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Providence Hires Jeff Battle

Jeff Battle

What had been speculated about over the past month came to fruition on Saturday morning as Providence hired former Wake Forest assistant coach Jeff Battle to replace Bob Simon.

Cooley tried to hired Battle when he first took the Providence job in 2011, but Battle chose not to move his family at the time. With his son now in college apparently the time was right for a coach that ESPN once featured as one of the best in the college game to join Cooley’s staff.

ESPN wrote this about him in 2011:

In eight years at Wake Forest and seven more before that at Xavier, Jeff Battle has earned cred for the way he cultivates raw athletes. Battle is a talent identifier, a man who can find and unleash hidden strengths in underrecruited kids while maximizing the abilities of blue chips. Here are four guys who have benefited the most from his particular skill set and what he did to get them where they are today.

Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks, 2007 NBA All-Star)

“We pushed Josh to dedicate himself. I told him, ‘You want to be a pro? Be a 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. guy, not a 3-to-6er.’ We worked him hard. At first he felt it was punishment, but over time he saw results. And after I told him a jumper would make him unguardable, he would come to me after practice—already wringing in sweat—and say, ‘Let’s shoot some more threes.’ ”

James Posey (New Orleans Hornets; NBA champion, 2006 and ’08)

“People always ask me if I’m surprised that James is a three-point shooter in the NBA. Well, we actually worked with him on that a lot at Xavier. Even though he played inside for us, he always had the shot. For some reason, though, he was just reluctant. We practically had to beg him to take it, but he finally did. I don’t see him hesitating anymore.”

Jeff Teague (Wake Forest sophomore, 2009 All-ACC Second Team)

“With 10 seconds on the clock, Jeff will make a play. But he’s still a work in progress. He’s got long arms and solid lateral movement, so he should be a great defensive player. But when Jeff doesn’t have the ball, he isn’t always focused. My job is to get him tuned in on D. With him, it’s going to be mental, making him want to be the best defender in the ACC.”

Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets, 2006 NBA Rookie of the Year, 2008 and ’09 All-Star)

“His skill level was high, but we kept pushing him, getting him to be more aggressive. The biggest thing for him at the college level was his midrange game. In high school he got to the rim a lot, but I kept telling him that, in the ACC, players step in and take charges. Those midrange shots are what made him one of the best.”

* * *

Here is the release from Providence:

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE HEAD COACH ED COOLEY NAMES JEFF BATTLE ASSISTANT COACH
FOR MEN’S BASKETBALL
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was announced today (May 9) that Providence College Head Coach Ed Cooley named Jeff Battle assistant coach for men’s basketball.
“I am excited to have Jeff joining our staff,” Cooley said.  “With his experience, ability to develop players and knowledge of the game, Jeff will be a tremendous asset to our program.”
Prior to coming to Providence, Battle had served as the Associate Head Coach at Wake Forest from 2001-14. Battle spent 13 seasons on the Wake Forest basketball staff, serving as associate head coach under Skip Prosser, Dino Gaudio and Jeff Bzdelik.
“I am extremely honored and blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of Coach Cooley’s staff,” Battle said.  “For many years, I have admired the work Ed has done and the success his teams have had.  I am eager to start working in Friartown.”
Battle was instrumental in Wake Forest’s success over his 13 seasons as the Deacons reached a No. 1 national ranking in 2005 and again in 2009, won a school-record 27 games in 2005, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2004 and won the 2003 ACC regular season title. Wake Forest averaged almost 20 wins per season and made six NCAA Tournament appearances during Battle’s tenure.
During his tenure at Wake Forest, Battle played a key role in the  development of current NBA All-Stars Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers) and Jeff Teague (Atlanta Hawks) as well as current point guard Ish Smith (Philadelphia 76ers).
Battle helped bring a number of highly-ranked recruiting classes to Wake Forest. Wake Forest’s 2010 recruiting class was ranked No. 6 in the nation according to ESPN, while the Deacons’ 2008 class was ranked No. 3 in the country by Rivals.com. Battle also helped bring in the No. 10-ranked recruiting class in 2006, the No. 16 class in 2003 and the No. 30 class in 2007, all according to Rivals. Wake Forest’s 2012 recruiting class was ranked No. 21 in the country by ESPN.
Battle went to Wake Forest after spending seven seasons at Xavier University as an assistant coach under Skip Prosser. Battle coached alongside Prosser for 14 years and at three different institutions. He was on the Loyola (Md.) College staff in 1993-94 when Prosser made his head coaching debut, then joined him on the sidelines at Xavier before going to Winston-Salem prior to the start of the 2001-02 season.
Prior to Loyola, Battle was an assistant coach for three seasons at Delaware State from 1990-93.  He also served as head coach at Caesar Rodney High School in Dover, Del. from 1986-88.
Battle began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Delaware (1986-88) under coach Steve Steinwedel.
As an undergraduate, Battle played four seasons at Marshall, helping the Thundering Herd compile a record of 82-38 from 1982-85. Battle was the starting point guard and a captain in his junior and senior seasons, guiding Marshall to two consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.
Battle received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Marshall. He also received his master’s degree in physical education from Delaware in 1988. He has one son, Jordan.
-end- ​

11 Comments

  1. Barry Serpa

    May 9, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    Let the Dennis Smith Jr speculation begin lol !

  2. Alex Magz

    May 9, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    Yesssssssssssssss

  3. Andrew Linscott

    May 9, 2015 at 1:19 pm

    Great hire

  4. Joshua Michael Corrente

    May 9, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Does this mean Providence will emphasis the development of guards? then, logically, a two PG, 2 wing system included in next season’s rotation might seem interesting. As might a 3G system, with a 1-3-1 extended trap on defense.

  5. Brian Brown

    May 9, 2015 at 1:30 pm

    Now if we can find a way to keep Sham.

  6. Joe Parisi

    May 9, 2015 at 1:34 pm

    Fantastic news. Great hire! I’m sure Battle will be eager and ready to get back into it

  7. David Desroches

    May 9, 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Huge

  8. Derec Lamendola

    May 9, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    CRIAG LEIGHTION About

  9. Derec Lamendola

    May 9, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    CRIAG LEIGHTON DEREC LAMENDOLA ABOUT Derec Lamemdola Providence And And Enenthing From Coach Coooley And What’s Going ON AND When We Starting CRIAG LEIGHTON STARTING THIS SUMMMER PC DON’T TRVEAL Becuase LET’S BE ALL DONE WITH THAT STUFF I WON’T COACH COOOLEY HAVE PAERTKIS SUMMER AT ALUMNA HALL AND Enenthing Can YOU POST A Picksher OF Derec Lamendola

  10. Ross Riordan

    May 9, 2015 at 6:33 pm

    Losing Bob Simon hurts

  11. Rick Williams

    May 10, 2015 at 4:25 pm

    Great staff addition.

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