BEREA, Ohio -- The Yellow Jackets of Baldwin Wallace just capped off a tremendous season. Unfortunately, it ended in a loss to Oswego State in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Despite coming up short in overtime, they still had a fantastic season making the postseason and becoming Ohio Athletic Conference champions for the first time since 2006. None of this would have been possible without senior guard Jay Battle, who won OAC tournament MVP honors.

While some readers may think D3 basketball is low level hoops, make no mistake, Battle could play and thrive at most mid-major Division I programs right now. Obviously basketball is a team game, but his offensive production and senior leadership is invaluable to the Yellow Jackets.

Prior to becoming a four year starter, earning three all OAC honors, and being named the most valuable player in the OAC tournament, Battle was a two sport athlete at Gahanna Lincoln High School. He waited his turn on the court at Gahanna, and did not start until his senior year. A great leader for the Lions, he was a part of the 2013 district title team and two-time district runner ups in his junior and senior seasons.

In the latest installment of College Film Room, I will be breaking down the offensive game of the Gahanna alum, along with explaining how his role within the Baldwin Wallace offense makes him the most essential piece on the floor.  

Battle fits into the offensive archetype known as the primary creator. This distinction typically goes to the player on the team that is capable of generating their own offense off the dribble whether that is for themselves or their teammates. These players often work out of high usage actions like high ball screens and isolations. Not all teams have primary creators, but you will see them when a team has an effective and efficient on ball scoring option.

One of the key skills to thrive in this role as a guard at any level beyond high school is the pull up jump shot. Battle possesses this skill, as he is the most efficient pull up shooter in all of Division III basketball (100 possession minimum) averaging 1.271 points per possession, Per Synregy.

You can see how dynamic Battle’s pull up shooting is when it is combined with his tight handle. Even though he is not overly shifty, the senior is able to take advantage of a mismatch and bury the outside shot creating space with his change of direction handling.

The chart below shows Battle’s top five offensive play types. Almost half of his offensive possessions come working off ball screens. His high ball screen usage stems from Baldwin Wallace’s system. The Yellow Jackets have done a quality job of finding complimentary players to Battle within their spread pick and roll scheme. When Battle is on the floor, they are heavily reliant on his shot creation as a ball screen handler. Baldwin Wallace does a fantastic job playing to the senior’s strength as he clearly excels in his offensive role. The senior is extremely decisive processing ball screen coverages and was able to pick apart almost any coverage he saw this season

First, let’s look at how he scored in specific ball screen actions this season. In the clip below,

Battle rejects the screen since his defender is over helping to the right, preparing for the screen. Then with a deliberate crossover as he eyes the open driving lane. With solid burst off the dribble, Battle gets into the lane and finishes through contact, flashing his ambidextrous finishing ability.

Here you are going to see Mount Union drop their ball screen coverage against Battle. A drop down on ball screens is normally carried out with the screeners man playing the middle of the lane in order to take away a driving lane for the opposing ball handler. Recognizing this coverage, Battle has an opening to get to his pull up jump shot that he loves and buries it. Taking advantage of the big being a little too far down on his coverage.

Next we have Battle working against a hard hedge from Capital. The hard hedge is designed to force the ball handler to make a mistake or cause a split second of indecision which will allow a defense to recover. Here we can see the big come out with his hedge, but Battle counters this hedge nicely with an escape dribble. This allows him to take advantage of the open driving lane once the big looks to recover back off his hedge. Once again utilizing his burst off the dribble, the senior gets into the lane and finishes at the rim.

Here is a switch possession against John Carroll. Ideally, a clean switch is the most efficient way to defend a ball screen. However, most teams are not equipped with the personnel that allows them to consistently switch or 1-5 or sometimes even 1-4 ball screens. He shows patience working out of the ball screen as his defender wisely plays the reject with the screen being set up too close to the sideline for Battle to dribble off of it. His patience gives him the opportunity to work off another screen, this time forcing the switch and knocks down the tough stepback jumper over the John Carroll big.

The next possession against Marietta is a relatively simple read for a pick and roll handler. Reading your matchup’s coverage on whether they elect to go over or under the ball screen. When your defender goes under, it creates an opportunity for an open jump shot off the dribble. When they go over, it usually opens up a driving angle to the hoop. Here the Marietta guard goes over the screen and Battle reads it perfectly, blows by his defender, and finishes around the rim protection.

While Battle does not post the most potent playmaking numbers, being able to create for your teammates is something every primary creator needs to be able to do on the floor. Many of his assists this season were courtesy of the ball screen game as well. One of the beautiful elements of having a deadly ball screen handler like Battle is that he can consistently get into the middle of the floor and make the correct reads. First we will start off with an elementary read against Capital. This is a simple A read within the flow of their offense. With a two high set, Battle receives a ball screen from the wing. Then the big flashes to the top of the key while the wing rolls to the hoop emulating an inverted spain pick and roll. All Battle has to do is make the simple decision of reading the help side defense to see if they committed to the roller. Since the help commits to the roller, this leaves a wide open swing pass which creates the driving lane.

Here you can see how the personnel around Battle sets him up to succeed. He gets into the lane on the ball screen and then has a very simple read made by his guard who lifts out of the corner and hits the wide open shot from the outside. His guard’s IQ frees up the open look and all he has to do is read one help defender. When the senior is on the court, Baldwin Wallace surrounds him with at least four shooters with high IQ’s that either force a lack of help to prevent a three, or react well to help in order to create open looks for themselves.

This last pass is one of my favorites because he reacts well to the opposing teams ball screen coverage yet again. Facing another hedge possession against Marietta, the key with scoring on hedges is usually to get the ball out quickly as the handler in order to take advantage of the lack of recovery speed that the big hedging usually possess. Battle does exactly that here as he gets the ball out quickly in order to create a post up possession for the screener who finishes at the rim.

Overall, I was impressed with Baldwin Wallace’s leading scorer and senior leader. His offensive skill set worked in harmony with his role within his teams offensive system. His pull up shooting, change of pace handling, great burst off the dribble, and ambidextrous finishing are all vital components of being a deadly spread pick and roll handler. His reaction to different matchup and team defensive coverages makes him even better.

Losing Battle to graduation is going to be quite the blow for the Yellow Jackets next season, as they were heavily reliant of his shot creation in the halfcourt. However, the leadership and lessons Battle instilled in his younger teammates will definitely make an impact on the Yellow Jackets program for years to come.