| Talor Battle |
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A first-team All-Big Ten and All-Region selection as a sophomore, Talor Battle has established himself as one of the top scoring and playmaking threats in the Big Ten and will be the undisputed on-court leader of the Nittany Lions. Coming off one of the best statistical seasons in Nittany Lion history in leading Penn State to a school-record 27 wins and the 2009 NIT title, Battle saw his game expand and confidence continue to grow as he led the U.S. World University Games team in scoring (10.0 ppg) and three-point shooting (13) on its way to a bronze medal performance in Serbia in July. A team co-MVP last season, the preseason candidate for the 2010 Wooden Award will look to become the 29th 1,000-point scorer in Penn State history and continue the pace that has him ahead of all-time Penn State all-time scoring leader Jesse Arnelle (2,138) after two seasons.
HONORS/MILESTONES
• 2009 first team All-Big Ten (coaches & media)
• 2009 first team USBWA All-Region 2
• 2009 first team NABC All-District 7
• 2009 U.S. World University Games Team leading scorer (10.0 ppg)
• 2009 NIT All-Tournament Team
• Led Big Ten in scoring in 2009 regular season (17.3 ppg)
• Led the nation in minutes played (1,422) in 2008-09
• Set Penn State single-season assist record (189)
• Fifth-best scoring season (635) in PSU history
• Record for points scored (952) in first two seasons at Penn State
• 2009 Team Co-MVP
• Big Ten Player of the Week (11/24/08)
• National Player of the Week (CollegeHoops.net) (2/2)
2008-09 • SOPHOMORE
Battle posted one of the most outstanding seasons in Penn State history setting a school record with 189 assists and racking up 635 points (fifth best ever) while leading the Nittany Lions to a school-record 27 wins and the programs first-ever national tournament title in the 2009 NIT...Earned first-team All-Big Ten, USBWA All-Region and NABC All-District honors while receiving honorable-mention All-America consideration from FOXsports.com and CollegeHoops.net...Led the Big Ten in scoring in the regular season (17.3 ppg)...Led the nation (1,422 minutes) and Big Ten (37.4 mpg) in playing time while making 37 starts and playing in all 38 games...Led Penn State in scoring (16.7), assists (5.0) and threes (92) and was second in steals (45)...92 threes rank as the third best season total at PSU...Ranked in the top 15 of eight Big Ten statistical categories, including second in assists, third in made threes, and 12th in rebounding (5.3)...Led Big Ten with 14 20-point games...Named to NIT All-Tournament team...Penn State team Co-MVP...Scored in double-digits in 35 of 38 games leading PSU in scoring 16 times and posting three double-doubles...Drove the length of the floor to hit the GAME WINNER with 0.3 second to play in a 64-63 upset of #23 Illinois...Hit a GAME TYING three at the buzzer to send a first round NIT game with George Mason into overtime and went on to score 11-straight points in the 77-73 victory...Scored a career-high 29 points, including 13 straight in the first half, to bring Penn State from 13 down to a 72-68 upset of No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing (2/2)...Made six threes, including a 27-footer at the half, and 11-of-19 from the floor in the game...Led Penn State with 21 points and a career-high nine assists in a upset of No. 14 Purdue (1/6)...Had 26 points and 12 rebounds in a Big Ten opening win over Northwestern (12/31)...Posted 26 points and 10 boards in a double-overtime loss at Iowa (3/7)...Nearly posted a triple-double on four occasions: 15 points, eight boards and eight assists vs. Rhode Island (12/28); 15 points, eight boards and nine assists vs. Towson (12/29); 11 points, 10 boards and eight assists vs. Sacred Heart (12/23); 10 points, nine boards and seven assists at Ohio State (2/24)...Made a habit of rallying Penn State from deficits with end-game heroics: 1) Scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, including eight straight during a game-tying run, and added a game-high 12 boards and career-best tying seven treys in a Big Ten opening win over Northwestern (12/31/08) as he led Penn State back from an 11-point second half deficit...2) Scored 20 points, including nine straight in the final 5:00, to help lead Penn State from 14 down to a 63-59 victory over Iowa (1/24)... 3) Scored 13 straight points and hit four threes, including a 27-footer at the buzzer, to bring Penn State from 13 down to a 38-37 halftime lead. He went on to score a career-high 29 points in a 72-68 upset of No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing (2/1)...4) Scored 19 of his team-high 21 points in the final 20:01 after hitting a last second three to give Penn State a 24-23 halftime lead in a victory over Minnesota (2/14). Hit two huge threes to twice tie the game in the final 5:00 and picked Devoe Joseph's pocket for an and-one lay-up with 1:00 to play and Penn State clinging to a two-point lead...5) Scored seven of his game-high 11 points in the final 2:23 of a huge 38-33 victory at #16 Illinois. Played all 40 minutes and was the only player in double-figures....6) Hit the game-winner with 0.3 seconds to play leading Penn State back from 10 down with 5:11 to play to a 64-63 upset of #23 Illinois (3/5)....7) Scored 12 straight points in the final 3:31 to bring Penn State from nine down and send the game into overtime in an eventual double-overtime loss at Iowa...8) Down three with 5.1 left, Battle drove the length of the floor and tossed in a game-tying three over two George Mason defenders as time expired to send the game to overtime...Proceeded to hit back-to-back threes and a reverse lay-up in OT to complete a run of 11-straight points in a 77-73 overtime victory in the first round of the 2009 NIT.
