Gonzaga, Khalif Battle set for another matchup with Eric Musselman, USC

PALM DESERT, Calif. – Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle is thrilled to line up against somebody not sporting Zags practice gear, but the Arkansas transfer will still see a familiar face on the opposing bench when GU faces USC in an exhibition contest Saturday.

Battle had an eventful season with the Razorbacks last year under coach Eric Musselman. Battle was out, in, out and back in the starting lineup before finishing with a bang, averaging 35.3 points in a four-game stretch and 29.6 over the final seven games.

After Musselman accepted the USC job in April, Battle entered the transfer portal and picked GU for his last season of college basketball. The sixth-ranked Zags and Musselman-led Trojans square off at 5 p.m. at Acrisure Arena. The proceeds will help support Eisenhower Health’s Cardiovascular Institute in Rancho Mirage.

“I’m excited about the game, Battle said. “Coach Musselman is going to come and compete and try to win, for sure. It’ll be a great game for us and good to finally see new people.”

Musselman “recruited me a little bit,” Battle said of possibly following his former coach to Los Angeles. Remaining at Arkansas with new coach John Calipari wasn’t an option. Battle visited Kansas State, Villanova and GU before committing to the Zags.

Battle came off the bench in his first 17 games, logging 30-plus minutes four times, before making four straight starts, the last a nine-minute stint vs. LSU. After two games as a reserve, Battle cracked the starting lineup for good and rarely left the court during the last nine games.

“He (Musselman) is a tough guy to play for if you don’t love basketball,” Battle said. “You have to love it to play for him. He’s very adamant about spending extra time in the gym, making sure you play hard and defend the ball and do the right things. I didn’t really realize how much I was getting better as a player until the middle of season. At first, I thought he just didn’t like me, but he was teaching me something deeper. Once he gave me the keys later in the season, I love coach ‘Muss’ to this day. He taught me things nobody has ever taught me.”

The 6-foot-5 Battle enjoys his new surroundings, coaches and teammates.

“Coach (Mark) Few is one of a kind. I’ve never connected with a coach as fast,” said Battle, who played one year at Butler and three at Temple before his lone season at Arkansas.

He said GU players “go out to eat together, the whole team, crack jokes and it feels like we’re all brothers. In my mind, you play harder for people you care about.”

None of Battle’s Arkansas teammates accompanied Musselman to USC. The veteran coach hit the transfer portal hard, revamping a roster with just one player, Harrison Hornery, who played in the Trojans’ 89-76 loss to Gonzaga last December in Las Vegas.

Musselman brought in 11 transfers, including eight grad transfers. Matt Knowling had nine points and seven rebounds for Yale in an 86-71 season-opening loss to Gonzaga last year.

Musselman guided Arkansas to a 74-68 Sweet 16 upset in 2022 over the No. 1-seeded Zags that featured Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren, Julian Strawther and Andrew Nembhard, older brother of current GU point guard Ryan Nembhard.

Assistant coach Brian Michaelson watched the Trojans’ 84-63 exhibition victory over UTSA and came away impressed by USC’s athleticism, physical play and birth certificates. Northern Colorado transfer Saint Thomas scored 21 points and Xavier transfer Desmond Claude added 14 for the Trojans.

“You look at that roster – senior, graduate senior, graduate, graduate,” Michaelson said. “We’re old, I think they might be older. I do like that we’re playing a big, experienced, athletic, physical team. It’s guys that have been through the ringer of college basketball and you go through individually and their stats are insanity, what they’ve done at the other stops.”

The coaching staff wants to see how GU executes against a solid opponent at both ends of the floor.

“The effort, the energy, the communication, those are huge to me,” Michaelson said.

“And then we need to look at a bunch of different combinations … so we can at least get some idea where different groups might be – some groups that might work, some groups that don’t.”

Gonzaga entertains NAIA Warner Pacific on Wednesday before its season opener Nov. 4 against No. 8 Baylor at the Arena.