Kenny Battle

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

Kenny Battle

Personal information
Born	(1964-10-10) October 10, 1964 (age 59) Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	West Aurora (Aurora, Illinois)
College	Northern Illinois (1984–1986) Illinois (1987–1989)
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
First-team All-MAC (1986)
Stats  at NBA.com
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
• 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

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	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

1. . Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
2. http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/legends/index.htm ^{[bare URL]}
3. The First Century Northern Illinois Men's Basketball
4. NIU Huskies Hall of Fame
5. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
6. FightingIllini.com
7. FightingIllini.com
8. . NBA.com. 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.

External links

• Kenny Battle profile, basketball-reference.com