Tyus Battle Still Considering Syracuse; All Four 2015 Pledges Still Committed

Tyus Battle is still considering Syracuse among his seven school despite the massive sanctions handed down by the NCAA.

Those sanctions include the loss of 12 scholarships across four years.

Gary Battle, the player’s father, told SNY.tv on Saturday, “As long as there is a scholarship for Tyus we feel blessed and it is business as usual.”

The elder Battle amplified those comments to Syracuse.com.

“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 told the paper.

The 6-foot-6, five-star combo guard out of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard’s, recently cut his list to Louisville, UConn, Michigan, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Duke.

Surprisingly, Kentucky was cut from the list, along with Florida, Villanova and Virginia.

Gary said they are working on two official visits to Duke and Louisville.

The younger battle missed Gill St. Bernard’s final game in the New Jersey state tournament after re-aggravating a previous foot injury. His father told Syracuse.com he is now in a walking boot.

“I told Tyus what was going on, he read a few articles,” Gary Battle said of the Syracuse situation. “He said, ‘If there’s just 10 guys on scholarship, there’s more playing time for me.'”

**For more on Tyus Battle, watch our SNY.tv documentary “The Battle Plan” here.

 

ALL FOUR SYRACUSE 2015 PLEDGES STILL COMMITTED

Meantime, Syracuse.com reached out to all four members of the school’s 2015 recruiting class and all four plan on maintaining their commitments.

 

Malachi Richardson, No. 31 in Rivals150: “Nothing has changed,” Richardson’s mother, Jacqui said via text. “Malachi is still committed to Syracuse.”

Tyler Lydon, No. 66 in Rivals150: “In our opinion,” Lydon’s parents said, “we don’t think he’s going to leave. He’s never expressed anything even remotely to us that he would think about it.”

Moustapha Diagne, No. 69 in Rivals150: “This doesn’t affect anything,” Diagne’s Pope John XXII (New Jersey) coach, Jason Hasson said via text.

Franklin Howard, No. 82 in Rivals150: “Oh yes, for sure,” said Gloria Howard, Frank’s mom, told Syracuse.com. “We’re definitely still there. No changes.”