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]
Battle played collegiately at Northern Illinois University from 1984 to 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]
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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
