Tyus Battle facts for kids
![]() Battle with Syracuse in 2018
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Free Agent | ||||||||||||||
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Shooting guard / small forward | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
Born | Livingston, New Jersey, U.S. |
September 23, 1997 |||||||||||||
High school |
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Listed height | 1.98 m (6 ft 5.95 in) | |||||||||||||
Listed weight | 93 kg (205 lb) | |||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||
College | Syracuse (2016–2019) | |||||||||||||
NBA Draft | 2019 / Undrafted | |||||||||||||
Pro career | 2019–present | |||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||
2019–2020 | Iowa Wolves | |||||||||||||
2020–2021 | BC Enisey | |||||||||||||
2021–2022 | Dinamo Sassari | |||||||||||||
2022 | Hapoel Gilboa Galil | |||||||||||||
2023 | ADA Blois | |||||||||||||
2023 | Guangxi Rhinos | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Tyus Akili Battle (born September 23, 1997) is an American professional basketball player. He last played for the Guangxi Rhinos team. Before becoming a professional, he played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange.
Tyus Battle also won a gold medal with USA Basketball. This was at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. Many college teams wanted him to play for them. He first decided to play for the Michigan Wolverines. Later, he changed his mind and chose to play for Syracuse.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Tyus Battle grew up in Edison, New Jersey. He became a well-known basketball player when he was in sixth grade. He played for Gill St. Bernard's School for three years. Then, he moved to St. Joseph High School. This school was closer to his home. Famous players like Jay Williams and Karl-Anthony Towns also went there.
Tyus was ranked very high among players in his age group. When he was a sophomore (second year) in high school, he scored about 22.5 points per game. He also got 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2 steals per game. A wrist injury kept him from playing some games.
During his junior year, Tyus missed the first six weeks. He had a foot injury. He was named the best player in Somerset County, New Jersey as a sophomore. He came back to play in January 2015. He only played in 9 games that year. His scoring average dropped to 16.9 points per game.
Choosing a College Team
Many top colleges wanted Tyus Battle to play for them. The Michigan team offered him a scholarship in 2014. Kentucky coach John Calipari also visited him.
Tyus received 24 scholarship offers in total. In November 2014, he narrowed his choices to 11 schools. These included Connecticut, Syracuse, Duke, and Michigan. In February 2015, he cut his list to seven schools.
He visited Duke, Louisville, and Michigan. He also planned to visit Syracuse. The Syracuse coach, Jim Boeheim, visited Tyus at his home.
On May 11, 2015, Tyus said he would play for Michigan. At that time, he was a "5-star" player. This means he was one of the best young players in the country. He was ranked highly by many sports websites. Michigan's team was looking very strong with him joining.
However, on June 19, Tyus changed his mind. He decided not to go to Michigan. He then visited Syracuse. On July 13, he officially committed to playing for Syracuse.
College Basketball Career
Tyus Battle played for the Syracuse Orange from 2016 to 2019. As a freshman, he scored about 11.3 points per game.
In his second year (sophomore season), he was named to the Second-team All-ACC. This means he was one of the best players in his college conference. In the 2018 NCAA tournament, Tyus helped Syracuse reach the "Sweet Sixteen" round. This is when only 16 teams are left in the tournament. They lost to Duke in that round.
Tyus played more minutes than any other player in NCAA Division I that year. He scored his 1,000th point during his sophomore season. He averaged 19.2 points per game.
After his sophomore year, Tyus thought about joining the 2018 NBA draft. He did not hire an agent, which meant he could still return to college. On May 30, 2018, he decided to go back to Syracuse for his junior year. As a junior, he averaged 17.2 points per game. After this season, he declared for the NBA draft again. This meant he would not play his final year of college basketball.
Professional Basketball Career
Tyus Battle was not chosen in the 2019 NBA draft. This means no NBA team picked him directly. However, he signed a special contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was later released and joined their NBA G League team, the Iowa Wolves. The G League is like a minor league for the NBA.
With the Iowa Wolves, Tyus averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. In July 2020, he signed with BC Enisey, a team in Russia. He won the Slam Dunk Contest at the VTB United League All-Star Weekend in February 2021.
In July 2021, he signed with Dinamo Sassari in Italy. He averaged 7.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game there. In January 2022, Tyus signed with Hapoel Gilboa Galil in Israel. In March 2023, he signed with ADA Blois in France. Later in 2023, he played for the Guangxi Rhinos.
Playing for Team USA
Tyus Battle has also played for the United States national basketball team. In 2013, he tried out for the team that would play in the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship. He did not make that team.
However, in 2014, he was chosen for the 12-player team for the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. This is another big international tournament for young players. In the championship game against Australia, Tyus scored a basket that put Team USA ahead for good. The team went on to win the gold medal!
In 2015, Tyus was invited to try out for the USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team. But he announced that old injuries would stop him from trying out. So, he did not attend the training camp for that team.
Personal Life
Tyus Battle's parents are Daniella and Gary Battle. His father, Gary, was also a very good basketball player in college. His stepmother, Tanya Battle, played basketball at the University of Miami.
Tyus has a brother named Khalif Battle, who plays basketball for Gonzaga University. His sister, GiGi Battle, is a top high school women's basketball player in New Jersey.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Tyus Battle para niños