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More on Jeff Battle

Jeff Battle 2

Here’s a look at Jeff Battle, who officially joined the Friar staff over the weekend.

Recruiting impact: Let’s start with what most are wondering: what sort of impact can Battle make on the recruiting trail? During his time at Wake Forest Battle was part of a staff that recruited three top 10 national classes in his 13 years there. As a result, six players from his tenure at Wake were NBA draft picks, including former MVP Chris Paul and all star Jeff Teague.

North Carolina’s class of 2016 is top heavy. Three of the country’s top 10 players are North Carolina products, including power forward Harry Giles and point guard Dennis Smith Jr. — both top 5 players in the class according to ESPN. Smith told Adam Zagoria that Providence is recruiting him, but he’s about as sought after as any point guard in the country and would be considered a long shot. Louisville, Duke, Kansas and the rest of the elite are in pursuit.

Top 60 guard Kwe Parker is Giles’ teammate at Wesleyan Christian Academy. The school is practically on Wake Forest’s doorstep and there has been speculation that Parker will commit to Danny Manning this summer. There isn’t a more electrifying athlete in the country. Parker broke his foot this past season and missed the end of the year. Notably, he was teammates with Smith Jr. before transferring to Wesleyan Christian.

Battle’s contacts branch outside of North Carolina. Over the last 7-8 years some of Wake’s better players came from outside of the state, including Jeff Teague (IN), James Johnson (WY), and Al-Farouq Aminu (GA).

Carson Desrosiers also played for Battle for two seasons.

Guard Development: Battle has a reputation for developing guards. This comes from the Wake Forest Athletic Department:

“At both Wake Forest and Xavier, Battle concentrated his expertise on the development of the guards. Both Chris Paul, a 2005 All-American, and Josh Howard, a 2003 NBA first-round draft pick, credit Battle with their emergence as all-around players. At Xavier, Battle played a big role in helping James Posey make the transition from post player to perimeter player.

Battle’s knack for developing talented guards was evident when he helped guide Jeff Teague to a breakout season in 2008-09. Teague was a relatively underrated player entering the season but, under the tutelage of Battle, was a second team All-American and entered the conversation for national player of the year honors.

Battle also mentored two-time All-ACC guard C.J. Harris, helping to develop him into one of the top scoring guards in the conference. Harris earned third team All-ACC honors as both a junior and senior, as he ranked among the top six in the conference in scoring both seasons.”

Tournament Appearances: Under Skip Prosser, Battle was part of a staff that made one of the most drastic turnarounds in college basketball history. Prosser inherited a Loyola (MD) team that finished 2-25 in the early 90s and made the NCAA Tournament the next season — Prosser’s first at the school.

Battle was then part of a Xavier staff that reached the NCAAs five times in seven years and six more times at Wake Forest. They were twice ranked #1 in the country at Wake, where Battle coached four All Americans (Josh Howard, Chris Paul, Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu).

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

 

 

4 Comments

  1. Derec Lamendola

    May 10, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    This Asome I Love This What’s This OF CRAIG LEIGHTON WERE DEREC LAMENDOLA PICKSER Were IS IT And Can YOU POST PICKHER OF Me ON Facebook Friarbasketball I DON’T SEE ME Today IS MOUTHERS DAY Enenething About Coach Coooley

  2. Jordan Scal Hunter

    May 10, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Marcel Miracle

  3. Craig Leighton

    May 10, 2015 at 5:55 pm

    sorry Derec. They don’t even allow me to post pictures of myself here. I hope you had a great weekend. Coach Cooley got a great replacement for his assistant coach.

  4. Derec Lamendola

    May 11, 2015 at 1:57 am

    CRIAG LEGHTION Derec Lamendola Why IS That And About Gradshwaing And You POST About Derec LaDoante Henton Ges Who’s Going LaDonte Henton Graduation IM Going

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