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Mont St. transfer from UW - RaeQuan Battle

PlayerRep

Well-known member
"When RaeQuan Battle first arrived at the University of Washington, he was billed as a sharpshooting 3-point specialist.

With the Huskies, Battle landed in a program that wanted to keep him as a shooter.

Make no mistake, he can shoot. But after growing up on the Tulalip Reservation about 40 miles north of Seattle and excelling with a high-tempo style of play, Battle rarely felt comfortable with the role.

“Where I grew up ... there ain’t no plays,” Battle said. “I like to be fast. I don’t like to slow it down. I don’t like to be coached every possession. I want to run. I want to be free.”

In two seasons at UW, Battle averaged 4.7 points per game and shot 30.1% from the field and 24.4% from 3-point range.

Then he entered the transfer portal in March. He went searching for a program with a philosophy he could be more successful in.

He said he also received strong interest from UNLV and fellow Big Sky teams Idaho State and Weber State. Battle will arrive at MSU with three years of eligibility — an extra year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Battle said he would be lighting up practices with outside shots, dunks and drives into the lane. During games, “they kind of used me for one thing, and that was shooting,” he said.

Battle takes pride in his ability to score at every level. But Sprinkle said the 6-foot-5 shooting guard comes with some “unbelievable” athleticism.

Growing up playing in Indian tournaments and in regular tournaments out here, I drove to the hoop. I would pump-fake, one-dribble pull-up and I got to the rim a lot. I was kind of an and-one guy,” he said. “And I played a lot inside. Catch it in the post, turn around and shoot. My midrange is not broken. My midrange is nice.

But, ultimately, he wanted to keep playing basketball so he could put himself in a position to return to the Tulalip Reservation as a force for good.

He’s seen unfathomable loss as a result of suicide and drug and alcohol addiction. He wants to study anthropology so he can better understand indigenous cultures around the world and start to make a difference where he grew up. He hopes to run basketball camps and make resources more available on the reservation.

“I want to start giving back to the community,” he said."

https://missoulian.com/sports/college/big-sky-conference/montana-state-university/raequan-battle-wants-to-showcase-creativity-not-just-jump-shot-in-transfer-to-montana-state/article_b57f06b6-ded5-57a9-8fb9-185bbffc27b3.html
 
Can you get an Anthropology degree at MSU? He must be able to otherwise he wouldn't be transferring there I guess.
 
I think PR saw "Tulalip Reservation" and "Indian tournaments" and decided the Cats' recruiting of the kid was further proof that Brian Holsinger doesn't like Native Americans. "My sources" tell me PR is thinking of getting MSU Men's season tickets next year so he can watch a "native" play for a Montana university. He also might pick up the new Frontier Conference roving season ticket deal that allows you to go to any Frontier game. That way he can watch some of the "Lady Griz Cut" models he was ogling over downtown a couple weeks ago before the massacre.
 
Mousegriz said:
I think PR saw "Tulalip Reservation" and "Indian tournaments" and decided the Cats' recruiting of the kid was further proof that Brian Holsinger doesn't like Native Americans. "My sources" tell me PR is thinking of getting MSU Men's season tickets next year so he can watch a "native" play for a Montana university. He also might pick up the new Frontier Conference roving season ticket deal that allows you to go to any Frontier game. That way he can watch some of the "Lady Griz Cut" models he was ogling over downtown a couple weeks ago before the massacre.

Yup, I like the NA kids and res ball. My guess is that this kid is going to be a big player in the Big Sky, if Sprinkle and he can make it work. He's 6'5" and athletic and can supposedly shoot long and mid-range, and get to the hoop. He accepted coaching, and just shooting, at UW, but ended up not shooting well and not being happy.

A lot of UM fans wish the Griz had bigger guards and that DeCuire would open up the offense and let the kids run more. Who on the Griz is going to be able to guard this kid?

I eventually grew up watching the Cats play hoops. Kermit Young, Gillespie, Storm, Warren Daniels, Brent Wilson. Hashley, Domako. etc. I got to play intramural ball with Gillespie and then Wilson in Great Falls. Huge fun. Great guys. I see that Brent died a few months ago.

Mouse, I had eye surgery recently and can't see very well yet. Please continue to proofread for me. My normal proofreaders advised me some time ago that I could save some money by having you do my proofreading instead of them. They also found it interesting that you suggested that I should get a life, when you seem to spend much of yours proofreading my posts on egriz.
 
