Tyus Battle has decided to have one more go around with the Syracuse basketball team. ITLH breaks down why that makes Cuse relevant again.
Tyus Battle is back baby!
It’s okay, you can scream if you want to.
For the first time in what seems like forever, Syracuse will be returning the main core from the prior year. Yes, Orange basketball is relevant again.
For starters, whatever Tyus decided, we all would have been fine with it. He gave it his all in his first two seasons with the Orange, and there isn’t much you can take away from the kid. But when we heard the news that he will return for his Junior season, you can best believe it’s the news we wanted to hear.
Battle, who averaged over 11 points per game in his freshman campaign, turned into one of the best players in the ACC this past season, putting up almost 20 points per game and averaging a steal and a half per contest. He almost never came out of a game, playing the full 40 minutes on multiple occasions, and was a huge reason that Syracuse was able to dethrone Michigan State and make it to the Sweet 16.
Battle’s decision to return to Syracuse is a lot more than just getting a good player back. Yes, that’s great, and it allows Syracuse to have a pretty good shot at making a tourney run yet again next year. However, it also gives the Orange a lot of upside for years to come.
The downfall of Syracuse basketball over the past few years hasn’t been terrible. The Orange have made a Final Four run and made it to the Sweet 16 last season. But it just hasn’t been the regular seasons and high-seeding in March that we have become accustomed to.
It really all started in the 2013-14 season. During the offseason, Syracuse brought in a lot of recruits: Tyler Ennis, B.J. Johnson, Chinonso Obokoh, Ron Patterson, and Tyler Roberson. It was actually a fairly good season, thanks in part to Ennis. However, Ennis left after his one season, Patterson and Johnson transferred, and Obokoh… well, just never really showed up. This left Roberson as the only Cuse player to stay all four years from this class, let alone more than just one. Cuse also lost C.J. Fair, Jerami Grant, and Baye Moussa Keita to graduation and the NBA Draft.
2014-15 just added to this downfall that we really don’t want to speak of too much more. The Cuse yet again brought in a good class – Chris McCullough and Kaleb Joseph. However, McCullough left after just one year and Joseph never turned out to be much at all, transferring to Creighton the following season. The Orange also lost Rakeem Christmas to graduation.
In just two seasons, the Orange lost 10 players to graduation, the NBA Draft, and the transfer market.
2015-16 was one for the books. And I don’t want to take away ANYTHING from this year at all. This Syracuse team defied all odds, making a Final Four run (again, we’re sorry America). However, it still wasn’t a normal season. Cuse brought in Malachi Richardson, Tyler Lydon, and Franklin Howard. Richardson, who played very well, left for the NBA after his lone season. Lydon stayed one more, and Howard played a very small role, with little development. The Orange lost a lot of players to graduation, in Michael Gbinije, Trevor Cooney, Dajuan Coleman, and Roberson.
2016-17 was REALLY bad for Cuse. The Orange only brought in three recruits – Matthew Moyer, Taurean Thompson and Tyus Battle. Moyer just left for Vanderbilt only a month ago after a dismal (redshirt) freshman year. Thompson left after his only year with the Orange, to join my current college – the Seton Hall Pirates. Battle had a good freshman season and is the positive reason for this article being written. The Orange also were home to two grad-transfers in Andrew White III and John Gillon. Both played well, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the NCAA to let them stay for a 6th year of eligibility. To make matters worse for the Orange, Lydon took his talents to the NBA. (We miss you too Tyler).
Finally, we come to this past year. Syracuse brought in two transfers, in Elijah Hughes and Geno Thorpe. Unfortunately, Hughes had to sit out a year (thanks NCAA), and Thorpe just didn’t fit well at all. As for recruits, the Orange brought in Oshae Brissett, Bourama Sidibe, Howard Washington, and Marek Dolezaj. All either showed a lot of potential or filled big roles throughout the course of the season.
ATTENTION: THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH MAY CAUSE FEELING OF SHOCK, SURPRISE, AND CONFUSION
Unlike many Orange players over the past few seasons, Sidibe, Washington, and Dolezaj all decided to not hit the transfer market and stay put in Syracuse, New York. Brissett tested the waters for a week or so, but ultimately came back as well. Oh, and Tyus, yeah he wants another shot at a National Championship I guess.
The main thing here is how Tyus completes the circle. Sidibe, Washington, and Dolezaj started it off by not transferring (knock on wood). Then Oshae followed in their foot steps, giving the Orange some depth. Cuse took a slight hit, when Darius Bazley decommitted, but with Hughes, Buddy Boeheim, and Jalen Carey all eligible next season, I think we’ll be fine. And now, Tyus Battle has decided to return to Syracuse for his third season, and give the Orange depth for the future in the first time in over five years.
Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History
It’s something that we haven’t had in a while, but it looks like Syracuse basketball is returning to relevance.