By ADAM ZAGORIA
Tyus Battle, the Syracuse sophomore wing and former New Jersey prep star, will test the NBA Draft waters without an agent, his father told ZAGSBLOG.
ESPN.com and Syracuse.com first reported the news Friday afternoon.
The 6-foot-6 Edison, N.J., native averaged 19.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season. He’s currently projected as the No. 29 pick in the NBA Draft per ESPN.com.
“Smart move,” one NBA executive said. “He’s a second-round pick.”
“He needs to go back to school and have great year next year,” a second NBA scout said.
“Testing is always smart, see if you can get in the Combine, see if how many workouts you can get and receive some feedback directly from teams,” a third NBA scout said of Battle.
“It’s hard to gauge [where he might get drafted]. Off of his play at Syracuse, probably mid- to late-second but there’s a lot of knowledgeable basketball people that seem to believe he’s a much better player than he’s shown at Syracuse.”
If Battle, who has the option of graduating in three years, returns, Syracuse could be a major force next season even after Darius Bazley opted for the NBA G League instead of going to Syracuse.
Big time shot from a big time player pic.twitter.com/o7cWGkp37D
— Syracuse Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) November 28, 2017
Photo: Syracuse.com
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