March Madness has arrived and Brampton native Brandon Ennis could not be more proud of his brothers Tyler and Dylan Ennis who are currently in the NCAA tournament.
Brandon is the eldest brother of six children. He graduated with a Bachelors degree in Mass Media Television production at the University of District of Colombia.
Brandon, his brothers and sisters grew up living and breathing basketball.
Dylan Ennis, 22, the second eldest child, plays for the Villanova Wildcats. The 6-foot-2 guard transferred to Villanova from Rice University in 2012.
Brandon says his brother was always hard on himself because of his height. When Dylan entered Wing Academy prep school in Bronx, New York, he was short compared to most players.
“He would always be hard on himself because of his height. He thought he was always going to be short,” Brandon says.
He says his brother suffered from small man syndrome because he would always work on the gym getting bigger until finally he had a growth spurt.
“I went to visit him my freshman year and he was 5-foot-10. I was like Whoa… when did you get that tall,” Brandon says.
Tyler Ennis, 19, the third child of the Ennis family, plays for the Syracuse Orange.
Sitting at 6-foot-2, the freshman shot up out of nowhere, Brandon says.
Photographer Andrew Parks who has been following Tyler since he played for the CIA Bounce says his maturity and growth as a player has been incredible.
Brandon has always told his brothers to stay positive and be level-headed.
“My mom stressed that she wants us to stay close,” he says.
Brandon says his family talk to each other everyday before and after games.
Syracuse and Villanova went head to head on Dec. 28.
“My mom was cheering for both teams. My dad and I were both quiet. A lot of people would ask us who do you think was going to win but, I never really answered their questions,” Brandon says.
The family plans to go to Buffalo down on Wednesday when Syracuse plays its first game against the Western Michigan Broncos.
Family members are not the only ones supporting the two brothers during their NCAA journey.
Ante Cosic, 23, a close family friend, says he couldn’t be more proud of what they have accomplished. “I look up to them and I get a lot of motivation from them two,” Cosic says.