University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Diamond Battles
February 08, 2023 | Women's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Diamond Battles knows she has a cool, distinctive name. The Georgia women's basketball fifth-year guard — the AAC Player of the Year last season for UCF — tends to play up to her name. She plays with style and she plays with grit and substance.
Through the first 25 games of the season, the 5-foot-8 Battles, from Winter Haven, Fla., is leading the Lady Bulldogs in scoring with 14.2 points per game while also averaging 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals. Given the choice, Battles would rather make a great defensive play over doing something on the offensive end.
During a recent Quick Chat, Battles talked about her start in basketball, her ability to palm a ball, the Def Leppard t-shirt she was wearing, her love of cooking, living up to her name, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: Did you play a bunch of different sports when you were young or was it all basketball from the beginning?
Battles: I'm the baby of four girls, so my sisters, they played a lot of sports. My mom always made sure we were in a lot of sports. I think the first sport was definitely track and field. I was a 400 and 200 runner, and I didn't like it. It was too hot — living in Florida, it was too hot.
Then, my mom was like, "Let's try a different sport." My oldest sister played basketball but I didn't really get into it yet, so my second sport was definitely softball, and I liked that a lot. It was still hot but it was more fun. I got into basketball probably around second or third grade, I would say, and I started liking it a lot.
I grew up watching Tiffany Hayes, who went to UConn and then the Atlanta Dream, and there was Amber Smith (like Hayes, Smith is from Winter Haven, too), who was a great player at Kentucky and coaches there now. I grew up watching them play and it's like I was their baby. I watched 'em and watched 'em, and then once I got to middle school, I played volleyball, and I really liked it.
Basketball won out. I think I was just so energetic and aggressive and competitive as a young one, especially in the classroom, too. I hate getting Bs and Cs, and my mom would be like, "It's OK." I always just wanted to be the best, and I think that's why basketball was the perfect fit.
Frierson: Do you remember when you realized that you had a future in basketball beyond being a good high school player?
Battles: My god-dad, he was my high school coach, I think I was in the sixth grade, and he asked me to palm a ball. I didn't know I could do it. I didn't even pick up the ball and try until he threw the ball at me, and I palmed it. [Battles and I go palm-to-palm and her hand is definitely bigger than mine, which is attached to a very average 5-11 body.]
I've got really huge hands. And I didn't know I could do that. And my coach was like, "You have a chance to be really good." I think I already had one thing going for me which is that I really like defense. Offensively, I was like, I think I can do this.Â
Frierson: What is your favorite thing to do on a basketball court? Would you rather hit a big shot or maybe get a big steal, or something else entirely?
Battles: Actually, it's between getting a big steal and and-1, or taking a charge. No, no, no, taking a charge tops it. I don't know, I get so much energy taking charges.Â
There have been some big games where I've taken charges. They didn't win the game, but they helped. I just really thrive off defense.
Frierson: You're wearing a Def Leppard t-shirt, and I grew up listening to Def Leppard. Do you have any idea who Def Leppard is?
Battles: [Laughing] I do not. I saw this in rue21, and I knew I had to do something for my (photo) shoot earlier. I usually don't dress like this but they were like, wear sneakers. And I'm a heels type of girl. But I don't know who this is. I just thought it was a pretty cool shirt.
Frierson: What do you do to get away from school and basketball?
Battles: The way I relax is probably cooking. I love to cook. My teammates love when I cook, too.
Frierson: Say you invite three teammates over for dinner and you want to show off your skills a little bit, so what are you making?
Battles: It depends. A certain group loves the Alfredo-base type, like with salmon or something. But then there are some that love Southern food, like the collared greens, macaroni and chicken. It just depends on who's coming over.
Frierson: Being from Florida, do you feel Southern? Or do you just feel like a Floridian?
Battles: Floridian. I was talking about that with somebody the other day. I was like, Florida is, even though we're in the South, it's its own culture. It's not really Southern, but it is.
Frierson: At what point did you realize you have an awesome name?
Battles: I've always heard it, but I didn't hear it a lot until I got to college. I think it didn't really register until college.
Frierson: Is a name like Diamond Battles a lot to live up to?
Battles: Yes, and I think my last name is something to live up to because I don't think you can have Diamond Battles and you don't battle every day. I think that's a thing you have to live up to. What's the point of having such a great name if you don't use it right.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
