BOULDER — As the capacity crowd of 11,079 in the CU Events Center chanted his name, Evan Battey staggered backward and let the emotional dam break. Tears pooled in his eyes, then streamed down his face. The big Buffs senior raised both arms over his head, forming hands into the shape of a heart.
“I was a mess,” Battey admitted.
Love can be messy. And saying goodbye is hard. But this was Battey’s going-away party. And in the end, he cried tears of pure joy.
Playing his final home game, Battey and the Buffs upset No. 2 Arizona 79-63, the highest-ranked team CU has beaten in 30 years.
“This is an example of what love can do,” said Rosalind Lewis, the center’s mother. “And these players love each other. This is golden. This is storybook. Winning his last game at home? Couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Battey is not the most talented basketball player ever to wear a Buffs uniform. But nobody has ever represented the school with more heart. Battey’s ticker beats with so much passion itap as prominent as the No. 21 emblazoned on his barrel chest.
From Scott Wedman to Chauncey Billups, Colorado has sent a stellar lineup to the NBA through the years. None of those stars, however, have ever loved the Buffs more than a 6-foot-8 center whose smile has the wattage to light up an arena by itself. When he walks down Pearl Street, heads turn and Boulder becomes Batteyville.
“He’s the mayor,” CU coach Tad Boyle said.
Before jogging on his home court for the final time in his 129 games for the Buffs, the rafters shook with a sweet sound of hard-earned tribute: “Batt-ey! Batt-ey! Batt-ey!” Before tipoff against Arizona, his mother had already broken the unofficial single-game school record for most hugs exchanged.
We live in a college basketball era when everybody who’s anybody is one-and-done. The pursuit of NBA dollars has supplanted the quaint, anachronistic notion of sweating with pride for the school name on the front of the jersey.
For nearly five years, however, Roz and Evan Battey have been the living, breathing embodiment of standing shoulder to shoulder, pledging devotion to dear, old CU.
Evan has been found stubbornly planted under the basket, doing all the dirty work that can make the difference between winning and losing in ways the box score often misses. Roz has been a fixture in the third row near center court, a point of light that dances enthusiastically to the pep band’s beat and brings good cheer to everyone she meets.
Evan is a tough son of a gun raised by a strong mother. If you don’t already know this story by heart, pull up a chair and let this inspirational tale cleanse every ounce of cynicism in your veins and bring a glow to your soul.
On the day after Christmas in 2017, a teenage Battey suffered a stroke while playing basketball with friends in California. After a frightening 24 hours, Evan took his first halting steps in the hospital and Roz refused to let her son feel sorry for himself, re-teaching him how to walk and talk.
Quit basketball? Not after cheating death. “Itap a blessing for me just to wake up every day,” Battey once told me, “because I almost got put 6 feet under.”
Against a long and athletic Wildcats squad with legit national title aspirations, Colorado struggled shooting early in the first half, an ill-advised formula for an upset. These young Buffs, however, refused to panic. They are built as mentally tough as big brother Battey. When the senior center limped to the locker room on a sprained knee with 3 minutes, 42 seconds remaining until halftime and CU trailing by four points, it looked bad.
But quit? Battey beat death before he ever sank a free throw for the Buffs. He wasn’t going to let teammates quietly fade to black during his last stand at home.
“He’s such a special, unique human being. Forget basketball player … I love Evan Battey,” Boyle said.
The post moves of Tristan da Silva, who led CU with 19 points, were magic wrapped in silk. And a thunderous dunk by K.J. Simpson was the exclamation point that propelled the Buffs to a 47-26 thrashing of Arizona in the second half.
This victory, however, was for Battey, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds. His love rubbed off and won out. “Itap a gratifying thing … when you’re strong together,” he said.
After fans stormed the court to celebrate, Battey was handed a microphone by Boyle and given the final word.
“My dream is to be the head coach here (at CU),” Battey told his audience. “I’m going to achieve that dream some day, some time. I don’t know when, but I’m going to do it.”
The crowd roared, chanting the name of the mayor of Batteyville.
