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Battier: 'I'm staying' Duke junior says he won't leave early for pros
Posted: Wednesday March 08, 2000 01:37 AM
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Duke junior forward Shane Battier, who revealed an offensive game this season to go with his defensive skills, says he will return to the Blue Devils for his senior season. "I'm staying," Battier said Tuesday as No. 3 Duke prepared on campus for this week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. "I'm excited about the team next year. I'm excited about getting my degree next year." The 6-foot-8 Battier has come up big for coach Mike Krzyzewski this season after the Blue Devils lost underclassmen Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and Will Avery to the NBA draft in 1999. Battier is fourth in the ACC in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He leads the league free-throw percentage and is in the top five in five other statistical categories. Battier called all of the talk about last season's potential early departures a distraction during the Blue Devils' run to the NCAA title game, and didn't want that same problem this year. The focus "wasn't on our team. It was on future prospects and the summer," Battier said. "... So I don't want to take away from this team, and I'm staying."
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