NCAA Basketball: 3 Biggest NBA Draft Decisions Left

Tyus Battle, Syracuse

During his sophomore season at Syracuse, Tyus Battle emerged as a lethal scorer. He averaged 19.2 points per game, hoisting up almost 16 shots per contest.

Syracuse has the potential to make another NCAA Tournament run next year, but they need Battle to do so. Jim Boeheim is still reeling from the defection of Darius Bazley, who chose the G-League over a freshman season with the Orange.

The team still returns Frank Howard and Oshae Brissett; those are players who can be the alpha male on a Sweet Sixteen team. Battle is the kind of player that pushes them closer to Final Four territory, though.

Throughout the process, mocks have largely projected Battle to fall somewhere towards the end of the first round or beginning of the second round of the NBA Draft. Syracuse.com reports that three teams have worked out the rising junior, with a fourth – the New York Knicks – on tap for some time this weekend.

There aren’t any ACC holdouts who can change the dynamics of the conference as much as Battle can at this point. Fans of the Orange and conference foes will be watching closely.

Prediction: Battle keeps battling for points next year…as an NBA rookie