BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Battle garners great respect among Big Ten coaches

October 30, 2009

Nate Bauer
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Editor

CHICAGO - Dating back to high school, Talor Battle has been the underdog.

As an undersized, 5-foot-11, 155-pound point guard coming out of Bishop Maginn in Albany, N.Y., the writers that named him first-team Class AA New York All-State team as a senior knew how good he was, but few big-time college basketball programs were interested.

In fact, when he committed to play for Penn State and head coach Ed DeChellis late in his junior year, his offers were from just Massachusetts and Sienna.

More than three years later, the secret is out.

On Thursday, Battle was selected by the media to the first-team pre-season All-Big Ten team at the Big Ten basketball media days in Chicago for the second consecutive year. He appears alongside Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, Ohio State's Evan Turner, Manny Harris of Michigan and Robbie Hummel from Purdue, all considered among the best in college basketball's junior class.

Refusing to stray from the disrespected identity that has defined his aggressive play for so long, Battle was unimpressed by the honor.

"To be honest, I really don't care about it because preseason doesn't tell you what's going to happen at the end of the year," he said. "It's the same thing I'm touching on with all these preseason rankings. Never will you see the preseason rankings finish the way they start and that's how the Big Ten all-team selections are.

"I'm just looking forward to going out and focusing and continue to play well and if I do that, I think I'll end up on the team just by my play. It's nothing I'm really thinking about or care about for that matter, all I want to do is win and I'm sure if we win, those individual accolades will come along with it."

Surveying the power-players in the crowded Crowne Plaza ballroom on Thursday morning, the respect for Battle now extends well beyond the media. Having been tormented by him for the past two seasons, there isn't a coach in the Big Ten that isn't well-aware of what Battle has brought to the court night in and night out for the Nittany Lions.

The dean of the Big Ten men's basketball coaching fraternity, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, should know.

Against the national runner-up Spartans in East Lansing on Super Bowl Sunday, Battle had a career-high 29 points, draining six-of-12 from beyond the arc.

"Thoughts? Nightmares. I don't have thoughts (about Battle), I have nightmares of watching him make threes on us," Izzo said. "He's a good player. Big heart. You gotta be tough mentally and takes big shots.

"His big challenge I'm sure Eddie is giving him now is, can he make other players better? He's gotta make other players better to be a great player. He's very, very good. Great? Make other players better."

With the departure of Penn State's senior leaders on and off the court in Jamelle Cornley, Danny Morrissey and Stanley Pringle, that's exactly what DeChellis said he is hoping to see from Battle this season.

Undoubtedly, the new responsibilities that Battle will take on as a leader are important to the team as well as his own development.

"I think it's important for him," DeChellis said. "The USA thing, I think it gave him a lot of confidence. I think he understands now that he's gotta be a spiritual leader as well on the floor as well as a good player on the floor and in the locker room. He understands that he's gotta lead a little bit. He's gotta take some guys and lead a little bit.

"He's gotta help me make some guys grow up and understand that they are good players and they can do some things. So that's a little bit of a different role. He's gotta try to make some other guys better on the team and try to give them some confidence as well."

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, the most recent coach to direct Battle in game action for Team USA at the World University Games this summer, indicated that he has been able to do that.

Besides leading the team in scoring, averaging 10.3 ppg in seven games in his 19.7 minutes per contest, Ryan said that Battle earned the respect of his talented teammates.

"He did a great job. He took care of the ball," Ryan said. "Defensively he got after it, diving, he was aggressive. He only had one game where he didn't shoot it well, otherwise, man, he was putting up unbelievable numbers. He just had a tough game against the Russians but other than that, he was fun to have around.

"He's a tremendous player, a tremendous playmaker and I think there's a lot of elements to his game. He's one of those guys that's a tough match-up because of all the things that he can do."

As a national committee member for USA Basketball, Illinois head coach Bruce Weber also saw first-hand what Battle could do over the summer.

Playing the point but bringing scoring to the table as well, Weber said that people in the NBA feel that Battle has a lot of talent. With that in mind, Battle's performance this summer and even as a sophomore didn't come as a surprise to anyone.

"I think at the beginning (of his career) it was," Weber said. "He's slightly built, and even USA Basketball, you have supposedly the better players in the country and a good group of them and he didn't back down, handled himself, did well internationally. I think he has a good future in front of him."

Beyond the individual accolades and national attention that Battle is starting to receive, Purdue head coach Matt Painter pointed to what he considers more important: winning.

Coming off a school-record 27 of them during the 2008-09 season, including the school-first NIT Championship, Painter said that Battle is accomplishing what he needs to.

"He led his team to the most school wins. Last time I checked, that's the most important thing is to win," Painter said. "So his teams are winning, he had some success with USA Basketball, and he continues to do great things. He had a great jump from his freshman to sophomore year, but the biggest jump was with the wins, and that's what's the most important thing."

The question now for Battle is what he'll do with his newfound stardom and respect.

Having thrived off of the motivation that comes with being the under-sized, under-appreciated guard for so long, it's no surprise that Battle still clings to the idea of carrying a chip on his shoulder.

"I have a chip on my shoulder. I'm never going to change," he said, noting that it's been a part of his identity for his whole career. "I got a chip on my shoulder. I really feel offended that so many people are talking about they don't believe in the guys. Those are my guys. Drew, Jeff, so I'm right there with my team.

"Regardless of what the league has for me, they think I'm an all-Big Ten selection, I want them to know we're higher than ninth or tenth in the league. So, that's a chip I walk around with.

"It's not about the individual. At the end of the day, everything is about team. So, it's a chip that they have us finishing so low, and that's something we've gotta prove. That's why we're working."

In the meantime, whether he wants to accept it or not, the days of Talor Battle being the under-estimated player appear to be long gone.

Having been burnt before, the Big Ten's best coaches won't be overlooking Battle any time soon.

"No, not by anybody with a brain. It won't be by Michigan State or Tom Izzo," Izzo said. "Maybe some other people are dumber, but even with his size, can he get it done? We do look at a lot of things and, can he get it done? He can get it done."

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