Ball State University Athletics
Men's Hoops Look To Build On Foundation Set Last Season
October 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
The Ball State men's basketball team enters the 2008-09 season ready to take the next step as a program under the direction of second-year head coach Billy Taylor. The Cardinals set the foundation last year for Ball State basketball, a foundation that Taylor has rooted in four traits ? character, commitment, mental toughness and dedication.
“We want to take positive steps this year as a program,” Taylor said. “Last year being our first year, we really wanted to set a foundation of character, commitment, mental toughness and dedication. We want people at Ball State and in the community to be proud of our program and the student-athletes we have here.”
Taylor and his staff spent a large portion of last season implementing their coaching styles and tactics for the Cardinals. One of the pillars of a Taylor-coached team includes a priority placed on the defensive end of the floor. Ball State held its opponents to just 63.9 points per game last season, which was the fourth-best scoring defense in the Mid-American Conference.
“Last year, we wanted to build the mindset that we are a very tough-minded, hard-nosed defensive team and really try to limit the easy points for our opponents,” Taylor said. “This year, we want to continue to build off of what we started last year in terms of our defensive effort and intensity. Now we have more of a balance in terms of inside and outside players, which will allow us to attack both defensively and offensively in a variety of ways this season.”
The Cardinals return seven letterwinners from last season's team, including a strong senior quartet of Anthony Newell, Brandon Lampley, Laron Frazier and Rob Giles.
“This year we have a nice blend of experience and a good infusion of youth in our program,” Taylor said. “We need our seniors to be leaders and to be very assertive in that role within our program. Their leadership will go not only on the court but off the court as they will set the right example for the younger players in our program. “
The senior class has provided the leadership in many ways for the Cardinals already this year, both on and off of the court. Newell and Lampley have both already received their undergraduate degrees and are working towards a second degree and a master's degree, respectively.
“We have already seen great leadership from two of our seniors in Newell and Lampley, who both have graduated and received their undergraduate degrees,” Taylor said. “Our seniors are setting the example for our younger players that it is a priority for us to move towards graduation and how important academics are in the greater scheme of things.”
The senior class brings a wealth of experience to the court as they combined to play 103 games last season, including 47 starts. Leading the charge is Newell who earned Honorable Mention All-Mid-American Conference honors last season, despite only playing 21 games because of an injury. Newell led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game and in rebounding at 8.0 boards per contest.
The Cardinals were able to depend on consistent efforts from Lampley and Frazier last season as both players played in all 30 games. Lampley enters his fourth year with the program and averaged 23.5 minutes per game last season in the Cardinals' back court. He averaged 4.2 points per game, while shooting 81.1 percent from the free throw line last season.
Frazier chipped in 4.2 points per game last season while averaging 19.4 minutes per game in his first season with the program. Giles battled through a midseason injury to play 22 games, including eight starts in his first year at Ball State. He averaged 17.6 minutes per game for the Cardinals, despite missing almost the entire month of February.
“On the court, our seniors bring a wealth of experience,” Taylor said. “They can use that experience to teach and mold the younger players in our program. That knowledge will help our team continue to grow and, in turn, will allow our team to become more successful.”
Also returning for the Cardinals this season is sophomore forward Malik Perry. Perry became a large part of the team last season as he was just one of two Cardinals to start ever game last year.
Perry averaged 27.8 minutes per game as a true freshman as he chipped in 6.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per contest. Joining Perry as returning underclassmen is junior Joey Clawson and sophomore Othello Banaci.
“Malik got a chance to play a significant amount of minutes for us last year and really developed and got better throughout the year,” Taylor said. “We are looking forward to what he is able to bring to the table this year. Othello and Joey are two guys who worked hard for us everyday in practice. They are extremely coachable and excellent students.”
Taylor and his coaching staff have hit the recruiting trail running since they became part of the Ball State family and their hard work has paid dividends. The Cardinals welcome in eight newcomers to this year's team and those eight new faces immediately bring Ball State added size, strength and athletic ability. This year's recruiting class is ranked in the Top 80 by hoopmasters.com and is the highest ranked class in the MAC this season.
