Temple basketball star guard Khalif Battle no longer with program, says source
Battle has not been with the team in any capacity since being benched in Temple’s Feb. 16 loss against Wichita State.
Temple guard Khalif Battle, a preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection, is no longer with the program, according to a source.
Battle has not been with the team in any capacity since being benched in Temple’s Feb. 16 loss against Wichita State. Battle went 0-for-4 from the field in 17 minutes of play against the Shockers and was on the court just three minutes in the second half.
The Owls went 13-9 without Battle last season, and are currently 2-1 without him. Temple will travel to Tulane in the Owls’ regular-season finale on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN+). Battle isn’t expected to travel.
“Nothing’s changed,” Temple head coach Aaron McKie said regarding Battle’s absence. McKie added that when it comes to the current roster, “We’re just moving on. We’re just going with the guys that we got.”
While Temple’s plan is to move forward, Battle’s bio has not been removed and his image is still prominently displayed on the team’s roster page.
The fourth-year sophomore, who did not respond to requests for comment, transferred to Temple from Butler in 2020. Last season, Battle emerged as one of the best scorers in the AAC, averaging 21.4 points through seven games before suffering a season-ending left foot injury.
Battle and the staff have had disagreements this season, starting with Battle’s benching during the second half of the Nov. 15 overtime loss to Vanderbilt.
“I played the guys who I felt wanted to be out there,” McKie said, following that game.
» READ MORE: Vanderbilt vaults past Temple in overtime, 89-87
Battle, who averaged 17.9 points per game this season, ranked fourth in scoring and fifth in three-point percentage in the AAC. Prior to the Wichita State loss, Battle scored more than 20 points in five consecutive games.
This stretch was enough to catch the attention of other coaches in the conference, including Houston’s Kelvin Sampson.
“The Battle kid, the shots he was taking. Let’s not act like that wasn’t good defense,” Sampson said following his team’s 81-65 win over the Owls at the Liacouras Center on Feb. 5. “That was great defense …Those were ridiculously, ridiculously hard shots. Who practices those shots?”
However, Battle’s best performances weren’t enough to keep the peace in Temple’s locker room.
After the Vanderbilt loss, Battle and McKie reportedly met to make sure they were on the same page as Battle, who tested the NBA draft waters last year, wasn’t named a starter for Temple.
However, Battle told reporters that his role as Temple’s sixth man was not the source of his disagreement with McKie.
“From the outside looking in, y’all don’t know what’s going on,” Battle said after the Owls beat Rutgers, 72-66, on Nov. 18. “I love the guys on my team, I love my coaching staff. They love me back. When you’re on a team, sometimes you have situations that happen, but that’s all love.”
Because of injuries to guards Damian Dunn and Jahlil White, Battle has started eight of Temple’s 28 games in 2022-23.
“It was tough for me this year,” Battle told The Inquirer on Feb. 15. “It was my first real season playing a full season without getting hurt … I was really playing catch-up during the year, being out here. I finally feel like I am getting to be myself again and who I was last year.”
Temple now enters its final game of the regular season before heading to Dallas for the AAC conference tournament looking to win out to clinch its first postseason berth since 2019 — the Owls’ last season under Fran Dunphy.