Kenny Battle

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

Kenny Battle
Personal information
Born (1964-10-10) October 10, 1964
Aurora, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Aurora (Aurora, Illinois)
College
NBA draft1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1989–2000
PositionSmall forward
Number3, 5, 8, 33
Career history
1989–1991Phoenix Suns
1991Denver Nuggets
1991–1992La Crosse Catbirds
1992Boston Celtics
1992Golden State Warriors
1992La Crosse Catbirds
1992Boston Celtics
1992–1994La Crosse Catbirds
1994–1995Quad City Thunder
1995Olimpia de Venado Tuerto
2000Fargo-Moorhead Beez
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-MAC (1986)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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
  • 1986 - Youngest player in MAC History to Reach 1,000 Career Points.
  • 1986 - 1st Team All-Mid-American Conference
  • 1987 - Illini Co-MVP
  • 1989 - Team Co-Captain[11]
  • 1989 - Preseason Wooden Award Nominee
  • 1989 - 2nd Team All-Big Ten
  • 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]
  • 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
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

University of Illinois
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[14][15]

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 5912.4.547.6712.10.64.1
1990-91 Phoenix 1616.4.442.6903.30.96.0
1990-91 Denver 4017.1.485.7813.11.26.1
1991-92 Boston 85.8.7501.0001.10.01.8
1991-92 Golden State 85.8.615.5000.90.52.3
1992-93 Boston 39.7.4621.0003.70.74.7
Career 13413.4.504.7252.40.84.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1990 Phoenix 84.3.3081.0000.60.01.1
Career 84.3.3081.0000.60.01.1

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-03-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/legends/index.htm
  3. The First Century Northern Illinois Men's Basketball
  4. NIU Huskies Hall of Fame
  5. 100 years of memories, basketball at NIU
  6. FightingIllini.com
  7. FightingIllini.com
  8. "NBA.com: All-Star: Slam Dunk Year-by-Year Results". Archived from the original on 2016-12-19. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  9. NewsBank.com
  10. NIUHuskies.com
  11. FightingIllini.com
  12. IBCA Hall of Fame
  13. GetSomeMACtion.com
  14. FightingIllini.com
  15. "Kenny Battle College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
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