Top 15 Tyler Betsey has five official visits in mind
Tyler Betsey is the No. 15 player in the updated 2024 On3 150. The 6-foot-8 wing built his reputation as a three-and-D player at St. Thomas More (CT) and has averaged 11.5 points whiles knocking down 2.5 threes per game with the NY Rens program on Nike’s EYBL Circuit this Spring.
“High school and AAU are two completely different roles for me,” Betsey told On3. “I’m just trying to stay aggressive, you know, with the Rens, everyone has their own role they play. I’ve become more comfortable with the ball in my hands, and I’m become more of a leader on the court.”
On3 caught up with four-star Tyler Betsey after a recent live viewing to get an update on his recruitment.
Betsey talks UConn
“I haven’t taken any official visits yet, but I’m taking my first official visit this week to UConn,” Betsey said.
UConn: “The campus is 40 minutes away from my home. They’re the hometown school, and they just won the national championship. They play in the Big East, too. That was the best conference this year, them and the Big 12. They have a history of taking guys in that people aren’t really talking about, guys like Jordan Hawkins and James Bouknight, and turning them into pros. The staff hits me up like every day, and we talk about stuff outside of basketball. They have built a really good relationship with me and with my mom, so that means a lot.
“They play aggressively in the gaps. UConn shoots the gaps on defense because they always have big men who can protect the rim, like Donovan Clingan. They run their shooters off a lot of flairs and pin-downs, and I’m comfortable doing that. They play fast-paced, and you get a lot of shots up.”
Betsey talks recruitment
“I’m also talking with Indiana, Creighton, Alabama, and LSU about setting visits,” Betsey said.
Indiana: “I saw what they did with Jalen Hood-Schifino. They created a plan for him; they stuck to the plan and didn’t listen to what people on the outside were saying. A lot of people were saying he wasn’t a one-and-done when the season started, and they developed him into a first-round pick. Coach (Mike) Woodson was a player, and he coached in the NBA. He could help me get there.”
Alabama: “They came to see me a couple of times in the fall. They took that trip which showed me how much they wanted me. They did an in-home visit too, which showed how they really felt about me. The coaches were able to talk about their plans for me. They play in the SEC, and they just had Brandon Miller, a guy who looks like me and does some things similar to me. They showed me all the pros they’ve had since Nate Oats came. And then there is all the success Coach Oats had at the mid-major level, which showed that he’s not just a guy getting players, but that he really knows how to coach.”
Creighton: “I mean, it’s in Nebraska, and there isn’t really much to do out there other than just get better. They’re like a sneaky culture, a sneaky team right now. They get into the NCAA Tournament every year, and people don’t really talk about them that much. They just had three guys in the Draft Combine, so they develop their players too.”
LSU: “They got a new coach and a new staff in there. Coach (Matt) McMahon showed me what he could do at the mid-major level, winning with guys who weren’t high-level players. Now that he can get high-level players at LSU, it should be easier to win. They play in the SEC, with all the facilities and resources to get better. Cody Toppert is an NBA guy, so he has a ton of NBA knowledge. I talk with them every day.”
“Kentucky is a school I hear from pretty regularly, but they have not offered yet,” Betsey said. “Orlando Antigua hits me up about once a week. They’ve been to a lot of my EYBL games too.”
In his words
“If you ask me right now, I would like to commit by October,” Tyler Betsey said. “That can change
“When I go on these visits, I want to get a feel for the school as a student. I know I’m going to play a lot of basketball, but honestly, I’m going to be a student more than I’m a basketball player in college, so I want to go get the feel around campus and see how people treat you. I want to go around and see what the college town is all about and how the teachers are.
“With basketball, I want to see how my relationship is with the staff. Make sure they are people I can go to with stuff when I’m away from home. It is going to be really important to have that foundation with them. I’d like to have the ball in my hands a little bit as a freshman, nothing crazy. Get up and down, shoot threes, and take open shots. And then a program that plays to my strength on defense, lots of versatility and switching.”