Chattanooga Mocs Head Coach Will Wade announces Turner Battle to his basketball staff today. Battle is a former star at Buffalo who began his coaching career at his alma mater.

“Turner was a high-level player and is a high-level person,” Wade said. “His experience on the court as a student-athlete, and his proven ability to coach and recruit makes him the perfect addition to our staff. I could not be happier that he agreed to be a part of bringing ‘Chaos’ to Chattanooga.”

Battle played for and coached under Reggie Witherspoon at Buffalo. He was the MAC Player of the Year in 2005 leading the Bulls to a 23-win season averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He went on to a pro career in Europe before joining Witherspoon’s staff in 2007.

The Kernersville, N.C., native played in Estonia, France and the NBADL before heading to the sidelines. He spent six years at his alma mater with his main duties lying in developing the Bulls’ backcourt and recruiting. His pupils included John Boyer who led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2010, All-MAC performer Byron Mulkey and single-season assist record holder Jarod Oldham.

Inducted in the UB Hall of Fame in 2010, Battle was not just a player. He epitomized the term student-athlete excelling on the court and in the classroom tallying 1,414 points, 458 assists and 170 steals, while also earning 2005 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American honors. He was a three-time All-MAC Academic performer as well.

Battle earned his degree in Communications in 2005. He is married to the former Clare Crowley and joins Wes Long and Casey Long (no relation) on staff.

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