Khalif Battle returns to Temple after an offseason of recovery — on and off the court

Following Temple’s victory against La Salle last December, guard Khalif Battle was informed he had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and would be ruled out the remainder of the season. Yet Battle returned to practice the next morning, at one point walking into the locker room to cry. His season was over.

Heart-wrenching as it was, this moment was not Battle’s toughest challenge in 2021. His foot fracture paled in comparison with the loss of one of his close friends before the season.

“It hurt more because my friend had died that year,” Battle said, referring to Alexander “Xan” Korman. “He got shot. The last thing he told me was to get [American Athletic Conference] player of the year for him, so that is really what hurt me.”

Korman was a Butler University student who died in August 2021 in a drive-by shooting in his home state of Maryland at the age of 20. When Battle played at Butler in 2019 and 2020, Korman would join him for predawn workouts.

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Korman, who served as photo editor of the Butler Collegian, took photographs of Battle and they developed a close connection off the court. Battle has Korman’s portrait tattooed on his arm in remembrance.

Korman is not Battle’s only friend who has died. Battle has endured the loss of 12 more friends over the last four years.

“I feel like people got to spend more time and understand that athletes are more than just athletes,” Battle said. “We are people at the end of the day. A lot of us go through a lot of things that are tough.”

Battle plans to speak about some of these issues in a podcast called “Keep It a Buck,” which will debut at the conclusion of the season.

Battle’s father, Gary, remembers his son coming home from Trenton Catholic Academy upset after he noticed some kids could not afford adequate shoes and clothes. Determined to make a change, Battle collected items and handed them out to those in need.

“He’s given out sneakers, we have gotten so many pairs of sneakers over the years,” Gary Battle said. “He is giving things away quite a bit, so that is who he is to the core.”

He doesn’t plan to stop there. Battle wants to start an organization that sells inexpensive clothes and shoes to help people from different countries.

“The track suit would be crazy,” Battle said about potential designs. “I don’t want it to be the Yeezy thing. I definitely want a plain jane ... simple. It is going to look nice. It is going to be fitted. [It will have] tape with the pants, got tape with the jeans, got to have a cuff at the bottom. I like the slim little waistline. You can also be big. You can be big and tall.”

Back on the court, the most difficult part of Battle’s physical recovery was improving other aspects of his game while strengthening his foot. In the end, Battle said he upgraded his defense and passing.

Battle declared for the 2022 NBA draft but withdrew and returned for an extra season. NBA teams will scout Battle’s defense and leadership skills in his fourth year of college basketball.

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His return to Temple is important, because without him the offense averaged just 66.8 points per game, which ranked 10th in the AAC. Battle, who averaged 21.4 points in his seven games last season, was named to this year’s preseason All-AAC second team.

“He is an offensive threat,” coach Aaron McKie said. “It is something he does well. He can shoot the ball and score the ball.”

Battle’s life outside basketball has come with pain, and he’s found ways to channel those emotions into motivation. He dreamed all offseason about touching a basketball at the Liacouras Center — and hearing that familiar swoosh.

“I love this game so much, it is everything to me,” he said. “Seeing the fans out there might bring a tear to my eye. Just touching a basketball out there again, seeing the ball go in the basket and getting a win is going to mean the world to me.”