Tyus Battle joins Gerry McNamara’s staff as director of player development
Former Syracuse guard Tyus Battle played for the Orange from 2016-19, when new head coach Gerry McNamara was an assistant coach. Alexandra Moreo | Daily Orange File Photo
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Former Syracuse guard Tyus Battle has joined Gerry McNamara’s staff as director of player development, the program announced Wednesday. Battle played for SU for three seasons from 2016-19, when McNamara was an assistant coach.
In his new role, Battle will “coordinate the off-court efforts to maximize each basketball student-athlete’s potential,” which includes individual and small-group workouts, according to SU’s press release.
In his time playing at SU, Battle accumulated the 18th-most points in program history, averaging 16.0 points per game. After scoring 11.3 points as a freshman, his numbers increased to 19.2 as a sophomore and 17.2 as a junior. Battle also played nearly every minute in the 2017-18 campaign — averaging 39.0, the best mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference — which ended in the Sweet 16.
Battle was an All-ACC Second Team selection in 2018 before earning third team honors in 2019.
He entered the NBA Draft after his junior year, yet went undrafted and signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He then played overseas and eventually turned to coaching, spending time at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School (New York) and The Pennington School (New Jersey) in recent years.
Battle joins an almost entirely revamped staff following McNamara’s hire. That includes assistant coaches Jamal Brunt, Ryan Daly, Ben Lee and Arinze Onuaku — also an SU alum. Ryan Blackwell, who played at Syracuse from 1997-2000, was also hired as director of player engagement.
