Shane Courtney Battier (born September 9, 1978 in Birmingham, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association and the U.S. national team. Battier was born and raised in Birmingham, Michigan, and attended Derby Middle School, before starting his basketball career at Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, where he won many awards including 1997 "Mr. Basketball of Michigan" while playing for coach Kurt Keener. On September 11, 2007, Shane returned to Detroit Country Day School as they retired his jersey, number 55. Shane joined Chris Webber as only the second player to have his athletic number retired by Detroit Country Day School. Battier was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the sixth pick of the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft. He was the Grizzlies' second draft pick since the team relocated from Vancouver, Canada after six years. Pau Gasol of Spain was selected in the same draft with the number three pick, by the Atlanta Hawks, then traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. Battier is a versatile player with the size to play inside and the range to score from further out (particularly the corner three-pointer). However, he makes his living as a hustle player on the defensive end, where he defends three positions (shooting guard, power forward, small forward) with a high degree of skill, nets a good number of blocks and steals, dives for loose balls, and frequently draws offensive fouls from his opponent.
YouTube | March 17, 2008
