UPDATED: April 20, 2018 at 2:25 p.m.

Syracuse guard Tyus Battle has declared for the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent. The news was first reported by ESPN.

The latest ESPN mock draft has Battle pegged as a first-round draft choice, going 29th to Brooklyn, which has Toronto’s pick.

“We fully support him throughout this process,” the team’s official account tweeted.

Battle posted to Instagram that he flew home to New Jersey this weekend. His family did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Friday afternoon.

Battle can return to school even though he has declared for the draft. He can participate in the NBA Draft Combine from May 16 to 20 and participate in one NBA team tryout. Battle has until 5 p.m. on June 11 to withdraw and return to Syracuse or leave his name in the NBA Draft.

The unknown surrounding Battle’s potential departure leaves an element of unease around the program as a tumultuous offseason continues for the Orange, headlined by the late March announcement from former blue-chip commit Darius Bazley to forgo college eligibility and become the first top prospect to enter the NBA G League.

Two reserve players — redshirt sophomore forward Matthew Moyer and graduate guard Braedon Bayer — announced they would transfer. Moyer, Battle’s close friend and roommate, committed to Vanderbilt while Bayer has not announced a destination yet. Battle’s position coach, Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara, is reportedly in contention for the head coaching vacancy at Siena.

If Battle returns, he will rejoin his backcourt partner point guard Frank Howard for his senior season, and sophomore forward Oshae Brissett’s decision to stay at Syracuse means the Orange would return the only three players from last year’s team who consistently scored. If he doesn’t, Syracuse will enter the summer searching for a team alpha for at least the second year in a row.

Similar to Malachi Richardson in 2016, an unexpected NCAA Tournament run helped nudge Battle’s name up the draft boards. As late as the Atlantic Coast tournament-ending loss to North Carolina in early March, Battle’s name did not appear in most mock drafts. If it did, it was at the end of the second round.

Then, Battle scored 15 or more points in three of his four NCAA Tournament games. After the Orange narrowly lost to Duke in the Sweet 16, one analyst said Battle might have snuck into the end of the first round with his play. NBA.com cited Battle as one of the players who helped his own stock the most in the Tournament. Now, though, only one mock draft site, Basketball Insiders, has him in the first round; the site projects Battle at No. 23 to Portland.

Last season, Battle became the alpha he’d never been and transformed into the team’s most effective scorer, spearheading the one-on-one attacks a stagnant offense relied upon. He consistently bailed out the Orange late in the shot clock, and teammates, as well as Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, looked to him alone when it needed a bucket late — regardless of his performance throughout the game.

Battle led the nation in minutes per game (39) while pacing Syracuse in points per game (19.2) on 39.9 percent shooting. He chipped in 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. He was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team.

Published on April 20, 2018 at 1:40 pm

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