NBA Draft: Talor Battle Goes Undrafted

by Adam Bittner on Jun 24, 2011 7:12 AM EDT in Basketball

The 2011 NBA Draft was Thursday night in Newark, N.J. and to the surprise of few, Penn State legend Talor Battle went undrafted. Clubs including Washington, Sacramento, and Oklahoma City had shown interest in the former Nittany Lion guard by inviting him to work out, but ultimately, he was not selected in the two round draft.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing for Battle, though, who joined other former college stars including Ohio State's David Lighty, Illinois' Demetri McCamey and Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough in the ranks of the undrafted while enigmas like Chukwudiebere Maduabum, a 0.7 point per game scorer in the NBDL, Targuy Ngombo out of Qatar, and Ater Majok from Australia were selected with picks late in the draft.

These International no-names were selected by teams with full rosters little intention of signing them. Clubs can retain the rights to those players as long as they're overseas and wait for them to develop before signing them to NBA contracts. Had Battle been selected late in the second round, there's a good chance he would have been stuck trying to make one team that wasn't really interested in him in the first place. Now, as an undrafted free agent, he can sign with whatever club he thinks is the best fit for him, definitely a preferable situation.

After the draft, Battle appeared disappointed but hopeful about his future on Twitter.

Thanks everybody, journey continues thas all...less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® Favorite Retweet ReplyTalor Battle
BubbyBattle

We'll keep you posted on that journey as he looks to sign with a team and break into the NBA. Stay tuned.

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

How can you not root for this guy?

"He's a beast. But so am I. So let the beasting begin."

by PSUtopia on Jun 24, 2011 7:56 AM EDT reply actions

I'm sure he'll get in somewhere.

Now all he needs to do is stop saying the N word on twitter.

by misdreavus79 on Jun 24, 2011 8:05 AM EDT reply actions

a lot of guys need to stop doing this

by letsgopsu on Jun 24, 2011 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

That was my favorite part about the Buie situation

kid and parents both complained that people were invading privacy by reading his facebook. Sorry folks, it is public. If you don’t want people to think badly of you, don’t say bad stuff in public places.

"The friend’s husband was out of his mind drunk, on drugs, too, I think," Chambers recalls. "He thought I was hitting on his wife. He stabbed me twice with a broken vodka glass" BAMF

Follow me: @Ben_Jones88
Blogging at Victory Bell Rings and Black Shoe Diaries

by Ben Jones on Jun 24, 2011 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Definitely.

It irritates me to no end when I hear those types of words said.

by misdreavus79 on Jun 24, 2011 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Miami would be a good place to start

Because all their salary is tied up in three players, he would only have to beat out other replacement level guys to get a spot on the bench.

Aaron
BT Powerhouse contributor
Let's go Mets, Giants, Knicks, Rangers, PSU

by apy5000 on Jun 24, 2011 9:48 AM EDT reply actions

I'd hate to have to root for them

by OctaShields on Jun 24, 2011 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions

you know, its not a bad idea.

Battle is definitely not on the same level as D-Wade, but he’s the same type of slicing guard who can hurt you with the outside shot.

He would give Wade a nice rest off the bench.

@ArtieFufkin10

by Artiefufkin10 on Jun 24, 2011 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions

talor battle is not anywhere close to dwayne wade

and is not a good enough player or athlete to make an nba roster. I loved him at PSU, but he just doesn’t have NBA level ability. If he makes a team, which is a big IF, it would be as a 12th man, practice player type.

He’s not getting significant minutes in the NBA until he proves that he can defend in the NBA, which I doubt he’ll ever be able to.

I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.

by spakajewia on Jun 24, 2011 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't know

I see Battle as very much a hybrid of JJ Barea and Dwayne Wade, with ability closer to that of Barea. He could be a very solid role player in some systems.

is there anyway i can redeem myself, i was not sure if i should say "we" at that moment
by Skins4ever on Feb 2, 2010 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

by ckmneon on Jun 24, 2011 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree

Wade and Battle aren’t in the same stratosphere. Battle might….might….be an Eddie House.

"He's a beast. But so am I. So let the beasting begin."

by PSUtopia on Jun 24, 2011 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Did you watch Mike Bibby in the playoffs??

Talor would be better for Miami than Bibby. But mostly I agree, I think he has a slightly better chance than you give him, but he has a long way to go.

WE'RE DANCIN!!!

by bigs26 on Jun 24, 2011 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions

This...

Battle is nowhere near the freak athleticism of a Dwayne Wade, but he’s got that “IT” factor about him. As an UDFA, I’d take a chance on him if I were Pat Riley.

@ArtieFufkin10

by Artiefufkin10 on Jun 25, 2011 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions

talor battle isn't signing with an nba team

i understand that’s the dream, but playing in europe is still an awesome experience. Still make hundreds of thousands of dollars, play a more prominent role, and you’re in Europe. I bet Pete Lisicky has few regrets about not making the NBA and when it’s all over, I bet TB won’t either.

I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.

by spakajewia on Jun 24, 2011 10:01 AM EDT reply actions

Didn't surprise me that Battle didn't get drafted

did surprise me at some of the PGs and SGs taken instead of him. You’re right though, it’s probably better for him to have not been drafted than to be taken with one of the picks in the bottom third of the second round.

is there anyway i can redeem myself, i was not sure if i should say "we" at that moment
by Skins4ever on Feb 2, 2010 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

by ckmneon on Jun 24, 2011 10:18 AM EDT reply actions