Evan Battey (Photo courtesy CUBuffs.com)
CU freshman forward Evan Battey is being redshirted for the 2017-18 season due to his ineligibility under NCAA academic policies.
The View Park, California, native won’t lose a year of eligibility. He’ll still have four years to complete starting next season.
Tad Boyle, head coach for the men’s basketball team, stated that the NCAA’s decision was due to circumstances in Battey’s high school career.
Boyle later talked about Battey’s struggles as a 13-year-old in the classroom, saying that he dealt with personal and family issues at the time. The coach later stated that Battey is doing fine academically.
Battey came to Boulder as a four-star recruit and was ranked the 17th best post player in the nation by ESPN. He responded to the situation, looking at the brighter side of things.
“It’s unfortunate,” Battey said. “I take it with a grain of salt and just learn from it and just move on. It lights a fire for me. I think of my practices as the games, and I just go out there and compete.”
Boyle wasn’t pleased with the NCAA’s decision to redshirt Battey, as he believes that he shouldn’t be punished and that the ruling lacks a grasp of his individual context.
“They have no idea what kind of kid Evan Battey is,” Boyle said. “I’m extremely disappointed. It’s a little bit ironic to me, with all the things going on in college basketball.”
Boyle touched on how other schools seem to be getting away with these types of instances while Battey and the Buffs aren’t.
“Evan Battey gets punished, and North Carolina gets off scot-free, and so are the four schools and head coaches indicted by the FBI,” Boyle said. “I’m not sure where the justice is in that. That’s for other people to decide, but I’m extremely disappointed.”
Battey was a standout at Villa Park High School in the Los Angeles, California, area before coming to Colorado. He averaged 24 points per game for the Spartans as a junior.
“When I think of basketball IQ, I think of Evan Battey,” Boyle said of Battey in the past. “Evan I think is getting used to the physicality and the speed of the game here in the college level and had shown some bright spots for us.”
Contact CU Independent Sports staff writer Drew Sharek at andrew.sharek@colorado.edu.
