Temple prepares for Penn without Khalif Battle
Thursday afternoon, Temple announced sophomore guard Khalif Battle will miss the rest of the season with a fractured fifth metatarsal in his left foot.
Battle, Temple’s leading scorer, was averaging 21.4 points per game pre-injury, the most in the American Athletic Conference.
“We’re losing an efficient offensive player,” head coach Aaron McKie said. “He’s probably one of the better scoring guards in the country.”
Battle’s 21.4 points per game rank 13th in Division I.
Battle will now transition from being the scoring leader on the court to being an emotional leader off the court.
“He gets to sit in a different seat now,” McKie said. “[Battle will] get to see the game from my perspective as a coach and learn to improve his leadership skills and his connection skills with his teammates. ... When you’re injured and you’re out, you continue to grow.”
Battle is now the second member of Temple’s backcourt to miss time, with redshirt sophomore Tai Strickland currently out with a lower-body injury.
Strickland missed his first game of the season Wednesday against La Salle. He’s spent the past two days in practice stretching and is officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s home Big Five matchup against Penn.
“It’s a lot that we have to get back from losing [Battle and Strickland],” McKie said.
In total, Temple is losing 30 points per game in the absence of Battle and Strickland, about 44 percent of the Owls’ scoring.
Freshman guard Hysier Miller logged just under 16 minutes Wednesday in Strickland’s absence and should be expected to see time in that same range Saturday.
In Battle’s absence, freshman wing Jahlil White is expected to make his first collegiate start. Freshman forward Zach Hicks could also see his minutes increase for the remainder of the season.
“They’re prepared,” McKie said about his freshmen. “I don’t want them to feel like they have to take on the scoring burden. ... Just do it collectively.”
Wednesday, redshirt freshman Damian Dunn stepped up when Battle left the game with his injury, scoring seven points in 90 seconds as soon as Battle went to the locker room. In Battle’s absence last season, Dunn was Temple’s top scoring option. With 23 games remaining in the 2021-’22 campaign, Dunn could be returning to that role.
“He can’t do it by himself,” McKie said. “We gotta be able to do it by committee.”
Dunn also will have a role to fill off the court as a leader. With Battle being out, a large portion of the mentoring responsibilities will go to Dunn.
“Just keep talking guys up,” Dunn said. “Just keep giving guys confidence.”
Dunn and second-year freshman point guard Jeremiah Williams both have faith in their teammates, with Dunn saying they “know the value of the guys that are about to step up into a much bigger role.”
Williams said he’s been telling his teammates to “be confident in what you do.”
Temple tips off against Penn Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.