Tyus Battle Decommits
Get your welp on:
Tyus Battle is taking an official visit to Syracuse this weekend & opening up his recruitment, per sources. Committed to Michigan in May.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) June 19, 2015 There had been rumbles the last couple days to the effect that Battle would take a visit to Syracuse, who had been one of his presumed leaders along with Duke before his commitment to Michigan.
It's unclear at this point how open his recruitment is, but in general schools that suffer a decommit do not get the kid back. How Syracuse remains appealing after Jim Boeheim got blasted by the NCAA remains a bit of a mystery.
Michigan was very strong with AL SF Josh Langford before Battle committed on his official visit and will probably look to re-open serious contact with him immediately.
I'm amazed that the current situation in Syracuse makes it desirable. Duke I buy, but looking at Syracuse feels like something beyond comprehension.
Sucks to lose a kid, but I'm guessing UM will survive.
...they're the closest elite program to his home. Sam Webb has also said that they've told him they see him as a PG, so maybe that has some appeal.
But I agree with you generally re: the current situation at Syracuse - and Battle may yet agree too.
This feels like a strong family decision; I wouldn't be totally surprised if he didn't go to Syracuse once he gets n campus and starts talking to people, as it has to be clear that they don't expect the violations to be treated with kid gloves.
That said, there were always other, strong programs going after him. It always felt a bit unlikely he'd stick.
I think this is why people complaining about Beilein not going after 5* kids drives me a bit crazy. As a coach, your job is to get the best players you can who'll actually sign, and so your return on all that energy recruiting takes has to make sense. We see teams like MSU go out and spend months recruiting kids from Chicago and come up with basically nothing, and as a result they've struggled pulling in good talent. So that's why I've never cared about Beilein only nabbing 3/4* kids that he can actually get on campus and keep, since they feel like stronger bets to stick and actually contribute.
I think you have to do it sometimes even though it's generally one gut punch after another. There's a big cost, yes, but the benefit is having a guy like McGary help take you to the Final Four.
Oh, I'm fine with Michigan going after 5* kids, but they shouldn't chase that long. Guys like Mitch and Battle pledged early enough that it makes sense, but toward the end of the recruiting cycle you tend to see biggest-name kids float toward the usual blue-bloods/shaddy programs, and if you don't know when to cut bait you are left with an open class and little depth.
So my point is that seeking out a guy like Battle, Winston or Langford makes sense now, but if in 4 months they seem equally unswayed and you see some of the sharks swirling, it might make sense to focus on legitimate backup options, even if it might "hurt" your chances with the bigger names. I've just watched recruiting enough over the years to see that if a kid really likes a program, he makes that clear pretty early. If a team keeps chasing and the guy keeps saying "I'll let you know" for months, good chance he is looking for something better and will jump when that opportunity presents itself.
Langford, frankly, became a guy who it was time to move on from once Billy Donovan left for Florida and Langford still wouldn't commit to Michigan despite Michigan and Florida supposedly being his two top at that moment.
Given the small rosters and limited scholarships, schools get screwed by things like this but similarly players probably feel pressured into it as well. "Hey [recruit], we have TWO scholarships available this year. I can't guarantee how long it'll be available because we're high on Guards A, B, and C as well". Tough spot to be in.
I hate that he decommitted, but bball recruiting is a tough game since you play with such small numbers.
the "Coach B can't recruit" group will be out with their pitchforks for sure.
That crowd is the worst... Do they even remember what it was like before Beilein came? Oh, probably not, because they never went to a basketball game.
They are the same people who bitch about star rankings and apparel agreements to me. I largely just tune them out as it isn't worth trying to argue with people who have absolutely no desire to employ rational thought in their everyday life.
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Nooooooooooopooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
But I'm not Tyus Battle, so what do I know?
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The NCAA won't get to the actual punishment of Syracuse before Battle completes his "one-and-done" year so what does he care.
I want to throw up.
I'm not going down the whole "Beilien can't recruit". I just think its something else. Basketball is an inherently slimy business and it strikes me that you have to get down in the slime if you really want these high end kids. I just don't think Beilien is going to do that. At the end of the day Michigan will have to decide if that's going to work or not.
I want Michigan to keep up with the jones.
I can live with an honest team playing their heart out...
college basketball is an abomination and there isn't a champion the last 2 years that didn't have some slime... what can you do? you can be content with michigan doing the best they can...
jdon
with all the football recruiting craziness
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Had not thought of that angle. Jamal Murray. Likely one and done.
Something does not make sense here. Occams razor I know. It is likely money or being able to play close to home that is driving this decision. But having a guy that is pretty much the same size as battle showing interest???
Just guessing, but maybe M reached out to Battle to tell them there were considering Murray and it pissed him off? I don't know, but everything I have read abou the kid makes him seem like he has a good head on his shoulders and is not a flake who is going to commit to 3 different schools.
