Arkansas lands Temple transfer Khalif Battle
Head coach Eric Musselman and the Arkansas Razorbacks have landed their third addition out of the transfer portal this offseason in Temple transfer guard Khalif Battle, who announced his commitment to the Hogs on Wednesday.
As a (classified) sophomore in 2022-23, Battle averaged 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game with the Owls. He shot 41.0% from the field and 35.0% from three in his third season with Temple.
Battle committed to Butler as a four-star guard in the 2019 class out of Trenton Catholic High School in Hillside, New Jersey, and he spent the 2019-20 season with the Bulldogs. He averaged 11 minutes, three points and one rebound per game in his lone season with Butler.
After the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the college basketball season in 2020, Battle transferred to Temple. He averaged 15.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assist per game in 11 games during the 2020-21 season.
A left foot injury ended Battle's 2021-22 campaign after just seven games. He was leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring with 21.4 points per game prior to the injury.
Battle entered the 2022-23 season as a preseason second team All-AAC selection. His 17.9 points per game ranked fourth in the league this season and he also shot an AAC-best 89.9% from the free throw line. Battle's 2.85 made 3-pointers per game ranked second in the AAC and he also posted a career-best 1.0 steal per game in 2022-23.
The 35.0% from three would've been the best of any Arkansas starter this season — aside from Trevon Brazile, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in December. Prior to the injury, Brazile was shooting 37.9% from behind the arc.
Battle is the third transfer to call the Hogs this offseason, joining Washington transfer Keyon Menifield and Houston transfer Tramon Mark. Stay up to date with the rest of Arkansas' transfer portal news on The Trough premium message board and with HawgBeat's free transfer tracker.