There was no problem picking out the person I was to interview on this crisp autumn afternoon.
First and foremost, Kenny Battle’s height – six-foot-six according to official records – made him a standout in this restaurant bustling with plenty of medium-size guys and gals. What really drew my eye to the tall man in sunglasses, however, was the diamond-studded basketball and hoop pendant that hung from a thick chain around his neck.
It was a striking piece of jewelry, to be sure. But if anyone can pull off such a statement piece it would be Battle, a legendary athlete at West Aurora High School and the University of Illinois who is the one and only Auroran to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
“This is my love for basketball,” he says, caressing the unique silver neckpiece that falls directly over the Air Jordan logo on his red Nike sweatshirt.
“Basketball is who I am. This is what made me who I am today.”
Who Kenny Battle is today, at age 61, is a husband of 31 years, dad of six, grandfather of two, youth coach and recently-named president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
But what Battle will always be known for in this community is the way he played the game – with a nonstop hustle that motivated any team he was on; that electrified fans, even those on the opposing side; and made more than a few coaches marvel at his nonstop energy.
All the above and more were highlighted at a recent Aurora City Council meeting where Battle was lauded for the impact he had in those glory years and for what he’s given back to youth sports since then.
This commemoration has been a long time coming, say some West High alumni, including former players who were not only at this council meeting to honor their fellow Blackhawk but were featured in a video extolling his exceptional talents and leadership.
“Everybody wanted to be like Kenny Battle … Kenny Battle was the GOAT of Aurora,” said Randy Stewart, referencing to the acronym that stands for greatest of all time.
For Jerald Harris, vivid memories not only included the times “Kenny dunked on me” as a fellow player but when he did the same on Michael Jordan in a summer league game in Chicago that was “so nasty, everybody in the gym went crazy.”
Scott Younger, who was Battle’s teammate at West High, recalls how Kenny “stole the show” with his “under-the-jersey dunk” that “still translates into what he meant to the game.”
It was, Younger continued, “that burning fire that fueled what he did on the court … and he never seemed to tire, never seemed to give up.”
For Kenny Cahill, this official city of Aurora recognition not only thanks Battle for what he’s meant to the basketball community but to the Aurora area when he came back and coached for many years.
Iconic former West Aurora Coach Gordie Kerkman also contributed to the tribute with an audio recording that recalled how the stands would fill to capacity because people from other communities would come to watch the Blackhawks’ standout player. And he praised Battle for his effort and enthusiasm, labeling him “one of the hardest-working athletes that I’ve ever been around.”
Battle told me he truly appreciated the love heaped upon him at this commemoration. But he also appreciates what the city itself has meant to him — from the time he arrived in 1979 from Mississippi with his eight siblings and recently widowed mother who had been working two jobs to support her children.
The family lived in Westwood Apartments, where young Kenny was determined to make it into the NBA.
“It was never a question,” Battle insists, crediting that steely determination to his “high energy” mother who never slowed down or complained about working two jobs in a factory and on a farm.
“As the second-oldest child I understood the value of a parent doing what she had to do to take care of her family,” he says. “If my mother never got tired of going to work doing manual labor, why should I get tired doing something I loved that was far easier?”
To say Battle was a talented athlete would be an understatement.
Whether on the basketball court, football field, baseball diamond or the track, he was often viewed as a man among boys. So it’s no wonder as a sophomore he was on the varsity basketball team, as a junior he was receiving baskets of letters from colleges and as a senior he not only set scoring records as he led his team to a third-place IHSA finish, he earned the nickname “the King of the 360s” for his high-flying dunks.
Because Battle wanted his family to watch him play, he settled on Northern Illinois University, where he averaged 20 points a game. He transferred his junior year to the University of Illinois after former West High Coach John McDougal was fired from the NIU head coaching position. As captain of the U. of I.’s “Flyin’ Illini” team that made it to the 1989 NCAA Final Four, it’s no wonder he was propelled to the top echelon of that year’s NBA draft.
Battle was picked in the bottom of the first round by the Detroit Pistons, then traded almost immediately to the Phoenix Suns. After four seasons in the NBA that included stints with the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, and a few more years with other professional leagues, Battle, now married and with an infant son, retired. It was a decision, he says, that was made after a long road trip when he realized the game he loved would take away from the one thing that meant even more to him.
“Family will always come first,” insists Battle, noting that his mother and eight siblings are all doing great, as are his children, all of whom were outstanding athletes offered Division One scholarships either in football or basketball.
Battle moved back to Aurora in 2001 and lived in Plainfield for many years until he and Tiffany moved to Naperville four years ago. In addition to coaching at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Malcolm X College, Joliet Catholic Academy and his high school alma mater, Battle ran his KB Hoops youth basketball program for about 15 years in Aurora. For a number of years he also worked with the late Fred Rodgers and his youth program under former Mayor Tom Weisner’s administration.
Battle says he still has a few camps going in cities throughout the state, and intends to start a basketball program again in Aurora.
“The moment you think you might retire, they pull you back in,” he says with a laugh, then notes he will likely never hang up those basketball shoes entirely.
Known throughout his remarkable athletic career for his all-out playing style, Battle has no plans to change any time soon, he says. It’s one reason he recently took on the presidency of the Chicago Chapter of the National Basketball Retired Players Association, which had been dormant for a while.
There is a large “brotherhood” of former players in the Chicago area anxious to give back and who understand that by working together they can have a far greater impact, Battle notes.
That connectedness, he adds, is also shared by generations of West Aurora High School athletes who appreciate what it means to be part of a proud Blackhawk legacy.
Which brings me back to the diamond-studded pendant he saw in a department store jewelry case about a year ago.
“Once I tried it on,” he says, “I decided it was never coming off.”
Like the large cross he also loves to wear, “it is a symbol that shows who I am,” continues Battle, who then offers his philosophy that is as bold as the pendant itself.
“It is an unwillingness to accept less than perfect … failure is never an option.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
