Evan Battey's time in Boulder is not over. The fan favorite and standout former Colorado forward is returning to his alma mater to help continue building the program he once played for.
Buffs head coach Tad Boyle announced Monday that Battey will join his staff at CU as an assistant coach. Battey will take over as the new director of quality analytics after two seasons playing overseas.
"There's no better Buff in my mind from head to toe than Evan Battey," Boyle said in a statement released by the program announcing the news. "He loves the University of Colorado. He loves what it did for him and he's a kid that wants to just give back and being a coach is the best way to do that.
"He's going to bring a lot of knowledge about playing college basketball and representing the University of Colorado. He will have the ability to impart the wisdom that he's learned through his years as a player both at CU and as a professional. He's helped impart that on the players in our program and he's going to be able to sell our program."
Battey was most recently playing in Switzerland playing for the Lugano Tigers after a season in Bulgaria. The Los Angeles native was successful as a professional player and averaged over 19 points to go with eight rebounds last season.
However, he will move his career in a new direction that will bring him back to where things started with the Buffs.
"It's so surreal," Battey said. "Having the experience of playing here and the experience of forming relationships with the coaches, staff and community and then to be welcomed back with such open arms … it's been great."
Battey played his entire college career at CU and helped guide the Buffs to 88 victories across four seasons after redshirting as a freshman. He played in 133 games at CU and the 88 wins is the most by a player in program history.
"The Mayor" grew into a fan favorite while in Boulder and became a prominent face of the program during his time with the team. His enthusiasm for the Buffs is something that he plans to continue as he moves into a coaching role.
"I'll bring the energy, the emotion, the experience," Battey said. "Just coming from a place that I can relate to the players we have now, in being a former player. I know what they're going through, and I can add insight and perspective. A lot of communication with the guys. I just want to make sure these guys have the best experience they can have in college basketball."
Recent NCAA rules have allowed programs to add additional assistant coaches meaning Battey will have the ability to step into a position where he can help the current team on the floor as well as on the recruiting trail.
Though he has no prior experience as a coach, Boyle is confident Battey will pick things up quickly having already become familiar with the expectations as a player.
"Evan is going to be learning as he goes as a first-year coach," Boyle said. "He's got a great number of assistant coaches from Mike Rohn to Bill Grier and now Danny Manning and even Zach (Ruebesam) who's a young coach whose got some experience now in the business. He can learn from them. But I think in terms of the things I'm going to task him with is going to be communication and the relationship with players that are in the program. That's first and foremost to me."
Additionally, Boyle named Colorado natives CJ Armitage and Tyson Gilbert as graduate managers for the Buffs. Armitage has previously served as an undergraduate manager while attending CU. Gilbert, a Highlands Ranch native, is new to the program after graduating from Alaska Anchorage in the spring. He also played at CSU Pueblo during his four-year college career.