Plus maybe his foot injury is worse? ( I am really grasping there, but you never know)
Can't say I'm terribly surprised as his commitment came out of the blue. Hopefully it works out in the end, but yeah, with bball recruiting it seems like the best course is to wait until someone signs to get excited.
1. I wonder if Battle's change of mind has any impact on Winston's recruitment.
2. That stray thought aside, and despite Brian's pessimism, it doesn't seem certain to me that he won't re-establish with UM. First, all the jibber-jabber leading to his UM choice seems to lead away from Duke, [Though, I think Battle's Mom was in the Coach K corner.] Second, taking cash out of the equation, and even taking academics out of the equation and, hell, even taking Syracuse versus Ann Arbor out of the equation, the basketball situation in AA looks healthier. Of course, there could be some other school in the brew. Alabama? MSU? I have no idea, of course. Like others, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the rationality of a Syracuse outcome.
3. UM has some alternatives. Josh Langford is a tremendous player, better IMO than Battle. I said and thought that before and after Battle committed. The tough thing is that taking Battle put the Langford recrutiment on the back burner and it might make it difficult to establish momentum. Aside from my thoughts re: #1, if Battle's dalliance has hurt us with Langford (hard to see how it wouldn't) that's very depressing.
4. I love Kevin Heurter and I think he is a really good fit for UM and is a likely 3 year guy minimum. From what I have read and from talking to Sam I think we have a really good shot at him. From a program perspective, Battle to KH might be a sideways move.
Craig
Two things:
1. I enjoy listening to you on the Mgoblog roundtable.
2. I know this is a little presumptuous, but can I come live with you in Hawai'i?
1. Thanks very much. I hope my role as Gabby Hayes endures.
2. You are welcome on our lanai but you need to clear it with my wife, first.
CR
I have a hard time wrapping my head around the rationality of recruiting in general these days—basketball, hockey, and increasingly football. I've basically stopped caring about UM hockey recruiting, and basketball is approaching "WTF I give up" territory for me. By all rights high-profile recruits ought to be beating Beilein's door down, but I think AAU and the lure of huge contracts that will in the end only go to a tiny number of kids have completely distorted the thinking process of both kids and their families. I'd say the same thing about the NHL and hockey. The idea that education is supposed to be involved is regarded as a quaint and ridiculous notion by large numbers of athletes and fans.
That inevitably leads to the conclusion that more than scholarships are being distributed, perhaps to families if not the players themselves. Beilein's had a disproportionate share of players getting NBA contracts so that can't be it.
Very well said, written.
Pay attention to softball recruiting. It seems pretty sensible and understandable. Otherwise...
Re: Langford's recruitment, do you believe that it was irreversibly hurt by the Battle commitment and the shift in focus? It seems like if the kid really like UM first (though I always read UK as the leader), it shouldn't be that hard to pull him back in. I'm not saying that it's a given he'd come back into the fold, but if UM came looking do you think that relationship can be reestablished?
i don't talk to the Langford family or Beilein about recruiting. But, I had some reasonable info that when Battle committed, Langford was very close. So, then, Langford had to re-evaluate since he wasn't likely for UM. With Battle, unless UM were to lose Winston, there wasn't any room. Even if CW chose MSU, it isn't clear how JL and TB fit, in any event. So JL had to be looking at his alternatives. He must have pretty much moved on. Can UM re-establish ties? Well, maybe, but think about that girlfriend you dropped for someone else. It isn't necessarily all that easy to go back.
Sucks.
At least part of the Langford lean was because Michigan already took Battle. My guess is that Langford isn't out of play by any stretch.
Would be more surprised if Tyus Battle doesn't commit to Syracuse by weekend's end than if he does commit.
— Jerry Meyer (@jerrymeyer247) June 19, 2015Well, it is close to home for Battle. And who could resist Jim Boeheim?!
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This seems very similar to caleb swanigan and michigan state. The guy seemingly commits out of nowhere. His parents/guardian seem to question the decision. And then he backs out of the commitment. I swear - I am done trying to keep up with basketball recruiting.
While I hope for M Basketball to do well, I just can't get into B-ball like football anymore. It has everything to do with the players. The better they are, the more likely they are to be one-and-done. The attitude of many of the players that they are only there to bide their time before rushing off to the millions they will surely make as an NBA superstar really puts me off.
At least with football we get a few years to root for them and watch them develop.
Overall, mildly disappointed to see a basketball commit drop, but when it comes down to it if he's as good as hoped he likely goes to class for a semester and a half, plays one season and then becomes a "oh yeah, he did play here" footnote.
It's just difficult to get excited about rooting for someone who doesn't want to wear the jersey in the first place, and that happens to be a large portion of college basketball players these days.
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