At 6 feet 8 inches tall, Riley Battin is impressive to watch; running down the court, he towers over teammates and defenders. As a freshman on the varsity basketball team, Battin is a starting forward and a force to contend with on the court.

Although Battin is only a freshman, he averages 21.3 points per game and 9.5 rebounds, leading all players within the Coastal Canyon League. These numbers also place him second amongst all freshmen in CIF Southern Section

“It’s always cool to be on a varsity team, you know, we have a really good team this year. Hopefully we can just make this season as long as possible,” Battin said.

A large part of the basketball culture at Oak Park High School revolves around the formation of one large, basketball family. As Wes Slajchert, the only other freshman on the team, said, “Early in the year, it was hard being the only freshmen and learning the way we did things in this program,” said Wes Slajchert, the only other freshman on the team.

Slajchert also said that he and Battin were “taken into our basketball family with open arms.”

Slajchert and Battin are now close friends.

“Mine and Riley’s game go hand in hand….After playing for so long we have built an unbreakable chemistry that really helps us both when we’re out there playing,” Slajchert said. “Our team loves Riley just as they love everyone else on our squad. Riley brings not only his talent on the basketball court, but a good competitive spirit off it.”

However, Battin’s talent does not come easily.

“I just have to manage my time pretty well because I normally have practice and I also do another training, and I also have to do my homework,” Battin said.

Since basketball consumes a large part of Battin’s life, he most definitely has favorite teams.

“For college I’d probably say Stanford or UCLA, and for professional I like the San Antonio Spurs,,” Battin said.

At present, however, Battin said he does not have his sights set on professional basketball.

“Right now I’m just thinking about the team, and college.”