Syracuse Basketball: NBA teams think Tyus Battle has reached his ceiling
Former Syracuse basketball star Tyus Battle didn’t make a good impression on NBA teams on day two. ITLH breaks down the news and what it means.
As the 2018 NBA Combine comes to an end, we’re starting to get a better feel on how former Syracuse basketball star Tyus Battle performed.
The early reports suggested that Battle was a ‘disappointment’ and ‘practically invisible’ on day one of the NBA Combine. Hardly the results Battle was hoping for in Chicago.
Well it seems like on day two, things haven’t gotten much better.
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated said that Battle’s ‘stock is falling’ and that NBA teams fear that Battle has already reached his ceiling. Here’s the full quote from his report:
"“There was some head-scratching in the bleachers over the decision to place Battle, Allonzo Trier and Jaylen Hands on to one team, grouping three shoot-first guards and making them share one basketball. Unsurprisingly, their team lost one game by 32 points and the other by 27. Battle, in particular, faded into the background this week, struggling to impose his will as a scorer, forcing some shots and displaying very little secondary skill set on offense.He shot well in drills, but the hitch at the top of his shot remains evident. This was a chance for him to show he could be more than an iso-heavy player, and while he did display some aptitude as a man-to-man defender outside of Syracuse’s zone, his floor game leaves a lot to be desired. Battle doesn’t offer much aside from his plus build and athletic tools, and didn’t look like a Top 40 pick. He can still go back to school, but it’s worth wondering how much better he’ll look in a year if he does.”"
Yikes…
A lot of this is old news to Syracuse basketball fans. Often last season, Battle would call for the ball, everyone else would move out of the way and they’d watch. You can call it hero ball or iso ball, whichever you prefer. When I spoke to Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters on Friday he said that Battle mirrors his game after his idol, Kobe Bryant. You can definitely see that in his game.
Battle often gets the juices flowing and chucks up some bad shots, but we accepted that as Orange fans because his ‘volume’ shooting resulted in him still being one of the top scorers in the ACC.
We talked about the hitch in his giddy-up already and it’s a bit awkward and I’m not sure if it’ll ever be able to be coached out of him. It wasn’t all negative though, as Woo notes above, Battle was able to show that he’s a capable defender in man-to-man defense. Something he obviously didn’t get a chance of showing with the 2-3 zone with Syracuse.
Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History
While the final nugget we want to take a look at is Battle doesn’t look like a ‘top 40 player’. But even worse than that, NBA executives are starting to think even if Battle goes back to school he won’t be able to expand beyond his current ceiling. I’d imagine if another people tell Battle and his camp that, he could opt to just go pro. Battle now has until May 30th at midnight to make his decision on his future. From now until then, he’s allowed to privately workout with NBA teams at their facilities.