2007-08 SEASON•FRESHMAN
Battle started all but the Nittany Lions' first game at point-guard and led the team in assists (99), points (317) and minutes played (937) while ranking second in threes (48) and third in defensive rebounds (83) on the year...aver-aged 12.1 ppg in Big Ten conference games raising his scoring average by nearly six points per game from the non-conference season...Posted a career high point total four times in his first five Big Ten games and had 13 double-digit outings vs. conference opponents and 16 on the year...His 35 threes in the Big Ten play led the team...Had an impressive start to his collegiate career putting up 12 points and tying for a team high four assists in a 74-64 victory over St. Francis (11/12)...Battle's performance ranked as the third best among freshmen debuts under Ed DeChellis...Made his first career start in a 93-40 win over Canisius (11/16) posting eight points and a team-high five assists with just one turnover in 22 minutes...Posted 13 points and added a team-high four assists in a career high 31 minutes in a 74-67 loss to South Carolina (11/22)...Posted nine points, three rebounds and three assists with just one turnover in a team-high 35 minutes in a 66-61 win over Virginia Tech (11/28)...Made a runner in the lane with 39 seconds to play to put Penn State up three, 62-59...Scored 11-straight points in the last minute and overtime on his way to a career-high 14 points (nine in overtime) in an 89-86 overtime victory over Seton Hall (12/8)...His second half coast-to-coast drive and dunk sparked the Lions, who trailed by as many as 15...Made three late threes, one to tie the game and one to give PSU its first lead...Added a team-high four assists and a career-best five rebounds...Had a career high six rebounds and added five points and three assists in win over Colgate (12/23)...Scored all of his 14 points in the second half of a 79-68 victory at Northwestern (2/1)...Had eight of those points and two threes early in the first half to spark a 20-4 run that gave PSU the lead after trailing 35-34 at the half...Scored 19 points with a career-best three treys in a 76-73 loss to Minnesota (1/12)...Had just one turnover in a career high 36 minutes against the Gophers full-court press...Had a career game in a head-to-head match-up with freshman sensation Eric Gordon at Indiana (1/20)...Scored a then career high 20 points, making a career-best 4-of-5 from three and 7-of-12 from the floor, while leading the team with four assists and two steals in an 81-65 loss...Scored 11 points and made a career-best four steals in a career high 38 minutes in a 64-49 loss at Iowa (1/26)...Helped lead Penn State to an 85-76 upset of No. 7 Michigan State (2/2) with 17 points and a team-high four assists and two steals in 37 minutes...Made three treys in the game and scored seven straight points in the second half...recorded his sixth straight double-figure game leading Penn State with 14 points, a career-high tying six rebounds and four assists in a 52-51 win over Illinois (2/16)...Scored Penn State's last nine points of the game... Made huge three-pointer with 1:05 to play and stripped Iowa's Justin Johnson just before the buzzer to preserve a 65-64 win over Iowa (2/27)...Battle was SPECTACULAR leading Penn State to a 69-61 win over Michigan (3/1) recording career highs of 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven threes in the game...Battle had 15 points and seven rebounds at the half...He was scorching hot from the floor hitting 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the floor and 7-of-9 from three, many from beyond 22 feet...Scored 10 points and added six rebounds and a team-high five assists in a 68-64 upset of No. 17 Indiana (3/9)...Made 3-of-4 at the line in overtime to seal the win while playing a career high 43 minutes...Led the Lions with 17 points and added six rebounds and a team high five assists in a 64-63 last second loss to Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament (3/13).
HIGH SCHOOL
Named to the first team Class AA (largest) New York State Sportswriters Association Boys Basketball All-Star Team as a senior...Named the Large School Player-of-the-Year by the Albany Times Union...Averaged 26.7 points, 5.7 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game as he led Bishop Maginn to the Class AA state title game...Rated a top 100 recruit in the ESPN 150, the No. 17 point-guard recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 25 among point-guards by Scout.com...Ended his career as the fifth leading scorer all-time in New York Section II history with 2,161 points...Led Maginn to the Section II Class AA championship in 2007, the school's first boy's basketball title, and a 23-4 record, the most wins in school history...Ranked third in Section II in scoring and seventh making 54 three-pointers...Posted a season high 47 points in a victory over Troy and had 11 games scoring over 30 points, including a 34-point outing in the state playoffs...Named the Section II tournament Most Valuable Player after rallying his team from a 26-16 halftime deficit to defeat three-time defending champion Christian Brothers Academy in the final...Averaged 29.4 points, 5.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds a game as a junior leading Section II in scoring and posting two 40-point games...Second in Section II with 82 three-pointers while hitting nearly 40 percent from the arc...Named the Big 10 Division Player-of-the-Year and earned multiple Player-of-the-Year honors from the Troy Record, Schenectady Gazette and Fox 23 Sports...Honorable-mention 2006-07 Street & Smith's Boys High School All-America Team...Invited to the Nike All-America Camp...A four-year varsity starter, Battle spent one year at Catholic Central High School in Troy, New York before moving to Maginn...Also lettered in baseball.
PERSONAL
Born in Harrisburg, Pa., on Sept. 16, 1988... He lived there until the age seven...Has many family members still residing in the area...One of nine children, he has four brothers (one older and three younger) and four sisters (one older and three younge)....A member of the National Honor Society, he carried over a 90 percent average in high school and was enrolled in advanced placement classes.
