Shane Battier Biography  | |
Shane Battier biography
Shane Battier, now 25 years of age, is already a remarkably accomplished individual. His personal achievements on and off the court speak for themselves.
At 12, he was the number one chair out of 106 trumpets in Birmingham, Michigan’s annual youth orchestra concert. He led his high school, Detroit Country Day, to three consecutive state championships. Battier graduated from Duke University in May 2001 with degree in Comparative Religion, and with an NCAA championship. He swept the national player of the year awards, was named the academic player of the year, was selected in the first round of the NBA draft, won a gold medal at the Goodwill Games as a member of USA Basketball and is leading the 2001 rookie class in many statistical categories.
A native of Birmingham, Michigan, Battier amassed a 133-15 record over his four years at Duke, more wins than any player in NCAA history. His Duke career was nothing short of stellar. The consensus national college basketball player of the year, Battier won both the Naismith and John Wooden awards in 2001 and was named MVP of the 2001 National Championship Game. A three-time national defensive player of the year, Battier was the first player in ACC history - and fourth in college history - to finish with at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 blocks, 200 assists and 200 steals. He is Duke’s all-time leader for career steals (266), second in career blocked shots (254), third in three-point field goals (246), third in three-point percentage (.416) and tied for eighth in points scored (1,984).
Drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft (sixth pick overall), the multi-talented Battier was considered to be the rookie most prepared to offer immediate help to his team. He did not disappoint. During his rookie year, he averaged 15.0 points and ranked 11th in the NBA in minutes played (39.7 mpg) and 17th in the NBA in steals per turnover (0.91). A vocal leader in the clubhouse, Battier garnered Rookie of the Month honors (December) and was selected to the Rookie squad for the Rookie Challenge during the 2002 NBA All-Star Weekend.
With a competitive nature and work ethic second to none, Battier is considered the consummate team player. He prides himself on being fundamentally sound, which he believes is something that’s often forgotten in the pros. "Instead of being a small forward or a shooting guard or a power forward...I’m a basketball player. And I make basketball plays."
Leading with exemplary character, Battier also takes great pride in his commitment to supporting numerous national and local community programs. He was recently selected to serve on the Memphis Zoological Society Board of Directors, the First Tennessee National Corporation Advisory Board, and the Electronic Arts Sports Advisory Board. Additionally Battier participates in the Grizzlies "Tickets for Kids" program by donating 31 (his uniform number) tickets for every home game to kids who participate in Junior Achievement and Big Brothers/Big Sisters and is a member of the Memphis Grizzlies Read to Achieve All-Star Reading Team. He also serves as a spokesman for the Memphis "Get Smart, Read" campaign and for the Memphis Junior Achievement fundraiser "Bowlin’ on the River."
Complete player, complete person, Shane Battier has been a lot of things in his relatively young life - scholar athlete, All-American, leader, champion, musician -yet Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski best sums up the celebrated player by saying "He personifies what you want in a basketball player. He has a positive impact on everything we do. So when you judge him by his stats, which are great, that’s not nearly the entire picture. It’s leadership, his ability to focus, his ability to get everyone to believe. There’s nobody close to him."
Source: ShaneBattier.com
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