Tyus Akili Battle (born September 23, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for

Guangxi Rhinos The National Basketball League () is a professional basketball minor league in China, called the Chinese Basketball League (CBL) before 2006. It is commonly known as the NBL, and this name (spelled out in letters) is often used even in Chinese. ...

. He played college basketball for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

. He earned a gold medal with

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

at the

2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (Arabic: بطولة العالم لكرة السلة 2014 تحت 17 سنة ) was the 3rd edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship co ...

. A prospective target of many

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

recruiters, he committed to the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in May 2015, but reopened his recruitment and committed to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Early life

A native of

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a Township (New Jersey), township located in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central Jersey, Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan River, Raritan Valley r ...

,Waters, Mike
'Why Syracuse recruit Tyus Battle switched schools ... high schools, that is"

The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''Th ...

, November 13, 2015. Accessed February 2, 2017. "Battle lives in Edison, N.J., with his father, brother, sister and step-mother. His mother, Daniella Battle, lives nearby. Gill St. Bernards is located in Gladstone, N.J. It's about a 30-minute drive north into Somerset County." Battle first became a nationally ranked basketball player in sixth grade. He played for

Gill St. Bernard's School Gill St. Bernard's School is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school located along the Somerset-Morris county line between the Gladstone section of Peapack-Gladstone and Chester Township, in the U.S. state of New ...

Gladstone, New Jersey Gladstone is an unincorporated community located within Peapack-Gladstone in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07934.St. Joseph High School St. Joseph's School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, St Joseph's School, St Joseph's Catholic School, and variants are frequently used school names, and may refer to: Africa *St Joseph's School, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Asia * St. Joseph Higher Secon ...

Metuchen, New Jersey Metuchen ( ) is a suburban Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valle ...

, which was closer to home and allowed him to follow in the footsteps of former standouts of the school Jay Williams and

Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), nicknamed “KAT”, and “The Big Bodega”, is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college baske ...

. Battle earned high rankings among the national class of 2016. Although he endured a wrist injury during the season, Battle had averaged 22.5

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

, 6.3

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 3.6 assists and 2 steals per game as a 2013–14 sophomore. As a junior, Battle missed the first six weeks of the season with a foot injury after being named the

Somerset County, New Jersey Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 13th-most-populous county,Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

visited Battle on Halloween 2014. After receiving 24 scholarship offers, Battle narrowed his list of schools to 11 on November 3, 2014, via Twitter:

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Kentucky,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Villanova,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and Michigan. He narrowed his list of candidate schools to seven on February 23, 2015: Connecticut, Syracuse, Duke, Ohio State, Louisville, Michigan, and Notre Dame. Michigan head coach

John Beilein John Patrick Beilein ( ; born February 5, 1953) is an American professional basketball coach who currently serves as a college basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network. Before being hired by the Big Ten Network, Beilein served as the head coac ...

visited Battle in New Jersey in February 2015. Battle took official visits to Duke and Louisville in April 2015 before visiting Michigan and had planned to visit Syracuse in late May 2015. Syracuse coach

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange ...

had an in-home visit with Battle. Battle had also visited a Michigan camp during the summer of 2014. At the time of his May 11, 2015 verbal commitment, he ranked 14 as a 5-star member of the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

60 for the class of 2016. He was also ranked no. 14 by Rivals.com, no. 10 by Scout.com, and no. 12 by

247Sports.com 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite bei ...

. He was the no. 4 shooting guard in the class according to 247Sports. Battle had taken his official visit at Michigan on May 7. At the time of his signing, Michigan had the top 2016 recruiting class with Battle and a pair of

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

s (

Jon Teske Jon Teske (born May 4, 1997) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, Michigan Wolverines. He was part of the 2017–18 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball ...

and Austin Davis). Although at the time of Battle's signing, the entire set of scholarships for the class of 2016 seemed to be allocated, some sources reported that Michigan was expected to continue to lure point guards like

Cassius Winston Cassius Xavier-Lamarr Winston (born February 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. High school c ...

and Devearl Ramsey to play with Battle. Battle was Michigan's most highly regarded commitment since

Mitch McGary Mitchell Neil William McGary (born June 6, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Chesterton, Indiana, McGary declared for the NBA draft after completing his sophomore season for the 2013–14 Michigan Wolverines ...

