BOULDER, Colo. (BVM) — When thinking of this era of Colorado basketball, Evan Battey might be one of the first names that come to mind. His journey to becoming one of the stars of the CU program, however, is not only admirable but improbable to say the least.

Battey, a three-star recruit out of Villa Park, Calif., arrived in Boulder in 2017 ready to make an impact. But on December 26, 2017, making an impact on the court was the least of his concerns.

While playing in a pick-up game back home, Battey suddenly lost feeling in the right side of his body. Out of nowhere, Battey was having a stroke. But it didn’t stop there. On the way to the hospital, Battey then suffered a seizure. A few minutes passed, and then he had another one.

Five months of physical therapy and five months of speech therapy ensued. He had to re-train his body to do the things he was so accustomed to doing, even the ones that seem so simple and are taken for granted.

“I had to take some time off,” Battey said. “I had to re-learn how to talk, from basic syllables all over again. That was the really strenuous part of it.”

Unsure of how much time off he would need, Battey battled through the basics, but picking up a basketball was the easiest part. 

“(Getting back into) basketball was really easy. It’s just the game,” Battey said. “I’ve always had an affinity for the game. I’ve always had that coach’s mindset because I coached two years in high school. From a basketball perspective, there wasn’t really much that was taken away from my game. From a physical perspective, it was all about getting the feeling in my right side back, and that was a hard time for me. You know, it was frustrating, but once I got over that it was smooth sailing from there.”

Smooth sailing is right, as Battey hit the ground running in 2018-19, immediately becoming an integral part of head coach Tad Boyle’s rotation and logging over 20 minutes per game in his first year of collegiate action. 

Battey’s value to the CU program, however, goes far beyond the stat sheet. He is the heart and soul of a Buffs team, and program, that has grown along with him over the last three years. His passion on the court is evident every time he plays, and his leadership is vital in the locker room.

“It means the world to me (to be a leader),” Battey said. “Just to know that my teammates think of me so highly. But also, it comes with great responsibility as well. I’ve gotta bring it every day. I can’t have bad days, as opposed to when I was a freshman, I could have a bad day redshirting. Nowadays, I try to limit those bad days and if I have a bad day, just move on. Keep leading the team.”

Coming off of what was a banner season for the Buffs, one that resulted in just their second NCAA Tournament victory since 1997, Battey now remains as one of the holdovers on a team that will look a lot different next season, but still wants to build on the success of a season ago.

Losing a large chunk of last season’s production in the form of graduated seniors McKinley Wright IV, Dallas Walton, D’Shawn Schwartz, Jeriah Horne, and Maddox Daniels will certainly pose a challenge for this season’s Buffs squad, one that will look a lot younger and will surely need to endure some growing pains.

“When we’re in a tight situation, people are gonna look towards me, when we used to look towards McKinley,” Battey said. “I’m gonna have to make tough shots and I’m gonna have to make plays, stuff I’ve been doing my whole career, but it’s heightened now.”

Battey will certainly have to take on a bigger role on and off the court on such a young team. But if he has proven one thing, it’s that no challenge is too big.

“My responsibility is much higher,” Battey said. “This is just a part of it.”

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