As we continue the Fizz’s SU Top 100 list, a recent name comes in at No. 75. He put together the best sophomore campaign of any Syracuse Men’s Basketball player in program history, hit some clutch shots, and was always rocking the brightest shoes on the court. The No. 75 spot goes to Tyus Battle.
Battle played for the Orange from 2016-2019. He entered the NBA Draft process after his sophomore year, but decided to return to school for another year. After his junior season, he entered the draft again and this time he stuck with it. So, SU fans only got three years out of Battle, but they were an impressive three years.
Battle started 94 out of 103 games and was an offensive contributor right away. He ranked third on the team in scoring his freshman year and then took over the top spot his sophomore year. In 2017-2018, Battle scored the most points in a single season by a sophomore in SU history with 712. That would average out to be 19 points per game. During that same year he was playing 39 minutes per game. That means he only sat down for one (1) minute per game (!!!).
Battle finished his career ranked 16th in career points and is one of only 63 Syracuse players to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. Plus, he earned two All-ACC selections. He was one of the best offensive threats in the conference.
Battle led Syracuse to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018. However, he also was the leader of the team who got bounced in the First Round by Baylor in 2019.
The thing that is holding Battle back from being higher on this list is the fact he only played three years and, relatively, tailed off his junior year. After an amazing sophomore campaign, you thought he would improve during his junior season, but his scoring went down and his other stats stayed pretty much the same. So with that slight dip and the fact he left before he could make up for it, leaves his story on a sour note.
Battle was a fantastic player and was really the only consistent offense Syracuse had while he was there, but he just doesn’t have the resume to compete with some of the other SU basketball greats. He deserves to be on the list, but not higher than this. That is why Tyus Battle is No. 75 on the Fizz’s SU Top 100 list.
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