Coveted Class of 2016 guard Tyus Battle still 'very interested' in Syracuse, hopes to plan visit

Tyus Battle

Team Freedom's Tyus Battle #8 in action against Team Liberty during the Under Armour Elite 24 Game on Saturday, August 23, 2014 in Brooklyn, NY. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

(Gregory Payan)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Tyus Battle is hoping to make an official visit to Syracuse within the next few weeks.

The dynamic guard from New Jersey, long a primary Syracuse basketball target, has yet to officially visit any of the 11 schools on his list, his dad Gary Battle said this morning. Battle likely will trim that list after his junior season at Gill St. Bernard's (New Jersey) concludes sometime next month.

ESPN ranks Battle, a versatile 6-foot-5 guard, the 15th overall prospect in the Class of 2016.

"Tyus is still very interested in Syracuse," Gary Battle said. "That was probably his first major scholarship offer."

» Related: Top recruit Harry Giles still has Syracuse on his list

Gary Battle said SU coach Jim Boeheim called him the night the university announced its self-imposed NCAA sanctions to explain further what the pending NCAA ruling might mean for his son and the Syracuse program. Boeheim told Battle that the university "took some initiative" in the NCAA process by punishing itself for its transgressions.

"He said he didn't know what was going to happen in the future. There could be more," Gary Battle said. "But he didn't think it would affect Tyus."

The Battles are loosely monitoring the situation with Syracuse and the NCAA. Tyus Battle told his dad he is paying particular attention to one Syracuse situation:

"Our biggest concern is if Boeheim is going to coach," Gary Battle said. "If he's coaching, we're interested."

(Jim Boeheim said during an ACC teleconference on Monday that he had no plans to retire.)

Syracuse has upcoming home games with Duke (Feb. 14), Louisville (Feb. 18), Pittsburgh (Feb. 21) and Virginia (March 2). A conflict with his own game will prevent Battle from visiting Saturday for the Duke extravaganza. Louisville and Virginia are on Battle's list of final 11 schools.

Tyus Battle missed 14 high school games this season while recovering from a stress fracture he suffered last summer playing with USA Basketball. He has played in Gill St. Bernard's last four games, though he rolled an ankle before last Saturday's game against Linden, an injury Gary Battle described as minor.

Of the 11 schools currently on Battle's list (UConn, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse, Villanova, Virginia), the junior guard has unofficially visited every program but Florida and Virginia. The Battles will pore over schedules the next couple weeks to try to arrive at dates to make official visits. The family plans to trim that list of 11 fairly soon.

"We're definitely going to make official visits before he decides," Gary Battle said.

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