Peoria coach moonlights as ‘Mr. ORNG’
Patrick Battillo is known as Mr. ORNG at Suns and Mercury games, the super fan with the trademark brand, a 6-foot-4 orange-painted man known for the shrill whistle and chants.
At Peoria High School, he is known as the interim coaching savior, the alum who stepped in after Will Roberts took a personal leave in mid-December. He guided the Panthers to an 18-1 record and the No. 1 seed in the 4A boys basketball state tournament.
The Panthers polished off No. 16-seed Bradshaw Mountain, 89-49, Tuesday night. Peoria next plays No. 8-seed Deer Valley at 7 p.m. Friday in a secondround game for both teams.
“It’s kind of cool, having that super fan as a coach,” freshman guard Calvin Windley said.
This is 33-year-old Battillo’s fourth year on Roberts’ coaching staff. He played at Peoria in the mid-2000s, and has coached club or city basketball for
more than 15 years.
Players sometimes urge Battillo to come to Peoria games as Mr. ORNG. He has thought out it, but he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself.
“I didn’t want to distract from the players,” he said. “It’s about them. It’s not about me. The attention needs to be on them.”
Peoria’s focus has been remarkable through a season in which there is a possibility that any day Roberts could return in the main seat on the bench.
Battillo knows that he just filling Roberts’ seat until he finishes taking care of his personal matters.
“Will is very passionate,” Battillo said. “As soon as he can handle his personal situation, he’ll be back.”
In the meantime, Battillo works his job for Target Corp., during the day, and leads Peoria basketball. In between that and suiting up as Mr. ORNG, Battillo also is working on his doctorate at Grand Canyon University in leadership and organizational development.
Peoria (23-3) is having its best season since point guard Dewayne Russell led the Panthers to the state title in 2012, when the Panthers went 28-3.
They’ve won 13 in a row. Their only loss with Battillo as interim coach came in the championship game of the Judy Dixon tournament on Dec. 28 to Glendale Ironwood, 61-51. Ironwood is the No. 2 seed of the 5A state tournament.
The birth of Mr. ORNG
If the Panthers run it to the final, they’ll be playing the championship game at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, known as “The Madhouse on McDowell” when the Suns first took flight as an NBA franchise in the late 1960s. They played home games there until 1992.
That motivates Battillo, a life-long Suns fan who really became passionate in the 2009-10 season.
He attended a Suns playoff game in San Antonio that season. It was the beginning of Mr. ORNG.
“I did my hair orange and was sitting lower courtside by the Sarvers,” Battillo said, referring to team owner Robert Sarver. “ESPN put me on a ton. Someone said I should do something big like that. So the playoffs were next against the Lakers. I put it together then.”
He went into full orange body paint mode, spending 40 minutes to get ready. He’d put on an orange shirt or wear an orange tuxedo. Cameras and onlookers naturally were drawn to him.
Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Suns in the Western Conference Finals to end the season.
The Suns haven’t been to the playoffs since. But Mr. ORNG has continued on.
“In the offseason, I put a brand together and trademarked it,” he said. “It took off from there. It is what it does to the community is what it means more to me.”
He does speaking engagements, birthdays at retirement communities, and has made countless trips to Phoenix Children’s Hospital as Mr. ORNG.
Even though the Suns haven’t been back to the NBA playoff since his first year as Mr. ORNG, Battillo’s allegiance hasn’t waned, spending his own money on tickets, orange paint, orange wigs, orange outfits and a closet that has grown to nine outfits that he rotates for games.
He even buys his own way to road games. He’s up to 23 NBA arenas that he’s now attended. His goal is to make it to every NBA arena.
As Mr. ORNG, Battillo, spent the first nine seasons two rows behind the Suns bench. With the costs of tickets getting too expensive, he moved into the upper deck 200 level since last season.
‘Sit down and be quiet’
Kids who spot him want to take pictures and get autographs. He signs it, “Mr. ORNG.”
He still stands and leads cheers at times from the upper level.
“I used to have hair,” Battillo said. “I shaved bald two years ago. I wear a wig at games if I’m not in a tux.”
Suns players, starting with Steve Nash and Grant Hill, have appreciated Battillo’s appearance at games as Mr. ORNG.
Nash and Battillo still text each other.
“The crowd is unique,” Battillo said. “A lot of business people attend the games. A lot of the passionate fans can’t afford tickets, so when you’re in the game, I would stand and cheer and get people into it. They would look at me or be knitting or on the their phones and say, ‘Sit down and be quiet.’
“I really want to bring excitement.” His enthusiasm and passion has carried over to his coaching, where the players have been motivated to make a run to the title.
When Battillo speaks to groups as Mr. ORNG, he tries to relate the a similar message about following your passion and staying committed.
Battillo and his alter ego Mr. ORNG are not only to the Suns, but the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, where the accessibility and vibe is even greater. The Mercury, like the Suns, feature Orange and Purple as their team colors.
Even when the opposing teams’ fans can be heard over the Suns fans, Battillo doesn’t stop his chants for the home team.
“New Suns fans look at me and say, ‘Who is this crazy fan?’ “Battillo said. “But it’s a passion for the community. When you see one kid smile that changes everything. So it doesn’t matter if I’m not having a great day or feeling up to it. It’s the excitement of the joy that brings a smile to a kids’ face that makes it worth it.”