University of Utah basketball player Riley Battin is used to making sacrifices for the good of his family, so making them for the good of his team is no big deal to the 6-foot-9 junior from Southern California.
After starting in 28 of 31 games his freshman season and 21 of 31 his sophomore year, Battin has been coming off the bench in 2020-21 for the 4-3 Utes, who are 1-2 in Pac-12 play and looking to recover from two frustrating losses last week at UCLA and USC.
Utah’s bounce-back plans were put on hold Tuesday morning when Oregon State alerted the Utes that their game scheduled for Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center will have to be postponed because of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing protocols within OSU’s program. The teams will work with the Pac-12 to find a “mutually agreeable date” to reschedule the game, according to a school news release.
Utah’s next currently scheduled game is Sunday at noon MST against No. 17 Oregon (8-1), which is scheduled to play at Colorado on Thursday; however, a game could theoretically be added to the Utes’ schedule before then, if past league maneuverings are any indication.
Oregon State (5-4, 1-2) was on a three-game winning streak before losing 81-71 to Stanford in a makeup game Monday in Corvallis and would have been playing its third game in five days; the Beavers’ game at Colorado on Saturday was also postponed.
“Riley wants to do what we think is best for our team to bring a shooter off the bench. There is no doubt in my mind that Riley is all about our team and he is going to do (what is asked of him). … I certainly hope nobody is caught up in starting and not starting, because maybe that was back in Junior Jazz league where it was a little more important.” — Utah basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak
Before news of Utah’s second postponed Pac-12 game came Tuesday (the first was vs. Arizona State on Dec. 22), Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said in a Zoom meeting with reporters that he “may very well switch up the lineup” this week, so Battin’s role as a reserve off the bench may change.
Either way, the forward says he will do whatever it takes to get the Utes rolling.
Coming off the bench “is definitely different for me,” he said. “At the end of the day, I will do whatever it takes to help our team win. So if the coaches think that that’s the best way for us to win, I will do it.”
As detailed two years ago by The Salt Lake Tribune, Battin moved into a Tuff Shed behind his family’s home in Westlake Village, California, while he was in high school so his 98-year-old grandmother could move into the three-bedroom home with Battin’s parents and sister. The backyard shed was insulated and included portable heaters and air conditioners, but it was small and cramped and became his living quarters for several years.
Krystkowiak said Battin has carried that unselfish attitude into his new role, and his demeanor “has been good” despite a bit of a shooting slump this season. The coach said the forward who replaced Battin in the starting lineup, 6-9 Mikael Jantunen, is one of Utah’s best big defenders and one of the best interior defensive players in the league, and he wants to set that defensive tone early.
Battin is the better outside shooter of the two.
“Riley wants to do what we think is best for our team to bring a shooter off the bench,” Krystkowiak said. “There is no doubt in my mind that Riley is all about our team and he is going to do (what is asked of him). … I certainly hope nobody is caught up in starting and not starting, because maybe that was back in Junior Jazz league where it was a little more important.”
Battin has been playing about 4.5 fewer minutes per game this season than last, partly because he’s not starting but also because his shooting has been inconsistent. He was 5 of 10 for a season-high 12 points in the loss at BYU on Dec. 12, but has been 6 of 25 since then, including 1 of 5 at UCLA and 1 of 6 at USC.
The Los Angeles losses were doubly disappointing for Battin because he grew up in the area, cheered for UCLA and Ohio State (his father’s alma mater) as a boy and would have had plenty of family members and friends in the stands at Pauley Pavilion and Galen Center if those venues had allowed spectators, which they didn’t.
“Yeah, the last two times we have been there, I have probably had 16-plus friends and family at the game,” he said. “And now having nobody there was really weird. But it is the COVID year, so there is nothing really you can do about it.”
Krystkowiak said Battin is handling his new role well because “he cares about the team as much as anybody I’ve ever coached” and has a “great spirit” about him.
“He wants to win,” Krystkowiak said. “He is coming off the bench now and can give us some nice juice in that role. … He is an easy kid to cheer for.”
Battin averaged 6.4 points per game his freshman season and 7.8 last year. He is averaging 5.9 this year while dealing with a wrist issue on his shooting hand. A prolific scorer at Oak Park High — he averaged 24.7 points as a junior and 25.7 as a senior — Battin has expanded his game at Utah, Krystkowiak said.
As for his unselfishness, that has always been in the repertoire.
“I think it comes from my parents, kind of instilling unselfishness in me from a young age,” Battin said. “I just want to win. If being the best teammate makes my teammates happy, and if it puts us in a spot to be successful, I just want to do that. With winning being the ultimate goal, that is something I hold highly of myself.”