Off the leash

You’ve likely seen that dog before.

The one that snarls, pacing across its backyard domain, and lets you know as you pass by it doesn’t want you there, maybe even with a muzzle masking its incessant barks as you stroll — probably speed walk — by.

You’re probably thankful the owner took the steps to not let the dog off its restraints. Its nature is too unpredictable to let loose, you probably think. Even the owner is probably unsure what they’re dealing with.

But it’s all hypothetical until the dog is allowed to roam without restrictions. You can’t be certain that’s all it is until then.

The description fits Louisiana Tech forward Daniel Batcho as well.

No, he’s not a wild personality bent on using his 6-foot-11 frame to intimidate those he meets. Instead, when he walks in for an interview, he dons open-toed slides and a carefree attitude that suggests if he didn’t have practice, he’d be down to chill all day. He doesn’t require extra attention or a gate keeping him away from everyone else.

Rather, he needed to be cared for and believed in like that old hound in the backyard. Without it, he could have continued to be all measurables, but without the impact.

The near seven-foot frame was always there. The size too (235 pounds). But two leg injuries left him searching for a new home — his third collegiate stop in four seasons — after two stints at Texas Tech and a year at Arizona.

He appears to have found it.

In his first season at Louisiana Tech, Batcho is free — free to swat shots, run rim to rim, catch lobs from his teammates and establish himself as the dominant rim protector the Bulldogs needed if they were going to contend for a Conference USA title like they hoped entering the 2023-24 season.

He’s off the leash now, and it’s exactly what Tech head coach Talvin Hester knew was inside Batcho once he finally got his chance to play with purpose.

“I think more than anything, any kid wants somebody to believe in them. And we keep telling him that we do,” Hester said. “I’ve even had help from some people that told me his bad is still really good. It just reminds you that he’s young.

“Bigs develop later than guards. When you’re 6-11 and you’re just trying to get control of your body because you just came out of adolescence and then another guy’s 6-2 and he’s been 6-2 since sixth grade. He’s just now coming into his own I believe as a person and an individual. I hope this is just the floor for him. I hope he can go to the moon if he can,” Hester continued.

If Hester’s goal is the moon, consider Batcho breaking through Earth’s atmosphere not even a full season into his Bulldog career.

Named the CUSA Newcomer of the Year on Monday, Batcho is averaging 14.9 points, 9.8 rebounds (23rd in the country), and 2.4 blocks per game ( 8th in the country).

The Paris, France native has a CUSA-best 10 double-doubles and has 11 games with at least 8 rebounds and 3 blocks this season.

For context, Tech’s all-time shot blocker Michale Kyser reached that threshold in 19 of his 139 career games.

Batcho appreciates the support he’s gotten at Tech and the trust coaches have in him to change games at a moment’s notice, whether it’s 7 blocks against UTEP or four-straight double-doubles in late January.

He came to Tech for a reason. He wanted to be let off the leash. He’s gotten the most out of it and hopes to do more.

“Before I even got here, they told me I was a big recruit for them and the goal was to keep developing myself as a man off the court and on the court. They told me I was going to be a priority before I even committed,” Batcho said. “Every time you get to a new team, you take a little bit of time to get adjusted to the people and the city. It’s always going to be an adjustment at first.”

His time on the court is night and day from his time in Lubbock to now.

He totaled 52 career blocks at Texas Tech in 57 total games from 2021-22 and 2022-23 and played at least 25 minutes in 11 games.

With his first season at Tech still playing out, he’s reached that threshold 20 times and has 64 blocks in 27 games.

“That’s the reason I came here,” Batcho said after his 7-block performance against UTEP on Jan. 25. “I knew I was going to have more playing time than I ever had. That’s what I wanted to do was work on my game and keep improving.”

Batcho, a first-team All-CUSA selection, is one of the main engines behind Tech’s defense lifting off into the top 15 in the country – from shot blocking, to field goal percentage defense.

Tech ranks first in CUSA and 16th in the country in scoring defense (64.4 points per game), first in CUSA and seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense (39.067), and first in CUSA and 18th in the country with 157 blocks.

As a result, Tech enters the CUSA Tournament as the No. 2 seed with a 22-9 overall record and 12-4 mark in league play.

Last season, before Batcho arrived, Tech totaled 87 blocks and ranked seventh in scoring and field goal percentage defense in CUSA.

Hester said the drastic uptick in team production has a lot to do with Batcho.

“It’s hard to quantify how good he’s made us defensively, in so many different categories,” Hester said. “Even though he blocks shots, he alters more shots than he blocks probably. He rebounds people’s first miss at a very high rate. But just the confidence it brings guards to press up in guys and be able to make a mistake knowing that you got that wall behind you.

“I knew we were near the top 10 in the country in scoring defense. I didn’t know we were top-10 in field goal percentage defense also. He’s a big, big reason for that.”

Batcho’s breakout season hasn’t been a lone wolf approach, though. Ask him about his point guard Sean Newman, and the big man cracks a big smile and laugh.

His chemistry with Newman, a fellow transfer addition in the offseason, was evident in Tech’s 90-84 road win over WKU on Feb. 28 — with Batcho taking off in a full sprint off a miss from the Hilltoppers. Newman glanced back and could see his teammate, running with the force of a freight train behind him, and gladly dished the ball to his big man. Batcho slammed the ball home with two hands to give Tech a fivepoint lead with under two minutes left.

Playing with someone as productive as Newman, the CUSA leader in assists (141), has given Batcho confidence in those around him aren’t going to fall behind his efforts.

“I feel like we all fit each other so well,” Batcho. “ We got Tahlik. When we try to do pick and roll, Sean is a great passer. And either they’re going to have to tag on me or if they don’t, Tahlik is a great shooter in the corner. Then you have (Isaiah Crawford) too – the best player in the conference. You can’t help off any guy. Then you got Devin, Dravon. We just go so well with each other. And even off the court, we just be smiling, making jokes on everybody, the coaches. It’s a good energy with us.”

Tech faces Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Championship tonight at 8 p.m at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+.