Tyus Battle Returning to Syracuse for his Junior Season
By Ally Heath
Tyus Battle will play the 2018-19 season in orange. The 6-foot-7 guard withdrew his name from the 2018 NBA Draft just hours before the 11:59 p.m. deadline; he originally declared in April without an agent. The news was first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein Wednesday afternoon.
Battle confirmed his return late Wednesday in a statement posted on Twitter and Instagram, citing a desire to improve his basketball skills and to continue pursing his degree before re-entering the draft next year.
Statement from @tyusbattle1 on returning to Syracuse for his junior year. pic.twitter.com/yoB4nA5gA3
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) May 31, 2018
Battle participated in the NBA Combine earlier this month and worked out for five teams, but mock drafts projected him as a late-second pick due to poor scoring performances at the Combine. He athleticism, however, did impress scouts and executives as Battle ranked among the top of all participants in drills testing quickness.
In his sophomore campaign, Battle averaged a team-high 19.2 points per game and eclipsed the 1,000-career-point mark; he became just the fifth player in SU history to do so that early in his career.
Battle’s return also confirms that the full starting lineup from last season’s Sweet 16-run will be back in Syracuse for the 2018-19 season. With the additions of 4-Star Recruit Jalen Carey and Sophomore-Transfer Elijah Hughes to the mix, the Orange looks to alleviate some of the depth issues that it faced last season.
Several members of the Syracuse Basketball team tweeted out their support after Battle’s announcement.
Let’s do something special Ty 🙏🏾🤐 @tyusbattle1 pic.twitter.com/hg4W21MRCO
— Oshae Brissett (@Obrissy) May 30, 2018
@tyusbattle1 let’s hoop👀 pic.twitter.com/j0yhbyA6rX
— 🚳 (@Frank1Howard) May 30, 2018
Let’s do it thennnnnn @tyusbattle1 pic.twitter.com/ecencTKl4E
— 〽️Howard Jr〽️ (@hwashington324) May 30, 2018
yurrrrrrrrrrrr @tyusbattle1 let’s go pic.twitter.com/xdb63TzFYg
— Eli (@elijahhughes4_) May 30, 2018