, who committed to Michigan in 2011. On June 19, Battle decommitted from Michigan and scheduled an official visit to Syracuse. On July 13, he committed to Syracuse.

College career

Battle averaged 11.3 points per game as a freshman. As a sophomore, he was a second team 2017–18 All-ACC selection. In the 2018 NCAA tournament, Battle led the Orange to the Sweet Sixteen round where they were eliminated by

. Battle led NCAA Division I in minutes played per game (39.0). As a sophomore, Tyus Battle scored his 1,000th point. He averaged 19.2 points per game on 32 percent shooting from the 3-point line. Following his sophomore season, Battle declared for the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

without signing with an agent. On May 30, 2018, Battle withdrew his name from the draft to return to Syracuse for his junior season. He averaged 17.2 points per game as a junior and improved his shooting. At the end of the season he declared for the NBA draft, forfeiting his final season of eligibility.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

, Battle signed an

Exhibit 10 The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association (NBA) teams are allowed to pay their players. Like the other major professional sports leagues in North America, the NBA has a salary cap to control ...

contract with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. He was officially added to the Timberwolves’ preseason roster on October 14. He was released and added to the Timberwolves’

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate, the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

. Battle averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. On July 27, 2020, he signed with

BC Enisey BC Yenisey () is a Russian professional basketball team from the city of Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Since the 2011–12 season, Enisey plays in the VTB United League. The team colors are blue and white. Its full name is Basketball Club Enisey Krasnoy ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. Battle won the VTB United League Slam Dunk Contest during their All-Star Weekend on February 14, 2021. On July 9, 2021, he has signed with

Dinamo Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the 2018–19 European ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA). He averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. On January 11, 2022, Battle signed with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. On March 20, 2023, he signed with ADA Blois of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

National team career

In 2013, Battle was cut early in the process of determining the United States team for the 2013

FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship The FIBA Under-16 AmeriCup, previously known as the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship, is the Americas basketball championship for men's under-16 national teams that takes place every two years in the FIBA Americas zone. The inaugural edition ...

. However, he was one of three players selected to the 12-man team for the

that had not been named to Team USA the year before. Three seconds before the end of the first period, Battle scored the basket that put USA Basketball ahead for good in the U17 championship game against Australia as Team USA went on to win the gold medal. On June 2, 2015, Battle was announced as an attendee at the 24-man June 12–26, 2015, USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team training camp to select the 12-man roster for the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by t ...

. However, on the eve of the training camp, Battle announced that the effects of injuries that limited his junior season would keep him from trying out for the team. Thus, he was not among the 21 players who attended the training camp on June 12.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 25 , , 30.7 , , .433 , , .366 , , .798 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 39.0* , , .399 , , .322 , , .839 , , 2.9 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 19.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 36.3 , , .431 , , .321 , , .763 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 17.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 103 , , 94 , , 35.4 , , .417 , , .335 , , .803 , , 2.8 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 16.0

Personal life

Battle is the son of Daniella and Gary Battle. Gary was an All-American at

University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...

(of the Division II

New England Collegiate Conference The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division III, Division III men's volleyball and esports List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conferenc ...

) and his stepmother (Tanya Battle, ''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Wood) played basketball at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. His brother Khalif Battle plays basketball for

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

. His sister, GiGi Battle, is the top high school women's basketball player in New Jersey for the class of 2026.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Tyus 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Essex County, New Jersey Dinamo Sassari players Gill St. Bernard's School alumni Guangxi Rhinos players Iowa Wolves players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Livingston, New Jersey Sportspeople from Edison, New Jersey St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, New Jersey) alumni Syracuse Orange men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen