Jamison Battle has another year of eligibility, but he'll be one of the three Gophers seniors honored after Sunday's game against Wisconsin at Williams Arena.
The 6-7 former DeLaSalle standout transferred home after playing two years of college basketball at George Washington. He'll graduate with a sports management degree.
Battle was named to the All-District academic team last month. He has set an example for the Gophers off the court. Taught to be well-rounded by his mother growing up, he has a musical background, which includes playing the saxophone.
On Thursday, Battle found the rhythm on his jump shot late with 15 of his 20 points in the second half, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer in a 75-74 win against Rutgers at the Barn. A 12-game losing streak ended and the Gophers won their first Big Ten home game in spectacular fashion.
Battle, who has seen his scoring average go from 17.5 to 13.2 points per game this season, has been heating up lately. He's 10-for-23 from three-point range in his last two games. That's more threes combined than he made in the previous six games — even with the season-high 31 points on 4-for-9 shooting from three in a Feb. 20 loss at Illinois.
Recovering from early foot surgery and dealing with a back injury in Big Ten play, Battle continued to work on consistency with his jumper while his leadership never wavered.
"He's a guy who has battled," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. "I've been with him every single day and have seen the work he's put in."
The other two Gophers seniors being honored Sunday night are Dartmouth transfer Taurus Samuels and Morehead State transfer Ta'Lon Cooper.
