BATTLE TESTED: Big East Vault Speaks with Georgetown Assistant Jeff Battle

Ed Cooley and the Georgetown Hoyas coaching staff are hard at work, but it still doesn’t mean that the (small-c) casual fan knows who is donning the Blue and Gray on the recruiting tour. Big East Vault recently spoke with new Georgetown Assistant Coach Jeff Battle, who followed Cooley to the Hilltop. Battle, by all accounts is a humble, hardworking coach who is beloved by colleagues and former players.

Meanwhile, unlike the women’s basketball team, Georgetown MBB is still playing coy and not announcing their full staff as of June 14th. It’s a bold tactic to follow the last regime’s traditions and seems like the opposite of the “fan engagement” that Cooley preaches.

Still, based on the GU Directory and the public identifications, it appears that Jeff Battle is indeed an official member of Ed Cooley’s staff at Georgetown featuring:

• Ed Cooley, Head Coach
• Ivan Thomas, Associate Head Coach
• Jeff Battle, Assistant Coach
• Brian Blaney, Assistant Coach
• Walt Corbean, Director of Operations for Men’s Basketball
• LaDontae Henton, Director of Player Development
• Kyron Cartwright, Special Assistant to the Head Coach
• Greg Fahey, Special Assistant to the Head Coach

It also appears that Battle is very well respected in the sport, earning a recent nod as one of 50 most impactful High Major Assistants, along with another GU assistant Brian Blaney.

Here are some links:

50 Most Impactful High Major Assistants: Men’s Division I | Silver Waves Media

Jeff Battle enters his first season with the Hoyas after eight seasons with the Friars.. Battle has amassed a 142-85 (.625) record while serving under Ed Cooley’s staff. In those eight seasons, the Friars have reached the NCAA Tournament five times and won the 2022 Big East Regular Season title. The past 2021-2022 season was one to remember in Friar history. Providence won their first Big East regular season championship in program history and made it all the way to the Sweet 16.

The Friars finished ranked 13th in the top-25 AP poll. Prior to Providence, Battle spent 13 seasons on the Wake Forest basketball staff. During those 13 seasons, the Deacons reached a No. 1 national ranking in 2005 and again in 2009, won a school-record 27 games in 2005, advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2004 and won the 2003 ACC regular season title. Battle was a key guidance in developing future NBA stars Chris Paul, Ish Smith, and Jeff Teague. Battle also was a major force in Wake Forest’s consistent top recruiting classes. The Demon Deacons ascended to the top-25 in recruiting rankings six times. Prior to Wake Forest, Battle was an assistant at Xavier.

Bio Blast on Providence’s New Assistant Coach Jeff Battle (2015) | Big East Coast Bias

With the news becoming official on Saturday morning that Ed Cooley hired his long-time friend Jeff Battle to fill the open assistant position, here’s bio blast for Friar fans to get to know their new assistant coach.

Coaching Pedigree ... Battle began his coaching career at his alma mater Marshall in 1986 as a graduate assistant. He then moved on to Delaware State for one season as a graduate assistant before taking a high school head coaching position nearby. After 2 seasons at Caesar Rodney high school a full-time assistant position opened at Delaware State. After 3 seasons as an assistant at Delaware State he was offered a job by Skip Prosser at Loyola in Maryland. That one season at Loyola with Prosser saw a remarkable turnaround from 2-25 the year before they got there to 17-13 and the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth. From there Prosser took the head coaching position at Xavier and brought Battle with him. They spent 7 seasons at Xavier before again moving together to Wake Forest. Battle then became the associate head coach at Wake Forest, a position he would hold for 13 seasons under 3 different coaches. Battle spent this past year out of coaching after he was not retained by Danny Manning when Manning was hired as the head coach of Wake Forest in April 2014.

Player Development ... Battle has a number of well-known basketball names on his resume. Some of the notable ones are Chris Paul, Josh Howard, Jeff Teague and James Posey. He also coached David West at Xavier but his area of expertise for player development is with guards.

