Men’s basketball coach Battle ready to battle

Foes of ETSU basketball, watch out — The battle is about to begin.

Men’s basketball assistant coach Turner Battle, officially hired by head coach Jason Shay on May 21, wields thirteen years of overall coaching experience, including time spent at University of Buffalo, familiar in-conference rivals the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Now Battle has arrived at the Bucs’ doorstep, carrying with him a desire to compete and win at the highest level. 

“We’re competing … We want to win a championship,” Battle said. “That’s what we’re expected to do.”  

Battle’s prior familiarity with coach Shay spawned from working over the road, and Battle cited Shay’s superior coaching abilities as a primary reason for bringing his talents to ETSU. 

“He just seemed like an unbelievable person to be around,” Battle said of Shay. “I always knew he was a great coach, X’s and O’s-wise, so it kind of felt like it was a hard opportunity for me to pass.”

Having spent his last six years coaching in Birmingham, including the last four as an associate head coach, Battle described a very smooth adjustment transitioning into the ETSU community. 

“The community has been great, the transition has been great,” Battle said. “The people here in Johnson City … they’ve been very supportive and very nice and genuine to us.”

Between transfers, graduating seniors and COVID-19 opt-outs, it’s no secret that last season’s Southern Conference championship winning roster is no longer intact. With that said, Battle has the Bucs hard at work to regain lost ground.  

“We want to win a championship … but we also understand it’s a process”, Battle explained. “Losing 98% of your scoring is tough, and we have experienced, but inexperienced guys, because they haven’t played with each other. That’s something we’re trying to get better at every day, and we’re taking it very seriously.”