UMFan12 said:
I’m not sure what the point of posting this here is if we had no interest....

Are you aware that the name of this forum is: "Montana Grizzlies Basketball - Griz and Big Sky Basketball", Montana St is in the Big Sky, and Montana St. is the main rival of the Griz?
 
This guy came to udub with a ton of fanfare. But he was a complete washout. He may be a great player at the bsc level. But after watching him play, I have major doubts and glad the GRIZ didn't give him a roster spot.
 
PlayerRep said:
Mousegriz said:
I think PR saw "Tulalip Reservation" and "Indian tournaments" and decided the Cats' recruiting of the kid was further proof that Brian Holsinger doesn't like Native Americans. "My sources" tell me PR is thinking of getting MSU Men's season tickets next year so he can watch a "native" play for a Montana university. He also might pick up the new Frontier Conference roving season ticket deal that allows you to go to any Frontier game. That way he can watch some of the "Lady Griz Cut" models he was ogling over downtown a couple weeks ago before the massacre.

Yup, I like the NA kids and res ball. My guess is that this kid is going to be a big player in the Big Sky, if Sprinkle and he can make it work. He's 6'5" and athletic and can supposedly shoot long and mid-range, and get to the hoop. He accepted coaching, and just shooting, at UW, but ended up not shooting well and not being happy.

A lot of UM fans wish the Griz had bigger guards and that DeCuire would open up the offense and let the kids run more. Who on the Griz is going to be able to guard this kid?

I eventually grew up watching the Cats play hoops. Kermit Young, Gillespie, Storm, Warren Daniels, Brent Wilson. Hashley, Domako. etc. I got to play intramural ball with Gillespie and then Wilson in Great Falls. Huge fun. Great guys. I see that Brent died a few months ago.

Mouse, I had eye surgery recently and can't see very well yet. Please continue to proofread for me. My normal proofreaders advised me some time ago that I could save some money by having you do my proofreading instead of them. They also found it interesting that you suggested that I should get a life, when you seem to spend much of yours proofreading my posts on egriz.

Perfect post PR! Not one typo. :clap: The eye must be coming around.

If I'd read more than a few hundred of the almost 29,000 posts you've made to EGriz (what a life!), and posted more than about 5% of that total myself, I really might think I was spending too much of my life on EGriz.

Please....tell me again about yours.
 
25.6 % from the floor and 20% for 3. Impressively bad. I’d be impressed if Sprinkle can get that fg even remotely efficient.
 
EverettGriz said:
This guy came to udub with a ton of fanfare. But he was a complete washout. He may be a great player at the bsc level. But after watching him play, I have major doubts and glad the GRIZ didn't give him a roster spot.

Just talked to my friend who follows UW basketball closely and has season tickets. He thinks the kid will be very good in the Big Sky. Said he can really light it up when hot. Said the kid seemed to lack confidence at times. Attributed part of that to the coach's bad and inconsistent pattern of substitution. Would play the kid alot one game, and hardly play him the next game. Starters didn't know when they'd be pulled. Bench guys wouldn't know how much and when they'd play.
 
PlayerRep said:
EverettGriz said:
This guy came to udub with a ton of fanfare. But he was a complete washout. He may be a great player at the bsc level. But after watching him play, I have major doubts and glad the GRIZ didn't give him a roster spot.

Just talked to my friend who follows UW basketball closely and has season tickets. He thinks the kid will be very good in the Big Sky. Said he can really light it up when hot. Said the kid seemed to lack confidence at times. Attributed part of that to the coach's bad and inconsistent pattern of substitution. Would play the kid alot one game, and hardly play him the next game. Starters didn't know when they'd be pulled. Bench guys wouldn't know how much and when they'd play.
“When hot”. Oh, is that when he shoots 30% from the floor and 25% for 3 instead of 25 and 20?
 
PlayerRep said:
EverettGriz said:
This guy came to udub with a ton of fanfare. But he was a complete washout. He may be a great player at the bsc level. But after watching him play, I have major doubts and glad the GRIZ didn't give him a roster spot.

Just talked to my friend who follows UW basketball closely and has season tickets. He thinks the kid will be very good in the Big Sky. Said he can really light it up when hot. Said the kid seemed to lack confidence at times. Attributed part of that to the coach's bad and inconsistent pattern of substitution. Would play the kid alot one game, and hardly play him the next game. Starters didn't know when they'd be pulled. Bench guys wouldn't know how much and when they'd play.

