Cory Joseph, who only now, in his fourth NBA season, is beginning to see more consistent playing time behind Tony Parker.

For now, Ennis is trying not to focus too much on his in-game reps and rather put his attention towards the things he can control: taking care of his body and making sure he’s prepared should his name get called at any point this season.

“We just keep telling him to keep working,” Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said Monday. “He knows he’s in a tough position, we’ve talked about it with him but he can either do one of two things: he can either whine about it and not try and get better or he can look at the positive side and say ‘look I’ve got three great players in front of me who I can learn from everyday in practice, from watching games, from watching tape and when my time comes I’ll be ready and I’ll have that advantage’ and I think that’s what he’s done.

“He’s got a great sense of the game. He’s one guy on our team that when we’re practicing I don’t have to call out a play for them to run because he just calls it. He’s going to be great it’s only a matter of time.”