Report: UCLA Men's Basketball Contacts Temple Transfer Khalif Battle
While the Bruins aren't done with their season just yet, their staff appears to be keeping an eye on building out next year's rotation.
Temple transfer guard Khalif Battle has heard from UCLA men's basketball, according to a report from On3's Joe Tipton on Saturday. Battle has also been in contact with Villanova, Arkansas, Arizona, Ohio State, Memphis, Florida, Florida State, USC, Louisville, LSU, Arizona State, South Carolina, Xavier and Oregon since entering the transfer portal on Tuesday, per Tipton.
Battle could have two years of eligibility remaining after spending one season at Butler and three at Temple.
Battle was a four-star recruit coming out of Trenton Catholic School (NJ) in 2019, mostly garnering offers from programs in the Northeast, plus Miami (FL) and Washington. The 6-foot-5 guard played 11 minutes per game across 24 appearances his freshman year at Butler, and then he transferred to Temple in 2020.
Although his true sophomore season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Battle emerged as a part-time starter while averaging 15.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Battle was on his way to a breakout season in 2021-2022, averaging 21.4 points a night on .538/.488/.806 shooting splits through seven games, but a left foot injury cost him the rest of that year.
Despite the fact that Battle was the Owls' sixth man for much of this past season, he led Temple with 17.9 points per game. Battle was benched in Temple's loss to Wichita State on Feb. 16, though, and the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he was not with the program in any capacity following that game.
UCLA could be in the market for a plug-and-play guard this offseason, especially since junior Jaylen Clark reportedly hurt his Achilles in the Bruins' win over Arizona on March 4. Point guard Tyger Campbell, guard David Singleton and guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. could all be graduating, while guard Amari Bailey is possibly NBA Draft-bound, leaving plenty of minutes up for grabs in coach Mick Cronin's rotation moving forward.
Since players started entering the transfer portal earlier in March, UCLA's staff has also reportedly been in contact with Harvard forward Chris Ledlum. The Bruins were the only team in the Pac-12 not to add a transfer last offseason, although they did bring in Johnny Juzang and Myles Johnson the previous two springs.
UCLA has three class of 2023 recruits signed on to join the program for next season – four-star guard Sebastian Mack, four-star forward Devin Williams and four-star forward Brandon Williams. Those prospects combine to make up the No. 15 recruiting class in the country and the No. 3 class in the Pac-12.
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