There is a classic saying in Buffalo, in fact I own the shirt. It reads “Wide right, no goal, forward pass, Rob Johnson for a quarterback. SCREWED AGAIN!” This is the history of a Buffalo sports fan, we don’t have championships to celebrate, just near misses to look back on in horror. Well there is now another thread to this tangled web of defeat, Turner Battle, the former UB Bulls point guard.
Turner Battle is arguably the best athlete to ever come out of the University of Buffalo athletics department. The man won the MAC MVP as a senior, totaled over 1000 points, 400 assists, and 400 rebounds for his career, and more importantly, was the driving force behind the awakening of Alumni Arena, where the Bulls play.
Battle tried out for a couple teams this spring, most notably the Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors. We were given hope when Detroit called him back for a second tryout. UB fans everywhere convinced themselves that Battle could make it in the NBA, that he was the poor man’s Chauncey Billups, or that if he was drafted by the right team he could see some minutes.
When ex-UB center Mark Bortz signed with the LA clippers summer league team, we were sure Battle’s signing was merely a formality. It never happened. Now most likely, if Battle wants to further his career he’ll have to go to Europe. There are players who have gone this route — college to undrafted to Europe to NBA — most notably Heat starting power foward Udonis Haslem, but for Battle it is not likely.
As much as UB fans hate to admit it, Battle does not have the game for the NBA. At 6-3 he is on the smaller side, he doesn’t have amazing quickness, he is not the best three point shooter, and his free-throw percentage leaves plenty to be desired. When I think of Battle I think of Derek Jeter. Not the best at anything but good at everything. Battle separates himself by always playing smart and having great intangibles. I guess what my point is, is that Battle could not separate himself enough from the crowd. He doesn’t have a specialty that he is great at, and because of this he may never make an NBA roster, even a summer league one.
I never expected Turner to play a lot of minutes, maybe I didn’t even expect him to make the team, but I know I never expected for him to not even get a shot in the NBA. I hope that one day I can proudly wear my number 11 Battle jersey, preferably for the Dallas Mavericks, where he would be a great fit, but until then he is just another line for a funny t-shirt
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