It is all about cause and effect: UAB hired former Buffalo basketball star Turner Battle to be 1 of their assistant coaches last year, and the result was the Blazers’ 1st-ever Conference USA tourney title, a trip to the NCAA tourney, and a stunning 1-PT upset of #3-seed Iowa State. Not only is he a good coach, but his resume as a player is outstanding: 2005 MAC POY, 3-time member of the All-MAC Academic team, a pro career in Europe, and induction into his alma mater’s Hall of Fame in 2010. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Battle about turning down the ACC and coming THIS close to making the NCAA tourney as a senior.
After you signed with Buffalo college basketball recruiting expert Bob Gibbons said you were the “steal of the millennium” because you could have played for an ACC school: did you get recruited by any ACC schools, and why did you decide to go to Buffalo? I got an offer from Virginia Tech and was also recruited by Clemson. I chose Buffalo because there were a lot of ups and downs for me during the recruiting process but they stuck with me the whole time.
You were a 3-time Academic All-MAC performer: how were you able to balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Academics are something that my parents instilled in me from a young age. Basketball was a privilege but academics came first. I had high expectations in college and knew that basketball would not always be there for me.
At Buffalo you lost 23 games during your sophomore year but won a school-record 23 games during your senior year: how were you able to turn it around in only 2 years, and what was the reaction like from the fans? We were 1 of the youngest teams in the country during my sophomore year and never really came together as a team. After growing closer as a unit in the years after that we were able to turn the program around. Once we started to win more games the fans started to support us more and more.
What are your memories of the 2005 MAC tourney title game, the 1st such appearance in school history (you lost on a last second tip-in)? It was a game of runs. We came out strong and were up by about 20 PTS, but they came back in the 2nd half. It was kind of like slow motion at the end: I saw the guy tip it in but there was nothing I could do to stop him. We left it all out on the floor but came up just short.
What are your memories of the 2005 NIT (you scored a team-high 12 PTS in a 5-PT loss to St. Joe’s)? We did not play our best basketball as a team and I did not play well in general. It was an ugly game featuring a pair of defensive-minded teams. That game was tough: it was my last game and you never want to go out with a loss.
In 2005 you were named an All-American, and became the 1st Buffalo player to ever be named conference POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding individual honors? It meant a lot because it was something that I had always dreamed of. Coach Reggie Witherspoon pretty much built up the program himself. Being named POY was amazing but being named All-American was kind of surreal. I always strived to be a team-1st person, but the awards showed that my hard work paid off.
After graduation you played professionally in Estonia/France/Sweden, as well as in the D-League and ABA: what did you learn from these experiences, and how did they compare to college basketball? I learned a lot about life. When you are in a country where they do not speak English, you are kind of on your own. It was a transition to becoming a man. To be able to play for money was also a dream of mine, even though it did not last that long.
In 2007 you were hired as an assistant coach at Buffalo, replacing the guy who originally recruited you there (Chris Hawkins): was it weird to replace Chris, and what did you learn from him about how to be a good recruiter? I learned a lot from Chris both on and off the court. Both he and Coach Witherspoon did a good job of recruiting me, and even today I can call up Chris if I need his advice. They told me that I needed to be myself and to be honest, which is how I try to act as a coach.
You previously worked as an assistant for Coach Will Wade at Chattanooga: how did you enjoy being an assistant coach, and what do you hope to do in the future? I enjoy it a lot: it is what I want to do. It is a tough profession to get into but even tougher to stick around. I am like a sponge so I try to soak everything in, and hope to become a head coach someday. Coach Witherspoon at Buffalo also made it a very easy transition for me.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? Just as a hard-working guy who was both team-oriented and family-oriented. I hated to lose so I played my hardest every single night.