Kenny_Battle

Kenny Battle

Kenny Battle

American basketball player (born 1964)

Kenneth R. Battle (born October 10, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player.

Quick Facts Personal information, Born ...

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 1984–1986 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

Northern Illinois University

More information Season, Games ...

* All-time Single Season Record in Northern Illinois University history

University of Illinois

More information Season, Games ...

* All-time Single Season Record in University of Illinois history[7][14]

Combined college statistics

More information Season, Games ...

NBA career statistics

More information Legend ...
† Denotes season in which Battle won an NBA championship
* Led the league

Regular season

More information Year, Team ...

Playoffs

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References

  1. [1]
    "IHSA's March Madness -- 1984 Class AA Boys". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  2. [2]
    "Legends". www.ihsa.org. [dead link]
  3. [3]
    "The First Century Northern Illinois Men s Basketball Media Guide PDF Free Download". docplayer.net. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  4. [4]
    NIU Huskies Hall of Fame
  5. [5]
    "100 years of memories, basketball at NIU" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  6. [6]
    "1988-89 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. [7]
    "Basketball Individual Career Records (PDF)" (PDF). University of Illinois Athletics. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  8. [8]
    "NBA.com: All-Star: Slam Dunk Year-by-Year Results". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  9. [9]
    NewsBank.com
  10. [10]
    "2017-18 NIU Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF)" (PDF). NIU Athletics. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  11. [11]
    "FightingIllini.com" (PDF). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  12. [12]
    IBCA Hall of Fame
  13. [13]
    "NIU Announces All Century Team". getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  14. [14]
    "Kenny Battle College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
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