{"id":334,"date":"2013-07-02T15:24:12","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/sports\/lbsu-s-james-ennis-to-suit-up-for-world-champion-miami-heat\/"},"modified":"2013-07-02T15:24:12","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:24:12","slug":"lbsu-s-james-ennis-to-suit-up-for-world-champion-miami-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/sports\/lbsu-s-james-ennis-to-suit-up-for-world-champion-miami-heat","title":{"rendered":"LBSU’s James Ennis to Suit Up for World Champion Miami Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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James Ennis became the first Long Beach State basketball player taken in the National Basketball Association\u2019s annual draft in 15 years when he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in this year\u2019s 2nd round.<\/p>\n

Ennis was selected with the 50th overall pick by Atlanta and later traded to the recently crowned champions of the league, Miami Heat. The defending Big West Player of the Year will take his talents to South Beach and team up with NBA superstars Lebron James and Dwyane Wade as the Heat seek a third consecutive championship.<\/p>\n

Miami traded away a future second-round pick in order to secure the draft rights of Ennis, whom insiders say they hope can be a contributor off the bench. On the team\u2019s NBA.com page<\/a>, team president Pat Riley spoke how excited the team was to land his services.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were happy to get into the draft,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWe feel that James Ennis, with his size and athleticism, has a huge upside and someone we hope can develop into a high-quality NBA player.\u201d<\/p>\n

{loadposition latestnews}Ennis came to LBSU after two one-year stints at Oxnard and Ventura colleges and led the 49ers in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) last season in route to helping the team secure its third straight Big West Conference regular-season title.<\/p>\n

Ennis was also named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award which is given annually to the country\u2019s top mid-major player.<\/p>\n

By being drafted, Ennis became the 26th basketball player in the history of the school to be selected by the professional organization and the first since Andrew Betts was taken in the second round by the then-Charlotte Hornets franchise.<\/p>\n

Forty-niner Head Coach Dan Monson spoke of the opportunity awaiting Ennis in a post from the school\u2019s athletic site.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great honor for James,\u201d Monson said. \u201cAll of the hard work and sacrifices he made for us have paid off and his chance is well deserved. I\u2019m thrilled for him personally and it\u2019s tremendous for our program and the university.\u201d<\/p>\n

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