A four-day layoff didn’t lay to rest any of Jamison Battle’s sharpshooting ways.
Fresh off back-to-back games with at least five made threes, Battle made five in a row to start his night against Rutgers on Wednesday.
Finishing 6-of-9 overall from downtown as part of a 22-point outing, Battle displayed a clear level of confidence as he helped the Buckeyes build a lead and hang on late in a 76-72 win over the Scarlet Knights.
Battle says that confidence primarily stems from his teammates.
“No matter what the case is, if I’m wide open, the ball is going up,” Battle said. “I know these guys trust me to make those shots and they wouldn’t put me in those positions if I didn’t think I could make them. I think as a shooter, obviously you have confidence in yourself, but when there’s confidence oozing from your teammates, your coaches, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be confident.”
As Big Ten play opens its full gauntlet, Battle’s perimeter threat – he’s now up to 44.7% shooting from outside on the season, best in the conference by a margin of 3.9% – seems to be growing.
“I just think it’s comfort level,” Chris Holtmann said. “He’s got a real comfort level now having some games under his belt. He knows where the shots are coming from, he knows what we expect.”
That comfort level took some work, Holtmann added, given that the fifth-year senior is new to the Buckeyes’ roster after transferring in from Minnesota this offseason.
“Typically it takes transfers a minute. In his case maybe he’s gotten there a little bit quicker, just because he’s such a naturally gifted scorer,” Holtmann said.
Battle became the first Buckeye to hit five triples in three straight games since renowned Ohio State sharpshooter Jon Diebler accomplished the feat four games in a row from Nov. 24 to Dec. 5 in 2009.
He got to work early on Wednesday night. Battle canned Ohio State’s second field goal of the game by catching a pass from Bruce Thornton, hitting a filthy jab step to create space and knocking down a shot from the left wing.
Battle scored Ohio State’s next bucket too, this time a straight-up catch-and-shoot triple from the right wing. When he nailed another catch-and-shoot try two minutes later, Battle closed a stretch of three made threes in 3:13.
“The biggest thing for me is that I’m not really out there thinking,” Battle said. “The fact is, I’m a shooter. And when you’re a shooter, you can’t dwell on the misses. I think that’s the biggest asset I have is that I don’t really let misses affect me because I’ve got guys like Bruce, guys like Roddy (Gayle Jr.), guys like Felix (Okpara), Scotty (Middleton), Devin (Royal), they’re always encouraging me to shoot. And I think that’s the role I’ve embraced on this team.”
“The fact is, I’m a shooter. And when you’re a shooter, you can’t dwell on the misses. I think that’s the biggest asset I have.”– Jamison Battle on his mentality as a perimeter threat
It was Battle’s fourth make in as many tries that truly lit Holtmann’s eyes up, though it was perhaps more to do with the coach's team than his individual player’s made shot.
Middleton fed Battle in transition and the big man drove down the lane to be met by two defenders. He kicked it out to Gayle in the corner, who swung it immediately to Thornton on the wing, who kicked it immediately to Middleton on the opposite wing, who tossed it back to Battle beside him for an open three.
Ball movement pic.twitter.com/oWF0j02RmC
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 4, 2024
“When we’re flowing on offense, that’s what it looks like,” Battle said. “I think we showed that today, especially in the first half. In the end, game rewards game. If you move the rock around, if you get open passes, you get open shots, you’re going to get rewarded and I think that’s what happened in the first half.”
Battle’s fifth make in his early-game shooting streak was part of a 9-for-11 start from long range for Ohio State as a team.
While Battle has attempted the most threes of any Buckeye this season with 94, he’s done so while playing within the offense, leading to a 3-point shooting percentage that’s more than eight points higher than any previous season in his career.
“He’ll have a heat-check moment every now and then, which I’m OK with,” Holtmann said with a chuckle. “He plays well within the flow. He doesn’t force things – we had some unbelievable offensive possessions in the first half. I mean that one was as good of an offensive possession as you’re going to see.”
Battle connected on his last three-point attempt of Wednesday’s game with 12:34 to play, pushing Ohio State’s lead back to double digits at the time, 56-44.
“It’s just staying within the flow of the offense,” Battle said. “With the talent that we have – you’ve got Roddy, you’ve got Bruce, you’ve got Felix – there’s just so many weapons that we have offensively that I know when the ball comes back to me offensively, I’m going to be in a good position to score and have an open shot.”
However, Battle isn’t letting his recent run of success get him overconfident as Ohio State hits the road to take on Indiana on Saturday.
Just as with his misses, he leaves his makes behind him. It’s all about the next shot.
“You keep making shots, that shot’s in the past,” Battle said. “It’s always about the next-shot mentality for me, regardless if it’s a make or a miss. You’re always looking for that next shot.”
