Syracuse basketball recruiting target Tyus Battle is still considering Orange ...

CBB 13/14 North Carolina Tar Heels vs #2 Syracuse Orange 01/11/14 (Full Game)

Syracuse, N.Y. Tyus Battle, a point guard in the Class of 2016 long coveted by the Syracuse basketball program, has not eliminated the Orange from his recruiting list, his father said today.

NCAA sanctions, announced last Friday, trimmed a total of 12 men"s basketball scholarships over four seasons starting in 2016-17, suspended head coach Jim Boeheim through nine ACC games next year and put the men"s basketball and football programs on probation for five years.

"At this point, now that I understand it better, as long as they have a scholarship for Tyus, as long as they can field a strong team that can compete for a national championship, I"m OK with it," Gary Battle said in a telephone conversation.

Battle said he has not spoken with Orange coaches who are recruiting his son since news of the NCAA sanctions broke. He has had previous conversations with SU coaches about potential punishments.

Whether or not Syracuse will have a scholarship to offer Battle, one of the nation"s most sought-after players in the Class of 2016, remains a mystery at this point. SU coaches have told Matthew Moyer, a 2016 forward who has verbally committed to the Orange, that a scholarship will be available for him. How the math of it all shakes out in the future depends on movement on SU"s current roster. Will players leave either this season or next season? Right now, that"s impossible to predict.

Battle, a 6-foot-5 guard who can play point guard or shooting guard, is currently recovering from a foot injury that has nagged him in his junior season at Gill St. Bernard"s School in Gladstone, N.J. He first injured the foot playing with USA Basketball last summer. His dad said Tyus aggravated the injury over the course of his high school season and is now wearing a protective boot to allow it to fully heal. The boot is scheduled to come off later this month.

Tyus Battle recently narrowed his list of potential college destinations to Connecticut, Duke, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Syracuse.

Gary Battle said the family likes Syracuse University, its communications program, its proximity to their New Jersey home and Orange coaches" willingness to develop bigger point guards like Tyus.

"I told Tyus what was going on, he read a few articles," Gary Battle said. "He said, "If there"s just 10 guys on scholarship, there"s more playing time for me.""

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2015/03/syracuse_basketball_recruiting_target_tyus_battle_is_still_considering_orange_de.html