Talor Battle displays a quiet confidence when he speaks about his increasing role.
The slender Penn State point guard stepped into the spotlight as a freshman last season with Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley hobbled by injuries.
Now, he says he's ready to take his game to another level.
"He's a little bigger, a little thicker, a little stronger and I think that's important," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "I think we can get consistency out of Talor. He still wants to lead the team and tries to take the big shots in practice when we compete."
The experience he gained last year and his emergence as a leader have led to his teammates voting him a co-captain as a sophomore, along with seniors Cornley and Danny Morrissey.
While Cornley is still looked to as the vocal leader of the team and is a focal point of the offense, this year appears to be a transition year to a team that will eventually center around Battle.
The Lions' roster includes no juniors, meaning Battle and six other sophomores -- Jeff Brooks, redshirts D.J. Jackson and Andrew Jones, Villanova transfer Andrew Ott and walk-ons Steve Kirkpatrick and Adam Highberger -- will become the team veterans next season.
"I'm a point guard, so leadership really comes with it anyway," Battle said. "So, it's just another thing I've gotta focus on, and I think it's going to help me and help the team in the long run, staying positive all the time, picking guys up and things like that."
As a freshman, Battle started all but the first game of the season and averaged 10.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
What he also talked about improving was shooting, as he hit just 34.5 percent of his field goals and 28.4 percent of his three-point attempts.
But, as a point guard, his role also includes creating opportunities for other players and trying to make everyone around him better.
"He's a very confident guy, and that rubs off on his teammates," Jackson said. "He's always willing to try to get his teammates the ball. And I think that's one of the reasons why he was picked as a team captain.
"He's the general on the court, he's the point guard. So he's going to have the ball in his hands, and he's becoming more vocal."
Cornley said Battle showed himself to be a natural leader when he first stepped on the court at Penn State, but he acted more as a leader by example last year.
This year, with his name more well-known around the Big Ten and an increased leadership role, the pressure will be on him to perform.
"He's a gutsy player, a confident player," Cornley said. "He understands what we want, and he's a general out there with the ball in his hands. So we respect that and hopefully he can go ahead and lead us to where we need to be."
