Ready for Battle

Currently, many fans of college basketball complain that they can't point to a collegiate athlete as a role model for younger generations.

Turner Battle of the Bulls is a stark contrast to this trend. His talent and leadership on the court have inspired a whole generation of Bulls fans.

A North Carolina native, Battle has proven to be a big asset to UB's basketball program since he was recruited by UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon four years ago.

In Battle's first year playing for the Bulls, he was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. He was also named UB men's basketball Newcomer of the Year.

Since then, Battle has been named UB men's basketball Most Valuable Player twice, he has received All-MAC Honorable Mention accolades, and he was named to the All-MAC Second Team last season.

"I've enjoyed (UB), it's different," said Battle. "I'm coming from North Carolina. It's a whole new atmosphere. I've met a whole lot of good people."

Despite all of the individual success that he has experienced in the past, Battle is extremely excited to begin this season with the Bulls.

"There's a lot of expectations of us and a lot of the hard work we've done in the past is starting to pay off," he said. "We've been at the bottom and now we're trying to get to the top."

Battle's star performance over the past three years at UB has not only been on the basketball court.

Battle has been awarded the prestigious Academic All-MAC Award twice. He has also been named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week twice.

He pointed to time management as being the key factor in keeping an even balance between academics and athletics.

"It's time management. I can thank my parents for that. They taught me that early and time management is huge in college," said Battle. "There's twenty-four hours in a day and if you use your time wisely, there's plenty of time for basketball and academics."

Battle's talent has blossomed under head coach Reggie Witherspoon, who renewed his contract with UB through the 2008-2009 season.

"It felt good because (Witherspoon) brought us in, me, Jason Bird, Mark Bortz, and Dan Gilbert as his first recruiting class and it felt good to know that the work we've done has helped him and he definitely helped us on the court too, so everything is kind of paying off."

Battle said that Bulls fans can expect an exciting season, but for now, the Bulls are focused on their opening game.

"Right now we just have to take it one game at a time," Battle said. "Our first priority is to face UConn Saturday so we haven't given the MAC much thought right now. We're just focusing on one game at a time and if we go in each game and play our defense and recover loose balls and play as a team, then the outcomes will be in our favor."

Battle, the floor general at point guard for the Bulls, said good communication on the court will help the Bulls win games this season.

"The point-guard is kind of like the coach on the court. It's your job to make sure everybody's set up, to motivate everybody during the game and to communicate with the coach once the team is on the court. Communication is big."

With the start of his senior season less than four days away, UB fans can rest assured there will be no shortage of NBA scouts keeping their eyes on Buffalo's diamond in the rough.

"I haven't really given it (the NBA) much thought because I know I have one more year left. It's in the back of my mind, but right now I'm just focusing on the team and winning a MAC championship."

However, Battle does plan to continue to play basketball after he leaves UB.

"Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to play professionally somewhere, either in the NBA or overseas somewhere. Eventually when I'm done playing I would like to coach Division I basketball."