A former Rutgers basketball recruiting target from New Jersey is now in the transfer portal.
Khalif Battle, once recruited by Rutgers out of the 2019 class, announced on Tuesday that he has entered the transfer portal. Originally a commit to Butler, he transferred to Temple following his freshman season.
In 45 games (19 starts) over three seasons at Temple, Battle averaged 17.8 points per game while shooting 36 percent from three-point range. He battled some injuries during his career but as a junior, he played and started in seven games where he averaged 21.4 points per game. A toe injury cut short his 2021-22 season.
In the 247Sports Composite, Battle was the No. 99 player in the nation and a four-star recruit. A member of the 2018 recruiting class out of Trenton Catholic High School (Metuchen, N.J.), Battle held offers from programs such as Butler, UConn, Miami, Rutgers, St. Joseph’s, Syracuse and VCU among others.
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Given Rutgers need to find scoring, Battle could be a good fit for head coach Steve Pikiell. He also can handle the step up in competition, there is no doubt about that.
In mid-February against Memphis, a team that made the NCAA Tournament, Battle scored 25 points while shooting 4-of-6 from three-point range in the Temple loss. Against No. 3 Houston in early February, he scored 24 points in a home loss.
Earlier this year in a win over Rutgers in a neutral site game, Battle scored 24 points.
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