Turner Battle (born January 11, 1983) is an American former basketball point guard for the University at Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team from 2001 to 2005. Battle is credited with fueling the resurgence of the Bulls men's basketball program,[citation needed] which went from 5–23 during his sophomore season to a 23-win senior campaign. Battle is now currently athletic director for The Park School of Buffalo.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 11, 1983 Kernersville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Listed height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Career information | |
| High school | East Forsyth (Kernersville, North Carolina) |
| College | Buffalo (2001–2005) |
| NBA draft | 2005: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2005–2006 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 11 |
| Coaching career | 2007–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2005 | BC Kalev/Cramo |
| 2005 | Étendard de Brest |
| 2006 | Fort Worth Flyers |
| 2006 | Buffalo Rapids |
| As coach: | |
| 2007–2013 | Buffalo (assistant) |
| 2013–2014 | Chattanooga (assistant) |
| 2014–2020 | UAB (assistant) |
| 2020–2021 | East Tennessee State (assistant) |
| 2021-2022 | Middle Tennessee (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school
editThe Bulls announced the signing of Battle on November 10, 2000 out of East Forsyth High School in North Carolina. There, he led the Fighting Eagles to a 15–8 record and a conference championship as a senior, while averaging 17 points, five rebounds and five assists per game.
Following his senior season, "All-Star Sports" Editor-in-Chief and college basketball recruiting expert Bob Gibbons had Battle rated as one of the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2001. "I think this is the steal of the millennium," said Gibbons. "Turner Battle could have played for an ACC school. He's a true point guard who is a tremendous floor leader and an outstanding student-athlete."[1]
Battle chose to play college basketball at Buffalo over competing offers from Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and other schools in part because he wanted to play for UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon. Gibbons would later call Battle "the best thing to happen to Buffalo since the invention of the snowplow."[2]
College
editFollowing a senior season in which Battle averaged 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, Battle led the Bulls to within a last second tip-in of the school's first MAC Championship and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. After the season, Battle was honored as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, the first such award for a Buffalo player. Battle was also named to the All-MAC First Team for the first time in his career (he was named All-MAC Honorable Mention following his sophomore season). In addition, Battle was named to the Academic All-MAC squad after his final three seasons with the Bulls.
Professional
editFollowing his collegiate career, Battle signed with BC Kalev/Cramo, a first division team in Estonia before briefly playing for a first division team in France. Battle then signed with the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBADL. On February 1, 2006, Battle returned to Buffalo to play with the Buffalo Rapids of the American Basketball Association.
Coaching
editBattle was an assistant coach at Sweet Home High School in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst for the 2006–07 season and on July 5, 2007, he was named assistant coach at his alma mater.
Battle was named assistant coach at Chattanooga on May 23, 2013 under new head coach Will Wade.[3]
Battle was hired by UAB on September 23, 2014 as an assistant coach under Jerod Haase.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy". www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu. Archived from the original on 29 August 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Madelaro, Jim (5 March 2005). "Bulls are making a run". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 26. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ "Turner Battle Joins Will Wade at Chattanooga". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics.
- ^ "Turner Battle Officially Joins UAB Men's Basketball Staff". University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics.