Louisville Basketball: Wyatt Battaile Could Make an Impact in Year One as a Walk-On
By Jacob Lane
Pikeville High School’s Wyatt Battaile was officially added to the 2018-19 Louisville basketball roster today.
Louisville fans have seen first hand how important it is to have walk-on’s who are able to contribute to a team when called upon, not just provide a high GPA (looking at you Kentucky) or provide mop up minutes in the closing of a blow out. While many don’t get the chance to do so on the biggest stage of them all, Louisville has had several who have turned themselves into legends because of their play when it mattered most.
Of course we all remember former Christian Academy product and Louisville basketball walk-on Tim Henderson and his two crucial three pointers against Wichita State, that helped seal the victory for UofL, sending them to the 2013 National Championship.
Remember Dillon Avare? At first glance, you would have thought that the 6’0 walk-on showed up at the wrong gym, instead looking for his local high school team, but we would find out that the kid was a cold blood killer. In the 2015 elite eight, Avare was inserted into the game (not by Rick Pitino’s choice) after a technical foul forced to shoot free throws with no time to prepare. Avare turned himself into a Louisville legend, knocking them both down and almost sending the Cards to the final four.
There’s been countless others along the way. Will Scott, Brad Gianiny, Dark Slime (aka Michael Balfour), and of course everyone’s favorite, David Levitch.
At the University of Louisville, just because a player doesn’t hold a scholarship has no ramifications on whether he is good enough to help the team in one way or another.
Fans are about to learn of a new walk-on, one that could be potentially one of the most talented to join the program in recent memory. As of today, Pikeville High School’s Wyatt Battaile (pronounced Battle) is officially a member of the Louisville basketball program for the 2017-18.
After initially committing to walk-on at Morehead State, Battaile, who was coached by another former Louisville walk-on Elisha “The Bullet” Justice, caught the eye of new head coach Chris Mack and the rest was history.
In a press release from the University of Louisville Chris Mack had this to say about the team’s newest member:
"“Wyatt is a Kentucky kid and played for a former Cardinal at Pikeville High School. Wyatt is tough kid who can do it a little bit of everything on the floor. He’s athletic, skilled and is anxious to begin his career at the Division I high major level.”"
The 6’4, 180 pound guard, who was a 2,000 point scorer during his time at Pikeville, received several awards and achievements during his career including being all-state selection from the 15th region, a member of the sweet 16 all-tournament team, and even the KABC larry Conley Ultimate Teammate Award, presented to a participant in the Kentucky Sweet 16 whose individual play “exemplifies the style of play where scoring isn’t the most important aspect of the game, and is complemented by passing, rebounding and blocked shots.”
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Battaile brings a prolific scoring punch to the Cardinals bench, averaging 24.1 points during his senior season, as well as a multitude of other skills. He also averaged 8.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a senior, which all helped get Pikeville back to the Sweet 16, as mentioned before. The new Cardinal walk-on also knocked down an incredible 139 threes during his career.
With Louisville only having 10 scholarship players for the 2018-19 roster, there is a good chance that Battaile will get a chance to play during the season. While he will certainly need to bulk up, his skill set is one that will be highly valued by Mack, as a big, long wing who can knock down three’s consistently.
The Cards do have some depth on the wing, as Battaile will play behind V.J. King, Jordan Nwora, Dwayne Sutton, and Khwan Fore. But there is always a chance of injury, or foul trouble, which could force the new Cardinal into action.
If Mack does have to turn to Battaile, he is in good hands, and fans should be comfortable with the 6’4 scorer, who has spent the last several years under the tutelage of a former Cardinal. Wyatt Battaile will join fellow walk-ons, Jo Griffin (South Oldham HS) and Jacob Redding.