I'm no fan of Hopkins and thought he should have been fired after this year. But Battle got every opportunity to prove himself. It's just that he never did.
 
Battle is gonna be the most athletic player in the Big Sky by a mile...Tevian Jones shot 12% from 2 and 18% from 3 as a sophomore at Illinois...and then was one of the best players in the Big Sky last year...so I don’t think past production at higher levels are necessarily indicative of future success at the Big Sky level....that being said it will be interesting to see how he handles a bigger role, seems like a case by case situation. Tons of drop downs have been underwhelming.

I was surprised to see MSU with so many new players tho, 8 I think?
 
EverettGriz said:
PlayerRep said:
Just talked to my friend who follows UW basketball closely and has season tickets. He thinks the kid will be very good in the Big Sky. Said he can really light it up when hot. Said the kid seemed to lack confidence at times. Attributed part of that to the coach's bad and inconsistent pattern of substitution. Would play the kid alot one game, and hardly play him the next game. Starters didn't know when they'd be pulled. Bench guys wouldn't know how much and when they'd play.

I'm no fan of Hopkins and thought he should have been fired after this year. But Battle got every opportunity to prove himself. It's just that he never did.

My friend who actually attends the games disagrees with you. Thought the kid was poorly used by the coach.
 
LittleBear said:
Battle is gonna be the most athletic player in the Big Sky by a mile...Tevian Jones shot 12% from 2 and 18% from 3 as a sophomore at Illinois...and then was one of the best players in the Big Sky last year...so I don’t think past production at higher levels are necessarily indicative of future success at the Big Sky level....that being said it will be interesting to see how he handles a bigger role, seems like a case by case situation. Tons of drop downs have been underwhelming.

I was surprised to see MSU with so many new players tho, 8 I think?
“Most athletic player in the Big Sky”. Very clear to me you don’t follow the Big Sky. He won’t even be the most athletic player on his team :lol: . Ever heard of Amin Adamu? Practice dunks are one thing, Adamu is more athletic and he is on the same team. And Tevian Jones is not one of the best players in the league. Sure, he puts up numbers. He put up 22 puts on 7/23 in two games against us this year. Yes, he actually took more shots than he had points. He also turned turned it over twice as much as he assisted. There is an SUU media guy who talked about Jones as being a guy who had a lot of talent, but had a tendency to make some dumb decisions here and there. Not a high IQ player but is certainly 10 times the player Battle is. In my opinion, both Knight and Fausett are more important to that SUU team. I actually think Jones is one of the more overrated players in the league, while Fausett is amongst the most underrated. Judging by your opinion on Jones, I’m assuming you didn’t watch his games against us, or his game against MSU in the tournament that they lost, when he went 6-16 including a couple bone headed plays towards the end of the game.
 
UMFan12 said:
LittleBear said:
Battle is gonna be the most athletic player in the Big Sky by a mile...Tevian Jones shot 12% from 2 and 18% from 3 as a sophomore at Illinois...and then was one of the best players in the Big Sky last year...so I don’t think past production at higher levels are necessarily indicative of future success at the Big Sky level....that being said it will be interesting to see how he handles a bigger role, seems like a case by case situation. Tons of drop downs have been underwhelming.

I was surprised to see MSU with so many new players tho, 8 I think?
“Most athletic player in the Big Sky”. Very clear to me you don’t follow the Big Sky. He won’t even be the most athletic player on his team :lol: . Ever heard of Amin Adamu? Practice dunks are one thing, Adamu is more athletic and he is on the same team. And Tevian Jones is not one of the best players in the league. Sure, he puts up numbers. He put up 22 puts on 7/23 in two games against us this year. Yes, he actually took more shots than he had points. He also turned turned it over twice as much as he assisted. There is an SUU media guy who talked about Jones as being a guy who had a lot of talent, but had a tendency to make some dumb decisions here and there. Not a high IQ player but is certainly 10 times the player Battle is. In my opinion, both Knight and Fausett are more important to that SUU team. I actually think Jones is one of the more overrated players in the league, while Fausett is amongst the most underrated. Judging by your opinion on Jones, I’m assuming you didn’t watch his games against us, or his game against MSU in the tournament that they lost, when he went 6-16 including a couple bone headed plays towards the end of the game.

