Khalif Battle’s first professional team will be with Italy’s Dolomiti Energia Trento of Lega Basket Serie A and EuroCup.
With the Phoenix Suns during the NBA Summer League last month, Battle had his ups and downs. His best performance came in a 111-87 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on July 19th while shooting an efficient 8-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He finished with 21 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
Throughout his well-traveled career with the Butler Bulldogs/Temple Owls/Arkansas Razorbacks before making his way to Spokane, Battle showed off his ability to score in all aspects of the game in quick spurts. In his final collegiate campaign with the Gonzaga Bulldogs this past season, he averaged 13.6 points on a shooting split of 44.0 field goal percentage, 34.7 three-point percentage, 93.2 free throw percentage to go along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
This is the third Zag from coach Mark Few’s previous season’s group to sign a professional contract, joining Dallas Mavericks’ Ryan Nembhard (on a two-way contract) and SIG Strasbourg’s Ben Gregg in France.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho