COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Ohio State’s Battle ready for new start
With more to prove, star has paused his pro plans
MINNEAPOLIS – When he made his decision to leave, this wasn’t where Jamison Battle thought he’d be spending a mid-october morning. And it certainly wasn’t the company he thought he’d be keeping.
Seven months earlier, the native Minnesotan who had spent the last two of his four-year college career in uniform for his hometown Golden Gophers was ready for the next phase of his career. It was time to be a professional, and with a degree looming Battle told coach Ben Johnson that he was planning to leave Minnesota and begin the next phase of his career.
But a funny thing happened between the University of Minnesota and Tuesday’s Big Ten men’s basketball media day at the Target Center. Battle gathered some more feedback. He did some soulsearching. Ultimately, he came to a painful realization – that a pro career could still be in the offing, but not just yet.
There’s still more to prove, and a strong personal belief that his 2022-23 season left something to be desired.
“At the time when I told coach Johnson I was going pro I was solely set on going pro,” Battle said. “Then from talking people gathering research and looking at myself and the year I had it’s like, but you have a fifth year.”
That led Battle to enter his name into the transfer portal, which led to him signing to play for Ohio State. That sequence of events led him back home Tuesday, where he was one of three player representatives for the Buckeyes to hold court with reporters on the court where he once won a prep state title.
During his half-hour of media time, Battle shared a table with sophomore teammates Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton while answering a series of questions about his decision to transfer from Minnesota to Ohio State. It wasn’t a decision Battle made lightly, he said, but it wasn’t the most enjoyable season last year, either. A combination of losing – Minnesota went 22-39 during his two years and 9-22 last year – and the struggles of battling an injury that limited his production and effectiveness all combined to take a toll on the veteran.
“Not to say there was pressure on myself, but the internal pressure you put on representing your home state and understanding you want it so bad for Minnesota … I felt like mentally and physically I was just exhausted and drained because you’re at home,” he said. “That’s not an excuse to say I’m not performing or doing this or that, but it’s part of it.
“It was hard last year for me to see how I was struggling and how I was letting so much get to me. Not to say that it affected my play, but it affected my leadership and different things where, was I the best leader last year? Probably not.”
After averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 36.6% from 3 during the 2021-22 season, his first with Minnesota, Battle trailed off to 12.4, 3.8 and a career-low 31.1%, respectively, after missing the first four games of the season.
Once Battle decided to use the extra year of eligibility afforded to all players who participated during the COVID-19 pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, he said Ohio State immediately reached out and made a strong pitch while outlining how much the Buckeyes wanted him. After losing leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh to the NBA and key contributor Justice Sueing, coach Chris Holtmann said Battle was a perfect fit to address a need for scoring from the wing.
“We really needed him, and I think he felt like that,” Holtmann said. “He was getting recruited by other Big Ten schools and a lot of schools. We’ve challenged him to improve in a couple areas, his defense and his rebounding. He’s got to be able to rebound it better than what he is right now, and he’s embraced that.”
The thought process helping him decide that another year of school could do him good is the same that Battle is now using to try and challenge himself on the court. Rebounding and defense are heavily reliant on effort, Battle said, and to this point he hasn’t shown enough of that to consistently be good in those areas. In addition to last year’s rebounding totals, Battle was rated the Big Ten’s poorest defender according to Evanmiya.com’s individual player analytics.
Battle doesn’t shy away from the notion that he needs to be better.
“Defense and rebounding … it’s not necessarily those are skills,” he said. “It’s all about effort and that’s one thing I have to come out here and embrace. To be able to play on a high-level team who’s competing for championships, you have to be a top defensive team and in order for me to make an impact that I want to, I have to be able to defend and I have to be able to rebound.”