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Cats hire Talor Battle as assistant coach

Talor Battle
Talor Battle (Northwestern Athletics)

Northwestern couldn't beat Talor Battle when he was a player at Penn State. Maybe he can help the Wildcats win as an assistant coach.

Wildcat head coach Chris Collins announced on Monday that Battle was joining his staff as an assistant coach. He is replacing Emanuel Dildy, who left last month to take a job on new coach Porter Moser's staff at Oklahoma.

Battle is Penn State's all-time leading scorer and one of the best players to ever wear navy-and-white. He spent last season as an assistant to the head coach for his alma mater.

Battle is also the older brother of Northwestern point guard Boo Buie.

Northwestern fans will remember Battle as a nemesis when he played at Penn State from 2007-08 to 2010-11. The Wildcats went 0-6 against the Nittany Lions when he was on the roster, and he was often the reason why.

A prolific 6-foot guard, Battle scored a program-record 2,213 points in his career in Happy Valley. He led the Lions in scoring in all four of his seasons and was twice named first-team All-Big Ten. He also got an honorable mention All-America nod from the Associated Press in 2010-11, when he averaged 20.2 points per game.

Battle averaged 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game over his career. He left Penn State with the records for scoring, starts (131) and minutes played (4,799, also the Big Ten mark).

After graduating from Penn State with a degree in recreation, park, and tourism management, Battle embarked on a eight-year professional career overseas. He played for teams in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Hungary and Slovenia.

Battle was hired as an assistant coach last fall by former Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers, who resigned in November. Battle coached under interim head man Jim Ferry, who was let go at the end of the season.

New PSU coach Micah Shrewsberry hired Battle just last month to be an assistant to the head coach, a non-coaching staff position. But Battle decided to take a coaching position at NU instead.


Our take: Adding Battle is a coup for Collins and the Wildcat program. Battle has name recognition and just ended his professional career in 2018, so he has instant credibility with players and potential recruits. He also knows the Big Ten after four years as a player and one as an assistant.

Battle is replacing Dildy, who was probably Northwestern's best recruiter. While he doesn't have much of a track record in that capacity, his credentials alone should open some doors, especially in the East (he is an Albany, N.Y. native).

Battle will have to walk a fine line coaching Buie, his little brother. But Battle is more than just a family member: he also had a game similar to Buie's. He should be able to help the talented junior point guard further develop his skills after an up-and-down sophomore campaign in 2020-21.

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