Cincinnati holds off Alabama to land four-star wing Tyler Betsey
Cincinnati picked up a marquee commitment on Friday when the Bearcats landed the pledge of four-star wing Tyler Betsey, the No. 27-ranked prospect in the 2024 class. Betsey is head coach Wes Miller’s second commitment in the class and provides the third-year Cincy head coach with a long, athletic scoring threat that should be ready to play big minutes as a freshman.
Below, Rivals examines what Cincinnati is getting in the 6-foot-8 wing as well as what the news means for the bigger picture.
WHAT CINCINNATI IS GETTING
First and foremost, the 6-foot-8 Betsey possesses a blend of length and shooting ability rarely duplicated in this class, which gives him the ability to fill it up from all three levels. He’s a bit streaky from long range, but he is capable of totally taking over a game from deep when he gets hot. The 35% he shot from behind the arc in 16 EYBL games won’t blow you away. It’s certainly impressive, however, and the product of a series of hot-and-cold outings. His jumper is smooth and repeatable, and Betsey also possesses the athleticism and ball-handling ability to create shots. His size and well-rounded offensive attack make him a matchup problem in almost any game, as he spent the summer proving he can hurt opponents in a number of ways on both ends. He’ll become a more impactful rebounder as he adds muscle at the college level, because the height and athleticism is there in spades. Defensively, Betsey is capable of guarding multiple positions and has shown improvement when it comes to effort on the end of the floor.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE BEARCATS
The most important part of this recruiting victory is the prize, obviously. Welcoming a long, athletic, versatile scorer into the fold is reason to celebrate, but what it says about the program going forward is also exciting. The Bearcats stood toe-to-toe with defending national champion UConn as well as SEC power Alabama, and they did what it took to win an extremely contested recruiting battle in the NIL Era. That isn’t a bad way to carry momentum into the your inaugural Big 12 season. If on-court results follow, Miller has a system in place to routinely compete for top-level prospects. That much is clear.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: “Wes Miller pretty much just got there and they had a good season last year. I like knowing that I can be a guy to go in there and help start something off to make it easier for him and his future recruiting classes. I like that he’d be able to go to future recruits and say ‘We did this, this and this with Tyler Betsey.’ I like the freedom to be able to produce early in my career and being given big responsibility as a freshman. They just joined the Big 12, and that’s the best conference in the country.” – Betsey to Rivals last month