Relax brother! LMAO I get you're trying to squash PR...but relax those twitter fingers. I take it back Battle sucks! Now go get yourself a PBR out the fridge you win haha. You're right, Adamu is a silly athlete as well. Sorry!! IMO Battle is the rare true wing that is light on his feet and can fly through the air. His athleticism and body build isn't often seen in the Big Sky. But as I tried to highlight in my last post...he might suck at MSU! who knows? I'm sure people thought that Martin was gonna suck when he transferred here too...what were his numbers at UW? His FG percentage was ZERO as a sophomore at UW lmao

As far as Jones goes, ok you're right he sucks too. I guess most big sky coaches disagree with you tho since they chose to vote 1st team all-conference. My only point bringing up Jones was that his numbers at Illinois were not a predictor of his success at SUU. I think he could have helped the Griz this year, no?

As a matter of fact I did watch the SUU series, as I watched every other game last season. Griz controlled both until SUU started putting their head down and putting pressure on the paint. Fausett dominated with his activity. Should we say that Knight is a bad player because he only scored 4 against us in the second game??? Oh ya, he hurt his shoulder in the 1st game when Cam Satterwhite undercut him trying to take a charge.

No need to be a smart ass with the hoop talk bro, I just like talking hoops. Especially the Griz. Enjoy that PBR! :)
 
PlayerRep said:
EverettGriz said:
I'm no fan of Hopkins and thought he should have been fired after this year. But Battle got every opportunity to prove himself. It's just that he never did.

My friend who actually attends the games disagrees with you. Thought the kid was poorly used by the coach.

Good on your friend, I guess? :?
 
LittleBear said:
UMFan12 said:
“Most athletic player in the Big Sky”. Very clear to me you don’t follow the Big Sky. He won’t even be the most athletic player on his team :lol: . Ever heard of Amin Adamu? Practice dunks are one thing, Adamu is more athletic and he is on the same team. And Tevian Jones is not one of the best players in the league. Sure, he puts up numbers. He put up 22 puts on 7/23 in two games against us this year. Yes, he actually took more shots than he had points. He also turned turned it over twice as much as he assisted. There is an SUU media guy who talked about Jones as being a guy who had a lot of talent, but had a tendency to make some dumb decisions here and there. Not a high IQ player but is certainly 10 times the player Battle is. In my opinion, both Knight and Fausett are more important to that SUU team. I actually think Jones is one of the more overrated players in the league, while Fausett is amongst the most underrated. Judging by your opinion on Jones, I’m assuming you didn’t watch his games against us, or his game against MSU in the tournament that they lost, when he went 6-16 including a couple bone headed plays towards the end of the game.

Relax brother! LMAO I get you're trying to squash PR...but relax those twitter fingers. I take it back Battle sucks! Now go get yourself a PBR out the fridge you win haha. You're right, Adamu is a silly athlete as well. Sorry!! IMO Battle is the rare true wing that is light on his feet and can fly through the air. His athleticism and body build isn't often seen in the Big Sky. But as I tried to highlight in my last post...he might suck at MSU! who knows? I'm sure people thought that Martin was gonna suck when he transferred here too...what were his numbers at UW? His FG percentage was ZERO as a sophomore at UW lmao

As far as Jones goes, ok you're right he sucks too. I guess most big sky coaches disagree with you tho since they chose to vote 1st team all-conference. My only point bringing up Jones was that his numbers at Illinois were not a predictor of his success at SUU. I think he could have helped the Griz this year, no?

As a matter of fact I did watch the SUU series, as I watched every other game last season. Griz controlled both until SUU started putting their head down and putting pressure on the paint. Fausett dominated with his activity. Should we say that Knight is a bad player because he only scored 4 against us in the second game??? Oh ya, he hurt his shoulder in the 1st game when Cam Satterwhite undercut him trying to take a charge.

No need to be a smart ass with the hoop talk bro, I just like talking hoops. Especially the Griz. Enjoy that PBR! :)
Never said Tevian Jones sucked. Just saying he is a bit overrated and some other players that aren’t all BSC 1st teamers were probably more deserving. That being said, without a doubt he is maybe the most talented player in the league, but he has poor shot selection and is a poor decision maker. The combination of those two things can be devastating in the post season, as shown against MSU. I think Battle is a boom or bust signing. He either figures it out or it’s just more inifficent shot chucking. Who knows. However, with Battles lean frame, I’m taking Lopez in that matchup 10 times out of 10.
 
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