Kenny Battle
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Aurora, Illinois, U.S. | October 10, 1964
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | West Aurora (Aurora, Illinois) |
College |
|
NBA draft | 1989: 1st round, 27th overall pick |
Selected by the Detroit Pistons | |
Playing career | 1989–2000 |
Position | Small forward |
Number | 3, 5, 8, 33 |
Career history | |
1989–1991 | Phoenix Suns |
1991 | Denver Nuggets |
1991–1992 | La Crosse Catbirds |
1992 | Boston Celtics |
1992 | Golden State Warriors |
1992 | La Crosse Catbirds |
1992 | Boston Celtics |
1992–1994 | La Crosse Catbirds |
1994–1995 | Quad City Thunder |
1995 | Olimpia de Venado Tuerto |
2000 | Fargo-Moorhead Beez |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Kenneth R. Battle (born October 10, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player.
High school career
In 1984, Battle led Aurora West High School to third place in the Illinois High School Association Class AA state basketball tournament. Battle led the tournament with 86 points in four games for third-place finisher Aurora West.[1]
In 2007, the Illinois High School Association named Battle one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament.[2]
College career
Battle played collegiately at Northern Illinois University from 1984 to 1986 before transferring to the University of Illinois.[3][4][5] He was known as "King of the 360s" while playing at Northern Illinois. He was the captain of the 1989 Illinois team nicknamed the Flyin' Illini.[6] The team reached the Final Four before being topped by Michigan. Battle was a fan favorite due to his hustle and spectacular slam dunks. The Illini awards the Kenny Battle Inspirational Award to the player who shows the most hustle during the season.[7]
Professional career
Battle was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the 1st round (27th overall) of the 1989 NBA draft and then traded on draft day to the Phoenix Suns along with Micheal Williams in exchange for the Suns' first round draft choice (24th overall pick), Anthony Cook. Battle played in 4 NBA seasons for the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. His best year as a pro came during the 1991-92 NBA season when he split time with the Suns and Nuggets, appearing in 56 games and averaging 6.1 ppg. However, Battle's best game as a pro came on November 10, 1990, when he scored 23 points on 8/14 shooting in a Suns 173 – 143 victory over the Nuggets. Prior to that, he competed in the 1990 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, where he finished in last place (8th).[8] Battle briefly joined the Fargo-Moorhead Beez of the International Basketball Association in 2000.[9] Currently Kenny is the director of basketball at Camp Judaea in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Honors
Basketball
- 1985–96 – NABC National Dunker of the Year[10]
- 1985 – 2nd Team All-Mid-American Conference
- 1985 – Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year
- 1985 – Honorable Mention All American
- 1986 – Youngest player in MAC History to Reach 1,000 Career Points.
- 1986 – 1st Team All-Mid-American Conference
- 1986 – Honorable Mention All American
- 1987 – Illini Co-MVP
- 1988 – 3rd Team All-Big Ten
- 1988 – Honorable Mention All American
- 1989 – Team Co-Captain[11]
- 1989 – Preseason Wooden Award Nominee
- 1989 – 2nd Team All-Big Ten
- 1989 – Honorable Mention All American
- 1989 – NCAA All-Regional Team
- 1989 – Kenny Battle Leadership Award
- 1996 – Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.[12]
- 2000 – Named to the Northern Illinois University All-Century Team.[13]
- 2004 – Elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team".
- 2008 – Honored as one of the thirty-three honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
College statistics
Season | Games | Points | PPG | Field Goals | Attempts | Avg | Free Throws | Attempts | Avg | Rebounds | RPG | Assists | APG | Steals | SPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984–85 | 27 | 544 | 20.1 | 195 | 369 | .528 | 154 | 234 | .658 | 167 | 6.2 | 59 | 2.2 | 60 | 2.2 |
1985–86 | 27 | 528 | 19.6 | 201 | 354 | .568 | 126 | 193 | .653 | 175 | 6.5 | 59 | 2.2 | 67* | 2.5 |
Totals | 54 | 1,072 | 19.9 | 396 | 723 | .548 | 280 | 427 | .656 | 342 | 6.3 | 118 | 2.2 | 127 | 2.4 |
* All-time Single Season Record in Northern Illinois University history
Season | Games | Points | PPG | Field Goals | Attempts | Avg | Free Throws | Attempts | Avg | Rebounds | Avg | Assists | APG | Steals | SPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987–88 | 33 | 516 | 15.6 | 197 | 341 | .578 | 122 | 179 | .682 | 183 | 5.5 | 55 | 1.7 | 72 | 2.2 |
1988–89 | 36 | 596 | 16.6 | 218 | 361 | .604 | 151 | 200 | .755 | 174 | 4.8 | 64 | 1.8 | 89* | 2.5 |
Totals | 69 | 1,112 | 16.1 | 415 | 702 | .591 | 273 | 379 | .720 | 357 | 5.2 | 119 | 1.7 | 161 | 2.3 |
* All-time Single Season Record in University of Illinois history[7][14]
Combined college statistics
Season | Games | Points | PPG | Field Goals | Attempts | Avg | Free Throws | Attempts | Avg | Rebounds | Avg | Assists | APG | Steals | SPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984–89 | 123 | 2,184 | 17.8 | 811 | 1,425 | .569 | 553 | 806 | .686 | 699 | 5.7 | 237 | 1.9 | 288 | 2.3 |
NBA career statistics
Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
FG% | Field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | ||
PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
† | Denotes season in which Battle won an NBA championship |
* | Led the league |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989–90 | Phoenix | 59 | 12.4 | .547 | .671 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 4.1 |
1990–91 | Phoenix | 16 | 16.4 | .442 | .690 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 6.0 |
1990–91 | Denver | 40 | 17.1 | .485 | .781 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 6.1 |
1991–92 | Boston | 8 | 5.8 | .750 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
1991–92 | Golden State | 8 | 5.8 | .615 | .500 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 2.3 |
1992–93 | Boston | 3 | 9.7 | .462 | 1.000 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 4.7 |
Career | 134 | 13.4 | .504 | .725 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 4.7 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Phoenix | 8 | 4.3 | .308 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
Career | 8 | 4.3 | .308 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
References
- ^ "IHSA's March Madness -- 1984 Class AA Boys". Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
- ^ "Legends". www.ihsa.org. [dead link ]
- ^ "The First Century Northern Illinois Men s Basketball Media Guide PDF Free Download". docplayer.net. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ NIU Huskies Hall of Fame
- ^ "100 years of memories, basketball at NIU" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ "1988-89 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ a b "Basketball Individual Career Records (PDF)" (PDF). University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ "NBA.com: All-Star: Slam Dunk Year-by-Year Results". NBA.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
- ^ NewsBank.com
- ^ "2017-18 NIU Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF)" (PDF). NIU Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ "FightingIllini.com" (PDF). Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ IBCA Hall of Fame
- ^ "NIU Announces All Century Team". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ "Kenny Battle College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
External links
- Kenny Battle profile, basketball-reference.com