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Coach Painter is continuously on the trail trying to replenish the front court with his 2017 class. He has searched high and low, in state and out of state recruiting big name guys such as Jaren Jackson, Xavier Tillman and Malik Williams. But, as we know we don't always land the big name recruits.
Enter Evan Battey, a 6'7" 280-pound power forward that shows a unique skill set in his recruiting videos. Currently, rivals.com has him ranked 140 in the top 150, but he does not have any big school offers, with his offers being: Nevada, San Jose State, San Diego, Utah State and Fresno State.
He shows soft hands in the post, but he is also an under the basket Power Forward, similar to Caleb Swanigan. He isn't as great as Biggie on the boards, but it appears as if he has an outside shooting stroke that many 280-pound Power Forwards do not have. As a Junior last season, he averaged right at 24 points per game, showing dominance in the post and a nice outside game as well. Take a look at his 2015 highlights.
According to USATodayhss.com, Battey was one of the leaders at the NBA Players Association Top 100 camp. Players such as Paul Scruggs were at this camp as well. Apparently, he was in the top two of the camp in scoring and rebounding, posting a couple of double-doubles at the camp.
As usual though, CMP is doing his due diligence before offering a scholarship out to anyone with this loaded 2017 class. It appears as if Battey will be ineligible to play for his high school, Villa Park High School, his Senior season. No, not because off the court issues, or current academic issues. He was held back his freshman year in high school and in California you only get 8 athletic semesters while in high school. He used his 8th up last season. It seems as if most recruiting comes from AAU now anyway, so it shouldn't hurt his stock too much.
I like his potential, he has nice touch around the rim and from deep. He might not be the best defensive guy or the best rebounder, but those both could be improved once he got with a college strength and training staff. IF CMP offers, we will take Evan in West Lafayette with open arms.