Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Battle Enjoys Michigan Visit; Villanova, Louisville, Kentucky Up Next
Tyus Battle, the multi-dimensional 2016 guard out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s, enjoyed his weekend visit to Michigan and has a busy couple of weeks ahead.
The 6-foot-6 Battle will visit Villanova on Tuesday and then head to Kentucky on June 17. He may also stop in at Louisville on the way to Kentucky, his father told SNY.tv.
“We’re trying to really focus on Kentucky right now,” Gary Battle told SNY.tv by phone. “That’s always been something we had planned to do and Cal had expressed some high interest in the kid and he’s always wanted to go and check it out.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari made headlines Monday when Yahoo! Sports reported that he seriously considered becoming president and coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers before recently signing a $52-million extension through 2021 at Kentucky.
The Cavs feature a New Jersey native at point guard in Kyrie Irving and also own the No. 1 pick in the June 26 NBA Draft.
Calipari has had great success with New Jersey natives, including Dajuan Wagner at Memphis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dakari Johnson at Kentucky.
Louisville is also in the mix because new assistant coach Kenny Johnson has a relationship with the Battles from his time at Indiana.
“I’m thinking about trying to stop in on the way through to Kentucky,” Gary said. “I can’t confirm that at this point. We have a pretty good relationship with coach Kenny Johnson from Louisville. He recruited Tyus at Indiana and was probably one of the first to high-major offers Tyus had.
“We probably will stop by but I don’t know how we’re going to logistically be able to do that.”
Battle, who is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2016 by Scout.com and No. 19 by ESPN.com, was at Michigan’s Camp this weekend and enjoyed it.
“Michigan was awesome, we had a great time,” Gary said. “Tyus really enjoyed the visit. The coaching staff is very thorough. We really enjoyed their presentation and the campus and the way they would use Tyus. Obviously, academically Michigan is something we like a lot.”
Next up, Battle will visit Villanova on Tuesday.
“Tyus will be there with his mom,” Gary said. “We like Villanova and what they have to offer. We haven’t really been on campus much, so we’re looking forward to the visit.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Tyus Battle, the multi-dimensional 2016 guard out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s, enjoyed his weekend visit to Michigan and has a busy couple of weeks ahead.
The 6-foot-6 Battle will visit Villanova on Tuesday and then head to Kentucky on June 17. He may also stop in at Louisville on the way to Kentucky, his father told SNY.tv.
“We’re trying to really focus on Kentucky right now,” Gary Battle told SNY.tv by phone. “That’s always been something we had planned to do and Cal had expressed some high interest in the kid and he’s always wanted to go and check it out.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari made headlines Monday when Yahoo! Sports reported that he seriously considered becoming president and coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers before recently signing a $52-million extension through 2021 at Kentucky.
The Cavs feature a New Jersey native at point guard in Kyrie Irving and also own the No. 1 pick in the June 26 NBA Draft.
Calipari has had great success with New Jersey natives, including Dajuan Wagner at Memphis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dakari Johnson at Kentucky.
Louisville is also in the mix because new assistant coach Kenny Johnson has a relationship with the Battles from his time at Indiana.
“I’m thinking about trying to stop in on the way through to Kentucky,” Gary said. “I can’t confirm that at this point. We have a pretty good relationship with coach Kenny Johnson from Louisville. He recruited Tyus at Indiana and was probably one of the first to high-major offers Tyus had.
“We probably will stop by but I don’t know how we’re going to logistically be able to do that.”
Battle, who is ranked No. 7 in the Class of 2016 by Scout.com and No. 19 by ESPN.com, was at Michigan’s Camp this weekend and enjoyed it.
“Michigan was awesome, we had a great time,” Gary said. “Tyus really enjoyed the visit. The coaching staff is very thorough. We really enjoyed their presentation and the campus and the way they would use Tyus. Obviously, academically Michigan is something we like a lot.”
Next up, Battle will visit Villanova on Tuesday.
“Tyus will be there with his mom,” Gary said. “We like Villanova and what they have to offer. We haven’t really been on campus much, so we’re looking forward to the visit.”
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