Lloyd Batts (born May 9, 1951) is a retired American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player.
Early life
Born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Batts was one of seven children. His father died when Lloyd was 12. His mother was deaf mute, and the state of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
decided the brothers and sisters should live with relatives who could better care for them, so Lloyd and two siblings moved to live with an aunt and uncle in a south suburb of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Illinois.
Batts became a star forward for
Thornton Township High School
Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a public high school founded in 1899, located in Harvey, one of the South Suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The school is one of three administered by Thornton T ...
in
Harvey, Illinois
Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor, Illinois, Dixmoor and Riverdale, Illinois, R ...
. As a young player in Chicago, he was known as a "hang-gliding, super-flying sort of player" who was a "legend of local playgrounds."
He averaged 29 points per game as a junior and 35 as a senior.
He was a two-time all-state selection and named the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' Player of the Year as a senior.
He graduated in 1970 as the Wildcats' all-time leading scorer with more than 1,600 points.
In 2012, Batts was inducted into the Illinois High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
He has a younger brother,
Boyd Batts, who was also a high school basketball star who later played professionally for 15 years in Europe and South America.
College career
Batts was heavily recruited out of high school and considered attending the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
,
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
and
Long Beach State
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
. He chose Cincinnati, in large part because former Thornton Township star
Jim Ard
Jimmie Lee Ard (born September 19, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player.
Early life
Jim Ard was the son of James and Aline Ard. Jim attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois. In his senior season of 1965– ...
had just finished a great career there and because it was the alma mater of all-time basketball great
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...
.
As a sophomore in 1971–72, Batts led the Bearcats in scoring with 18.7 points per game as the team, coached by
Tay Baker
Tay may refer to:
People and languages
* Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname
* Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam
** Tày language
*Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...
, posted a 17-9 record.
As a junior under new coach
Gale Catlett
Wendell Gale Catlett Article refers to Catlett as "W. Gale Catlett". (born October 31, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach who was head coach at the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University.
Playing career
Born in Hedgesvil ...
,
the Bearcats were again 17–9 and Batts again led the team in scoring with 20.1 points per game and was named third-team All-American by ''Basketball Weekly''.
As a senior in 1973–74, team captain Batts led the Bearcats in scoring for the third season with 21.3 points per game while also leading in assists per game and free throw percentage for the 19–8 team which lost in the first round of the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
(NIT).
He was named honorable mention All-American by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP) and ''
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
''.
In Batts' final home game, he put on a show with 33 points and 10 rebounds as UC defeated
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
, which would later advance to the NCAA title game.
By the end of his career, Batts' 1,585 career points made him the school's fourth all-time scorer behind
Hall-of-Famers Oscar Robertson and
Jack Twyman
John Kennedy Twyman (May 21, 1934 – May 30, 2012) was an American professional basketball player and sports broadcaster. Twyman is a namesake of the NBA's Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Basketb ...
and also
Ron Bonham
Ronald D. Bonham (May 31, 1942 – April 16, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and a college national title at the University of Cincinnati.
Early life
Born May 31, 1942, in ...
. He currently stands 11th.
Professional career
He was selected in the fourth round (60th overall) of the
1974 NBA draft
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...
by the
Kansas City–Omaha Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
and also in the fourth round of the 1974
American Basketball Association (ABA) draft by the
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...
.
His ABA rights were traded to the
Virginia Squires
The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976.
The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...
,
for whom he played one season in 1974–75. In 58 games, he played an average of 22.7 minutes per game and averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
He then played one season (1977–78) for the West Virginia Wheels of the
All-American Basketball Alliance
The All-American Basketball Alliance was formed in 1977, with the intention of competing with the established Continental Basketball Association as the premier basketball minor league in the United States. Eight teams competed in the only season ...
(AABA).
In 1978, he signed a non-guaranteed two-year contract with the NBA's
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
, but he was cut from the team prior to summer league play.
He then played professionally in Europe
for nine years—seven in Belgium, one in Italy and one in France.
Coach and administrator
Batts has two master's degrees—one in physical education and one in administration and education.
He has a long career as a basketball coach and school administrator, including as an assistant coach at
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
and both assistant coach and director of enrollment at
South Suburban College
South Suburban College is a public community college in South Holland, Illinois. It has a second campus in Oak Forest, Illinois.
History
South Suburban College was founded in 1927 as Thornton Junior College. At that time, the college was an ext ...
.
He has served as head basketball coach at Chicago-area high schools
Gage Park High School
Gage Park High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Gage Park neighborhood on the south–west side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1939, Gage Park is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Gage Park se ...
,
Bowen High School,
Waukegan High School
Waukegan High School, or WHS, is a public four-year high school located in Waukegan, Illinois, USA, a city to the north of Chicago, Illinois. It is part of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60. Students attend classes at the Washington Cam ...
(two seasons),
South Shore High School from 2003 to 2010, where he was also dean of students, and currently at
Julian High School.
He is also currently the Boys Dean of Students at
Chicago Vocational Career Academy.
Personal life
Batts has two children, Davina and Lloyd, Jr.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batts, Lloyd
1951 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
ASVEL Basket players
Basketball players from Chicago
CEP Fleurus players
Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players
Kansas City Kings draft picks
Kentucky Colonels draft picks
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Virginia Squires players