Jeannette product, Long Island standout Julian Batts has 'good career ahead'

Julian Batts showed steady improvement over the course of his four years with the Long Island men’s basketball team.

While the school underwent a significant change — the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds were rebranded as the LIU Sharks after a merger with C.W. Post — Batts felt he stayed the same.

“Honestly, I think I played the same role,” said Batts, a Jeannette graduate. “I wanted to be the brains on the court and the coach on the floor. If my teammates needed me to step up, that’s what I tried to do. I always knew I had guys ahead of me that were key guys. I always kept my goal to be the coach on the floor and make plays whenever my number was called.”

The senior guard wanted to be a calming influence.

In his final game — an 86-66 loss to Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference semifinals Saturday at UPMC Events Center — Batts turned in a season-high 21 points to lead all scorers.

LIU finished the season 16-17.

“This was potentially my last game,” Batts said. “I wanted to go out and leave nothing on the floor. I was trying my best to will us back as much as I could.”

Batts showed plenty of fight during his college career.

After averaging 4.8 points as a freshman, Batts grew into a capable scorer and finished his career with 1,056 points.

Sharks coach Derek Kellogg appreciated the tenacity Batts displayed.

“I’ve been able to coach him for three years,” Kellogg said. “He’s a guy you can rely on to come to practice every day and work hard. He’s a good, fiery guy who gets his teammates ready to go. On the floor, you can rely on him to know what to do with the ball. That’s as important as a guy who can dunk or run the ball fast. He has a good mind for the game.”

As a senior, Batts started all 33 games and averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists. In the first round of the NEC Tournament, Batts made a layup with .8 seconds left to help LIU upend Farleigh Dickerson, 73-72.

While the highlights on the basketball court might be over, Kellogg believes Batts has plenty to look forward to in life.

“The good thing about him is whatever he decides to do in life is that he has a good career ahead of him,” Kellogg said. “Whether it’s try to play, whether it’s coaching or whether it’s about trying to be a good pillar in the community or being a family man, he had a good upbringing and he’s a good kid.”