Shane Battier

Position	Small forward
League	NBA
Height	ft  in ( m)
Weight	lb ( kg)
Team	Houston Rockets
Nationality	USA
Born	September 9 1978 (1978--) (age 29) Birmingham, Michigan
High school	Detroit Country Day School
College	Duke
Draft	6th overall, 2001 Memphis Grizzlies
Pro career	2001–present
Former teams	Memphis Grizzlies 2001-2006
Awards	Mr. Basketball of Michigan (1997), 1997 Naismith Prep Player of the Year, 2001 Oscar Robertson Trophy, Naismith College Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award, NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player, ACC Athlete of the Year (2001)

Shane Courtney Battier (born September 9 1978 in Birmingham, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association and the U.S. national team.

Battier was born and raised in Birmingham, Michigan, and attended Derby Middle School, before starting his basketball career at Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, where he won many awards including 1997 "Mr. Basketball of Michigan" while playing for coach Kurt Keener. On September 11, 2007, Shane returned to Detroit Country Day School as they retired his jersey, number 55. Shane joined Chris Webber as only the second player to have their athletic number retired by Detroit Country Day School.

Career

College

Battier went on to attend Duke University, where he majored in Religious Studies and played four years under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He led the Blue Devils to two Final Fours, in 1999 and 2001. The Blue Devils lost to the Connecticut Huskies in the 1999 finals, but came back to win the national championship by defeating the Arizona Wildcats two years later. In 2001, Battier swept the major National Player of the Year awards, and subsequently had his jersey number 31 retired by the Blue Devils. Additionally, Battier was a three-time awardee of the NABC Defensive Player of the Year. Battier graduated from Duke with a major in religion.

NBA

Battier was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the sixth pick of the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft. He was the Grizzlies' second draft pick since the team relocated from Vancouver, Canada after six years. Pau Gasol of Spain was selected in the same draft with the number three pick, also by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Battier is a versatile player with the size to play inside and the range to score from further out (particularly the corner three-pointer). However, he makes his living as a hustle player on the defensive end, where he defends three positions (shooting guard, power forward, small forward) with a high degree of skill, nets a good number of blocks and steals, dives for loose balls, and frequently draws offensive fouls from his opponent.

Battier has often been called "the ultimate glue guy" for playing sound, fundamental, team-oriented basketball, making his teammates more effective without flash or padding his own stats, and for making the most of his skills with discipline and hustle rather than raw athelticism.^[1]

On June 28, 2006, Battier was traded by the Grizzlies to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Stromile Swift and the Rockets' number 8 selection Rudy Gay in the 2006 NBA Draft.

He played for the US national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, winning a bronze medal.^[2]

Other

He once told ESPN The Magazine's Stuart Scott: "I don't know what I will end up doing post-basketball. I've always been intrigued by politics. I may be a bit too idealistic to run for office. We'll see."^[3]

He was featured on the cover of EA's NCAA March Madness 2002 video game.

References

1. ^ Houston Chronicle: "Was it a Good Preseason." October 27, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2007.]
2. ^ 2006 USA Basketball
3. ^ ESPN The Magazine: "Bump 'N Run: Stuart Scott with Shane Battier." Retrieved April 19, 2007.

External links

• Official Site (Under Construction)
• Shane Battier player profile at NBA.com
• 2001 Oscar Robertson Trophy

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