BOULDER — Evan Battey’s time in Boulder is coming to a close.
“I haven’t gotten emotional about it yet because I’ve done my job. I’ve done what I was supposed to do here,” Battey said on Friday. “Now I transition and hand the keys to the younger players.”
The Colorado Buffaloes will take on the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats at the CU Events Center on Saturday in a game that figures to be Battey’s last in Boulder, though Colorado could be awarded a home game in a postseason tournament. Regardless, Senior Day festivities are scheduled to take place before the game and Battey and his fellow seniors will give speeches after the game’s conclusion.
A few years ago, that speech would have terrified Battey after he suffered a stroke that significantly impeded his ability to speak.
“Sometimes I was afraid to talk, sometimes I wouldn’t talk at all,” Battey said. “My mom would say, ‘Talk. I know you. I know my son. Speak to me.’ She didn’t care how many times I messed up and how many times I pronounced something wrong.”
The stroke and the recovery process that dominated his second semester of college helped to create the Battey we know today.
“That’s where big picture approach and mentality comes from—you know, the sun rises every day, it doesn’t stop for nobody,” Battey said. “It’s important that we move on and keep things in the past and live in the present.”
That statement sums up Battey’s feelings about Senior Day.
Earlier in the season, Battey was reflective. He spent time every day thinking about his time in Boulder. It was emotional. Now, though, he’s realized where his thoughts need to lie.
“Honestly I’m not really thinking about the future that much and I’m not really thinking about the past that much,” Battey said. “I live in the present.”
Still, it can be a challenge to compartmentalize those thoughts.
Saturday night will be Battey’s 62nd game at the CU Events Center, not including the games when he was cheering on his teammates from the sidelines after his stroke, “Yelling out a bunch of shit even though I couldn’t really talk.”
He’s spent over 24 hours of gametime playing on his home court. He’s scored 612 points here, grabbed 195 rebounds, dished out 76 assists and blocked 28 shots. He starred in some the defining memories of this era of Colorado basketball and he was right next to McKinley Wright or Tyler Bey or D’Shawn Schwartz for plenty of the others.
He’s fulfilled.
“I had a wonderful four years playing here, five years being here,” Battey said. “And I really have no regrets. We won a lot games here. You know, it’s more than me now. It’s always been more than me. It’s about the team. It’s about the unit. It’s about progress. It’s not about perfection, it’s about progression. So I’m gonna try and leave an impact on the younger guys to have them be good players in the future. They’re good players now but have them win games in the future, achieve things they want to achieve—achieve their dreams—and, ultimately, be better people.”
Despite the emotions that come with the close of his career, Battey won’t stray from his emphasis on the bigger picture.
“I take it day by day,” Battey said. “It’s always a better day, it’s always a new day. I live my life one step at a time, one day at a time.”
