Heritage junior to play basketball at ODU

Old Dominion picked up an early men’s basketball commitment today when Dimitri Batten, a rising junior at Heritage High School in Newport News, chose the Monarchs.

Batten, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged more than 14 points per game last season as a sophomore.

“He’s great for Old Dominion because he’s such a tough kid and plays hard all the time,” said Franklin Chatman, who coaches Batten’s 16-and-under AAU team.

Batten played mostly at shooting guard, but Chatman said “with his toughness we could put him anywhere.

“He plays above the rim,” Chatman added. “He’s one of those high-flyers. At his size, you see him, and you’d never think it, but I’ve seen him dunk on 6-8 and 6-9 guys, and they’re trying to figure out where he came from.”

For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read tomorrow's Virginian-Pilot.