Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has reached out to at least one elite recruit to make him aware of the self-imposed postseason ban that will impact this year’s team.
Boeheim called Gary Battle, the father of 2016 Gill St. Bernard’s combo guard Tyus Battle, to tell him that Syracuse “was pulling themselves out of the postseason this year.”
The ban will only impact the current players and won’t impact future recruits.
“He asked me how Ty was doing and said Ty is his top recruit in 2016,” Gary Battle told SNY.tv. “We are not that concerned.”
The 6-foot-6 Battle has cut his list to 11 schools, with Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan and Ohio State among those involved, but plans to trim the list further going forward.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino is also expected to watch Battle play in a Feb. 12 game.
Syracuse has a signed four-man recruiting class for 2015 ranked No. 8 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. That group includes Malachi Richardson, a 6-5 guard from Trenton, N.J.; Moustapha Diagne, a 6-9 forward from Sparta, N.J.; Tyler Lydon, a 6-9 forward from Pine Plains, N.Y.; and Frank Howard, a 6-6 guard from Fairfax, Va.
**For more on Tyus Battle, watch our SNY.tv documentary “The Battle Plan” here.
