Q&A with Colorado basketball commit Evan Battey

Before Colorado’s Thursday night game against UCLA, we caught up with class of 2017 commit Evan Battey, a four-star power forward from Villa Park, California. Battey, Tyler Bey and D’Shawn Schwartz make up the 19th-rated recruiting class in the nation and stand to be Tad Boyle’s perfect recruiting class.

Battey will likely be the most unique player we’ll ever see at Colorado, as he has an incredibly versatile skill set for a 6’7, 270-lbs. behemoth. Off the court, Battey is all smiles and laughs. We saw some of that in our interview with him.

Sam Metivier: How excited are you to come to CU?

Evan Battey: I think my level of excitement is kind of hard to put into words. Great team, great coaches, great program in general, great fans, great culture here at CU, so I mean everything about it makes me super excited to be here.

SM: Do you have anybody you model your game after?

EB: A little Draymond Green as far as step out, shoot it, handle it, I like to pass a lot, get some work in the post done. So the ability to a do a little of everything is something that is more Draymond Green’s game.

SM: Do you shit talk at all?

EB: I don’t shit talk a lot, I don’t kick people, but when I get going, I run my mouth a little bit, I talk a little bit, but not too much — not anything excessive.

SM: What’s your biggest strength as a player?

EB: I think my biggest strength is the ability to draw mismatches, whether it’s height or size. If it’s a smaller guy not big enough to guard me in the post, I’ll just take him down there. If they put a big guy on me, I’ll just take him on the wing. I think it’s my ability to draw mismatches.

SM: Are you excited to play NBA talent?

EB: Yeah, the Pac-12 is loaded every night — every night it’s a league matchup. You’ve got people going to the league [the NBA] on every team in the Pac-12. There are so many different guys who can just go in the Pac-12. It’s a crazy league.

SM: How do you think you’ll fit into Tad Boyle’s system?

EB: I think I’ll fit pretty well. You have guys like Xavier Johnson who play the 4, who can just shoot the rock, go inside and get some work done. Coach Boyle told me his vision for me at Colorado and I’ve bought into it — I think it’s going to be great.

SM: Do you think Tyler Bey will play the 3 or 4 next to you? Do you think you could slide to the 5 at all?

EB: I think I will play a little 5. We’ll be tall, with D’Shawn Schwartz and Tyler. If I have to play the 5, I’ll play the 5. We’ll play versatile basketball — all three of us can do so many different things and Tyler’s a freak athlete — I think it will be interesting to see.

SM: Are you ready to be a cult hero?

EB: I’m just here to impress, so I hope people just love me. I hope they will.