From North Carolina to the Hall of Fame

When Turner Battle took his first jump shot in Alumni Arena in 2001 he never realized the impact he would have on the University at Buffalo men's basketball program.

However, head coach Reggie Witherspoon had a pretty good idea and that is why he convinced the highly coveted recruit to travel more than 600 miles from North Carolina to Western New York to become the cornerstone of his rebuilding project.

Battle made that first jump shot and went on to make many more en route to having one of the finest careers of any student-athlete in school history.

On Friday night Battle will be among the 38^th class inducted into the UB Athletics Hall of Fame. It is something that was far from his mind when he first arrived on campus.

"Coming to UB, I just wanted to be as successful as possible," Battle said. "I wanted to get a degree and win some games. I never thought that this would happen."

Successful may be an understatement when reflecting on Battle's career.

He graduated in 2005 as the most decorated of all UB basketball players in the Mid-American Conference. He was its player of the year his senior season and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American. He led the Bulls to a school-record 23 wins in 2004-05 and an appearance in the MAC championship game. Although the Bulls lost a heartbreaker to Ohio, they did advance to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament for the team's first postseason appearance.

Battle averaged team-highs of 15.5-points and 4.4 steals and logged the most minutes (1,160) by a Bull during a single season. Additionally, his leadership on and off the court was immeasurable, leading the Bulls in scoring his last three seasons and finishing his career with 1,414 points to stand fifth on the all-time list. He also topped the Bulls in assists all four years and in steals for two. In 2003-04, he was chosen a MAC second-team pick after earning honorable mention as a sophomore and all-freshman in his initial campaign. When his career ended, he was among the school's top five in eight of 11 categories.

Battle was as successful in the classroom as he was on the court. He was a three-time Academic All-MAC selection and in 2005 earned Academic All-America honors.

Along with Jason Bird, Mark Bortz and Daniel Gilbert who were in the same recruiting class, Battle helped change the culture of UB basketball. The scene in Alumni Arena went from being a friends and family affair to being one of the hottest tickets in town.

The Bulls drew a record crowd of 8,971 when they hosted Northern Illinois in the first round of the 2004 MAC Tournament. When the final horn sounded and the scoreboard showed a 17-point victory for the home team, the fans rushed the floor to help celebrate the Bulls' first trip to Cleveland. Battle recalls that moment as one of his fondest memories.

"Selling the place out and having the largest crowd that Alumni Arena would ever have was incredible," Battle said. "It was a huge accomplishment and it showed that all the work that we as a team put in was starting to pay off."

Following graduation in 2005, Battle began a professional basketball career overseas. He never forgot about Buffalo, as he would return to UB in the offseason to work out. It was during one of those offseason workouts that his life would change forever. While playing a pickup game in the practice gym, Battle fell awkwardly on his arm – breaking it in multiple places. His playing career was essentially over.

That is when coach Witherspoon, who brought Battle to UB to resurrect his program years earlier, extended an invitation to help his team again - this time from the sidelines.

Battle's long-term goal was to be a college coach, so he quickly accepted the invitation.

"It was an honor. For coach to bring me back speaks volumes about him," Battle said. "It's a dream. I always wanted to coach college basketball, but I didn't think I would have a chance to coach as young as I was. Coach had the confidence in me, which was a blessing."

A point guard is often considered a coach on the court. Now Battle gets to be one off the court. Entering his fourth year, Battle's hard work and experience have paid dividends to the team, especially the point guard position. Last season, John Boyer led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio to become the first UB basketball player to lead the NCAA in a statistical category in the Bulls' Division I era.

Battle will join swimmers Jennefer Brankovsky (BS '05) and Korry Miller (BS '98), former president William R. Greiner (posthumously), wrestler Jeffrey Howard (EdM '93 & BA '90) as well as award winners Peter Rao (EdM '63 & EdB '56) (posthumously), Nanette Harvey (EdM '87 & BS '78) (posthumously) and Kevin Brinkworth (JD '66 & BA '63) at Friday's induction ceremony.

"It's a big achievement. A lot of hard work has paid off," Battle said. "It hasn't hit me yet. It's something I thought would never happen. It's a dream come true."

University at Buffalo Athletics

From North Carolina to the Hall of Fame

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