Four-star forward Tyler Betsey has officially narrowed his list of college options to include just seven programs. On Wednesday, the Connecticut-based standout told Rivals he will now focus only on Alabama, Duke, Cincinnati, Creighton, Indiana, UConn and Villanova with a decision hopefully coming “in the early half of October.”
Below, Betsey breaks down each of his finalists and reveals visit dates for the campuses he plans to tour this fall.
Alabama (upcoming official visit Sept. 9)
“I like their style of play. They run up and down the court and shoot a lot of 3s. I also like that they’ve been producing a good amount of NBA players. I’ve already gotten super close with assistant coach Preston Murphy. That’s my guy. They have shown a lot of love.”
Duke (upcoming visit Sept. 16)
“They gave their freshmen a lot of freedom this year. I like that they let them play through their mistakes, which ultimately led them to winning the ACC tournament and even winning a game in the national tournament. Then, the pedigree at Duke speaks for itself.”
Cincinnati (upcoming visit Sept. 23)
“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. If I were to go there and do what I have to do, that gives me a super good shot at the NBA. Also, I’m super close with the coaching staff.”
Creighton (received an official visit in June)
“I like the way they play, they get up and down and shoot a lot of 3s. Then, the coach -- he’s laid back. The guys are cool, too. I got to hang out with them on my official visit and I liked them all. The coach really knows basketball and he lets his players hoop. In practice, they get a lot of teaching. Every workout is so serious there. They never have to get yelled at or anything because they are all so serious. I can tell the coaches set the tone early with them. The practices are high-level,”
Indiana (received an official visit in June)
“The visit was great. I would honestly say it was my best visit so far. They were all super comfortable with my family. It was almost like we were all family. We were all comfortable with Mike Woodson and the staff. It was great. They just talked to me about how they would make a plan for me. They kept talking about how they like the way I shoot and how my shooting could take me anywhere.”
UConn (received an official visit in June)
“I’ve been there for an official. That’s the hometown team and I like the Big East. Obviously, they just won the national championship and have a lot of history there. They reach out constantly and talk to me about having the chance to stay home and play in front of the people that I love. I like how they use their best players. What you do well is what they are going to focus on. Like, Adama Sanogo was a dominant post, so they got him the ball in the post and let him work. They let shooters shoot and run them off screens. They let you play your game, they never try to make their players change to do something they don’t do.”
Villanova (no visit scheduled at this time)
"They low key snuck in at the end because I haven’t been there yet, but I like them. The new [assistant] coach, Ash Howard, started recruiting me like the minute he was hired. We’re building a relationship and seeing where it goes. I think I’m going to visit there. I want to go see it. I’m just not sure on the date.”
