The entire year was a learning experience. In that regard, the grind was something Evan Battey gladly signed up for.

All the losing? Not so much.

The former standout forward for the Colorado Buffaloes hasn’t had much time to take stock of his first year on the job as a CU assistant coach with the men’s basketball team. The recent loss of assistant Zach Ruebesam, who took the head coach job at CSU-Pueblo, has forced a new heap of responsibilities on Battey’s plate, from matters like athlete housing to admissions to even a few of the program’s NIL endeavors.

It’s all been new territory for Battey since he decided to end his overseas playing career to return to Boulder. That includes innumerable behind-the-scenes details that go into coaching at the Big 12 level, as well as dealing with losing for the first time in his career.

“The one thing most pressing I learned is you can’t always identify with your record,” Battey said. “Obviously you are what you are, and you are what your record says. But I think there’s so many things I learned throughout this year that doesn’t even involve winning or losing. Obviously you want to win, and that’s on the forefront of our mind and the reason we practice and prepare. But there’s the office work. There’s communicating with the guys on the floor. Preparing scouting reports. So much goes into it.”

Not only was Battey beloved as a player with the Buffaloes, but his career became synonymous with winning.

The toughest year Battey endured during his five seasons at CU was his true freshman season in 2017-18. Battey was forced into a redshirt year and suffered a midseason health scare, but the Buffs’ 17-15 record and lack of a postseason appearance was offset by the promise of a freshman class that included Battey, McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey and D’Shawn Schwartz.In Battey’s first season on the floor, the Buffs put together a late-season surge by winning 12 of 15 games before bowing out of the NIT quarterfinals. The Buffs would have reached the NCAA Tournament the following season had it not been canceled at the start of the COVID pandemic. CU did play in the tournament the following year, reaching the second round, and in Battey’s final season he led a rotation featuring talented-but-young future NBA Draft picks Jabari Walker, Tristan da Silva and true freshman KJ Simpson back to the NIT.

In the 122-season history of CU men’s basketball, no player has been on the floor for more wins than the 88 collected by Battey. That only doubled the sting of a 14-21 season in 2024-25 that was only the eighth 20-loss season in program history, and the first since 2008-09.

“I handled it hard. I’ve never experienced that. It was new territory for me, and it was hard,” Battey said. “It was hard to compartmentalize, I guess, and not get frustrated. It was hard to keep our heads screwed on tight and make sure we worked on getting better. On offense, it was like throwing darts on the wall that didn’t stick. Our preparation wasn’t good enough. It’s everybody involved, it’s on the coaches, it’s on the players. “There’s just so many things that I learned this year, and having to compartmentalize and show up every day for work and put your best foot forward. Coaching is preparing your athletes as well as you can, and having them go out there and do it.

Battey plans to return next season while Tad Boyle looks to fill the void on the staff left by Ruebesam’s departure. The program also is losing longtime administrative assistant Marge Marcy, who is retiring at the end of the month, and so recently assuming some of the duties handled by a person Battey counts as a mentor might become permanent as his coaching career evolves.

“Zach taught me so much,” Battey said. “I was sitting down with coach (Boyle) when we were out recruiting. He asked me ‘Who’d you learn the most from this year?’ I said Zach, one hundred percent. He was the most hard on me. I really appreciated it.”