Jeff Battle, a former Wake Forest assistant, excited about coming to Greensboro with Providence | Greensboro.com

During his time in Winston-Salem, Battle, like most coaches, got into a morning routine that lasted the entire time he was at Wake Forest.

He would make his way to the Gold’s Gym on Reynolda Road and work out at least four days a week. It was there that he met a lot of people who he still stays in contact with, and he would go to breakfast at least once a month. While the Gold’s Gym is long gone Battle stays connected to those group of friends thanks mainly to social media.

“It’s funny, but we developed a bond with those people at the gym and when I first started going it was just to see the people and say hi,” Battle said. “But still to this day whether it’s through Facebook or whatever, we’ve stayed in touch. It’s pretty cool because those people supported me through thick or thin whether we won or lost, so I just always appreciated that they were there for me. That’s why I value those friendships.”

From Friars.com:

Jeff Battle enters his eighth season at Providence College. The 2022-23 season will be Battle’s second season as the Associate Head Coach. In his first seven seasons with the Friars, Battle served helped lead the Friars to a 142-85 mark (.626), which included four NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT.

Prior to coming to Providence, Battle had been the Associate Head Coach at Wake Forest from 2001-14. Battle spent 13 seasons on the Wake Forest basketball staff, serving as associate head coach under Skip Prosser, Dino Gaudio and Jeff Bzdelik. Battle was instrumental in Wake Forest’s success over his 13 seasons as the Deacons reached a No. 1 national ranking in 2005 and again in 2009, won a school-record 27 games in 2005, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2004 and won the 2003 ACC regular season title. Wake Forest averaged almost 20 wins per season and made six NCAA Tournament appearances during Battle’s tenure.

During his tenure at Wake Forest, Battle played a key role in the development of former NBA All-Stars Chris Paul (five NBA teams) and Jeff Teague (six NBA teams) as well as current point guard Ish Smith (12 NBA teams).

Battle helped bring a number of highly-ranked recruiting classes to Wake Forest. Wake Forest’s 2010 recruiting class was ranked No. 6 in the nation according to ESPN, while the Deacons’ 2008 class was ranked No. 3 in the country by Rivals.com. Battle also helped bring in the No. 10-ranked recruiting class in 2006, the No. 16 class in 2003 and the No. 30 class in 2007, all according to Rivals. Wake Forest’s 2012 recruiting class was ranked No. 21 in the country by ESPN.

Battle went to Wake Forest after spending seven seasons at Xavier University as an assistant coach under Skip Prosser. Battle coached alongside Prosser for 14 years and at three different institutions. He was on the Loyola (Md.) College staff in 1993-94 when Prosser made his head coaching debut, then joined him on the sidelines at Xavier before going to Winston-Salem prior to the start of the 2001-02 season.

Prior to Loyola, Battle was an assistant coach for three seasons at Delaware State from 1990-93. He also served as head coach at Caesar Rodney High School in Dover, Del. from 1986-88.

Battle began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Delaware (1986-88) under coach Steve Steinwedel. As an undergraduate, Battle played four seasons at Marshall, helping the Thundering Herd compile a record of 82-38 from 1982-85. Battle was the starting point guard and a captain in his junior and senior seasons, guiding Marshall to two consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.

Battle received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Marshall. He also received his master’s degree in physical education from Delaware in 1988. He has one son, Jordan.

• BIRTHDATE: October 26, 1961
• FAMILY: Son, Jordan (26)
• HIGH SCHOOL: Dobbins Technical High School ‘79
• COLLEGE: Marshall ‘85 - Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education, Delaware ‘88 Master’s Degree in Physical Education
• COACHING: Associate Head Coach, Providence, 2021-Present, Assistant Coach, Providence, 2015-21, Associate Head Coach, Wake Forest, 2001-14, Assistant Coach, Xavier University, 1995-01, Assistant Coach, Loyola, 1993-94, Assistant Coach, Delaware State, 1990-93, Head Coach, Caesar Rodney High School, 1988-90, Graduate Assistant, Delaware, 1986-88