NCAA Basketball: Top 25 impact transfer pickups from 2023 offseason
By John Makuch
No. 18 Khalif Battle (Arkansas)
Khalif Battle has always been one to go down his path, not going to St. Josephs or Syracuse after his brother, Tyus. Now, after four years at Temple, Battle’s path has ended up with the Razorbacks of Arkansas.
Teams all over the nation are looking for tall guards who can take the ball and score, and Battle is that and then some. The Temple transfer averaged 17.9 points per game for the Owls last season, and the Razorbacks pounced on the opportunity to go out and get him.
His scoring did drop down a bit from 21.4 points per game in 2021-22, but just under 18 points are still one of the better scoring outputs that Arkansas could have gone out and gotten. Battle looks to join a team that can win some games and go deep in March, and Arkansas made some waves in the tournament with their upset of Kansas and a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Battle now gets a chance to show his skills on a major stage in the SEC, and the Razorbacks continued to add talent to their roster this offseason, and we will see if they can make headlines again come tournament time.