Talor Battle has decided to come back for his senior year and once again lead the Nittany Lions, but lead them where is the bigger question. But let's concentrate on Mr. Battle for this blog. Talor is undoubtedly one of the top players in the Big Ten, over the past 2-3 years, but would his game translate to the NBA?
As for the positives, he is very quick, has very solid ball handling skills and can create his own shot, all things the scouts like to see. As for his 'development' areas, to me there are many, he is not a leader (but admittedly that is not required of every player), his outside shot is not consistent and while he has good ball handling skills sometimes he tries to do too much and makes more turnovers than a scout would like to see.
Unfortunately, his ability to 'get other players involved', aka assists, is tough to judge considering the weak cast of players he has around him over his Penn State career. In 2010, there was no doubt that Talor tended to be a bit more of a ball hog, since the cast of High School players surrounding him, were not going to give the Nittany Lions much of a chance to win. He also forced a lot of tough shots and was often double/triple teamed, which led to turnovers. But his skills are still very ‘NBA-like’, he just needs the ability to show them off a bit more.
Penn State Football Season Tickets | Penn State vs Alabama Football Tickets
So what will another year do for Mr. Battle's draft stock? It probably can only help. There is no way Penn State can be any worse than they were this year. And I think getting a 'report card' from the scouts will help him focus on the things he needs to work on.
Hopefully, Battle is able to not feel so much pressure next year and not be the only scoring option his team has. This should reduce some of those turnovers which tend to come when he is double and triple teamed. It should also improve his shooting accuracy, as he will take less 'desperation' type shots. Hopefully, he has some players who step up and allow him to show his true ball distribution skills, which is a key trait for any future NBA point guard.
At the end of the day, Talor needs a team to propel him to be a first round NBA draft pick and a coach who actually ‘coaches-up’ mediocre talents, because there is no way a Talor Battle type player comes to Penn State anytime soon.
This is to hope, hope that Battle is able to have a team around him which compliments his great skill. I wish him the best.
We are Penn State.
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed and never miss another! Or sign up to get exclusive PennStateCentral.com Sports Analysis straight to your inbox!
