Temple University Athletics
Temple TUFF: Men’s Basketball Alum Derrick Battie
5.18.20 | Men's Basketball
Sometimes life comes full circle. For former Temple University men's basketball great Derrick Battie, the citizens of Dallas are so thankful that this Owls' life has done just that.
Battie, who grew up in Dallas, was a star player at South Oak Cliff High. A 6-10 forward, he led SOC to its second State Championship his senior year in 1992. That is when he met a person who would help change his life, Temple Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
"I remember him coming to South Oak Cliff and recruiting me," said Battie. "We had Sunday dinner on Tuesday because my grandmother believed when you had company come over you had to take care of them."
That visit obviously went well as Battie traveled 1500 miles away from home to play ball for Chaney at McGonigle Hall on North Broad Street.
As a freshman, Battie would start every game, leading the Owls in field goal percentage (50%) while averaging 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection, he helped Temple reach the Elite Eight where the Owls fell short to Michigan's Fab Five, 77-72.
He would start over 100 games in his four-year career at Temple, and ranks 16th all-time on the Owls' all-time rebound list with 632 boards. But it was the summer after that 1993 Elite Eight run where his life changed.
"I remember that first summer after we went to the Elite Eight. I had my Elite Eight shirt and remember working at his summer camp," he explained. "We used to have to walk from Johnson and Hardwick (dorm) every morning to walk into this gym filled with Philadelphia public school kids. They would come every summer and Coach would do this camp and his players would have to help.
That started my community service. That started my dedication to communities of color in particular African American communities who need men to stand in that gap and be strong and intentional about making sure the children behind us have a bright future. Coach Chaney embedded all of that not only into me, but into that whole team."
Battie, who would start over 100 games in his four career at Temple, is now making a much greater impact in his community. Following a six-year professional basketball career, the aptly nicknamed Battman (with two Ts of course) is now a superhero in his own community.
Now in his 17th year as the community liaison for his alma mater, Battie, who was on the board that procured the finances and designed the $65 million new South Oaks Cliff High School building that opened in January 2020, is making a difference.
"My job, specifically, is to help students and staff with wrap around services," explained Battie. "So that means if students need assistance with computers or help with homelessness or things of that nature that falls under community liaison. We work direct with the community and the school districts to what I call 'Stand in the Gaps'.
Wherever there is a gap that would keep a kid from getting a great education what we do is say 'Let me find a resource to help.' Sometimes resources are very small and the need is great. We use our influence as leaders to make sure we support that population that we all know exists and gets no help. So we stand as advocates in our community to help those families, those students and those communities to succeed regardless of the circumstances."
There has never been more of a gap that the current state of the world due to COVID-19. Battie has truly lived up to his Battman moniker during this time.
As most students in the school district rely on the free meals at the schools, Battie and the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) leaders made sure they filled this gap at this critical time of social distancing.
At first DISD had meal pickups for the week twice a week, but then moved to just Thursday for pickups of seven meals per child.
'It is a great thing the Dallas Independent School District has done. A lot of school districts across the country have adopted this formula," extolled Battie.
There was one issue that was uncovered during this plan, parents either did not have transportation to pick up the meals, or were fearful of contracting COVID-19.
"I thought, if it is one family, it is 100," said Battie of the problem. "What we decided to do was create a mechanism to help serve all families, all students. So myself, some alumni and community volunteers, corporate volunteers got together and started packing additional meals up in our vehicles. After we did the curbside pickup, we went into these poor communities, these apartment complexes and we served the community."
Battie may have helped Temple win 82 games and reach four NCAA Tournaments, but his biggest victory is happening right now.
And his Hall of Fame coach is smiling.
Battie, who grew up in Dallas, was a star player at South Oak Cliff High. A 6-10 forward, he led SOC to its second State Championship his senior year in 1992. That is when he met a person who would help change his life, Temple Hall of Fame coach John Chaney.
"I remember him coming to South Oak Cliff and recruiting me," said Battie. "We had Sunday dinner on Tuesday because my grandmother believed when you had company come over you had to take care of them."
That visit obviously went well as Battie traveled 1500 miles away from home to play ball for Chaney at McGonigle Hall on North Broad Street.
As a freshman, Battie would start every game, leading the Owls in field goal percentage (50%) while averaging 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. An Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection, he helped Temple reach the Elite Eight where the Owls fell short to Michigan's Fab Five, 77-72.
He would start over 100 games in his four-year career at Temple, and ranks 16th all-time on the Owls' all-time rebound list with 632 boards. But it was the summer after that 1993 Elite Eight run where his life changed.
"I remember that first summer after we went to the Elite Eight. I had my Elite Eight shirt and remember working at his summer camp," he explained. "We used to have to walk from Johnson and Hardwick (dorm) every morning to walk into this gym filled with Philadelphia public school kids. They would come every summer and Coach would do this camp and his players would have to help.
That started my community service. That started my dedication to communities of color in particular African American communities who need men to stand in that gap and be strong and intentional about making sure the children behind us have a bright future. Coach Chaney embedded all of that not only into me, but into that whole team."
Battie, who would start over 100 games in his four career at Temple, is now making a much greater impact in his community. Following a six-year professional basketball career, the aptly nicknamed Battman (with two Ts of course) is now a superhero in his own community.
Now in his 17th year as the community liaison for his alma mater, Battie, who was on the board that procured the finances and designed the $65 million new South Oaks Cliff High School building that opened in January 2020, is making a difference.
"My job, specifically, is to help students and staff with wrap around services," explained Battie. "So that means if students need assistance with computers or help with homelessness or things of that nature that falls under community liaison. We work direct with the community and the school districts to what I call 'Stand in the Gaps'.
Wherever there is a gap that would keep a kid from getting a great education what we do is say 'Let me find a resource to help.' Sometimes resources are very small and the need is great. We use our influence as leaders to make sure we support that population that we all know exists and gets no help. So we stand as advocates in our community to help those families, those students and those communities to succeed regardless of the circumstances."
There has never been more of a gap that the current state of the world due to COVID-19. Battie has truly lived up to his Battman moniker during this time.
As most students in the school district rely on the free meals at the schools, Battie and the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) leaders made sure they filled this gap at this critical time of social distancing.
At first DISD had meal pickups for the week twice a week, but then moved to just Thursday for pickups of seven meals per child.
'It is a great thing the Dallas Independent School District has done. A lot of school districts across the country have adopted this formula," extolled Battie.
There was one issue that was uncovered during this plan, parents either did not have transportation to pick up the meals, or were fearful of contracting COVID-19.
"I thought, if it is one family, it is 100," said Battie of the problem. "What we decided to do was create a mechanism to help serve all families, all students. So myself, some alumni and community volunteers, corporate volunteers got together and started packing additional meals up in our vehicles. After we did the curbside pickup, we went into these poor communities, these apartment complexes and we served the community."
Battie may have helped Temple win 82 games and reach four NCAA Tournaments, but his biggest victory is happening right now.
And his Hall of Fame coach is smiling.
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