“One of the main goals we had in the recruitment process was to add size, height, weight and strength to our front court while also improving our size in some of our back court positions,” Taylor said. “Our coaching staff did an excellent job of going out and evaluating and attracting the right type of student-athletes here to Ball State.”
The group includes senior Terrence Watson, juniors Brawley Chisholm and Eric Wormely as well as freshmen Randy Davis, Maurice Hubbard, Pierre Sneed, Jarrod Jones and Zach Fields. Five of the eight newcomers would have been as tall as the Cardinals' tallest player last year in Newell (6-5).
“We have significantly upgraded in terms of our height and our physical play in our front court,” Taylor said. “We are very excited about that as it will allow us to defend the paint better this year. Also, it will allow our guards to stay closer to three-point shooters and not give up as many open looks as we did last season.”
Davis, a 5-11 guard from Plymouth, Ind., led Plymouth High School to a 99-15 overall record during his career. He was the runner-up for the 2007-08 Indiana Mr. Basketball award after averaging 22.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He finished his career as the fifth all-time leading scorer for the Pilgrims with 1,517 points.
Hubbard, a 6-6 forward from Chantilly, Va., was a four-year letterwinner at Westfield High School where he guided his team to an 86-19 overall record during his career. An Honorable Mention All-State selection, he finished his career with over 1,400 points and 1,100 rebounds.
Sneed, a 6-4 guard from Chicago, Ill., played at Simeon High School, the same school as current Cardinal Anthony Newell. He helped his team to a 32-4 record as a senior and a runner-up finish in the Illinois State finals. He averaged 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for the top rated team in the state of Illinois.
Jones, a 6-9 forward from Michigan City, Ind., was a three-year letterwinner at Michigan City High School. He earned IBCA All-State Honorable Mention honors and was named the Herald-Argus Player of the Year as he averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
Fields, a 6-10 center from North Vernon, Ind., was a standout at Jennings County High School. He was a first team All-Hoosier Hills Conference player as he averaged 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest. He led his team and conference in field goal percentage as he shot 66 percent from the field to lead the Panthers to a 15-8 record as a senior.
Chisholm, a 6-2 guard from the Bronx, N.Y., joins the Cardinals after spending two seasons at Western Texas College where he helped his team to an 18-11 record. He averaged 7.0 points and dished out 50 assists. He was a sharp shooter from long range as a sophomore as he connected on 43.8 percent from three-point land, which ranked sixth overall in the NJCAA Region V.
Wormely, a 6-8 forward from Joliet, Ill., comes to Ball State after two seasons at Kishwaukee Community College. He finished fourth in the NJCAA Division II last year in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game. He also averaged 10.3 points per game and was a two-time NCAA All-Region IV selection.
Watson, a 6-5 forward from Detroit, Mich., joins the Cardinals as a transfer from Mississippi and will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. He played in 18 games for the Rebels last season, including one start. Prior to Ole Miss, he played with current Cardinal Rob Giles at Mott Community College. He helped Mott to the NJCAA Division II National championship as a sophomore.
Ball State has a challenging 29-game schedule set for the 2008-09 season that includes 16 games at home at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals will play four 2008 NCAA Tournament teams, including three at home in Purdue, St. Joseph's and Kent State.
“We have a very challenging schedule this year,” Taylor said. “We have better balance to our schedule than we had last year. That balance will put us in better position to help our student-athletes on the court without taking away from what their demands our academically off the court.”
The Cardinals open the 2008-09 season at home Nov. 15, as they host Eastern Illinois, marking the fourth straight season the Cardinals have opened the year at home. Ball State will travel to Butler, for the 100th meeting all-time between the two instate rivals.
The Cardinals will host SIU-Edwardsville, before making a return trip to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and hosting Arkansas State to wrap up the month of November. Ball State opens December with instate road games at IPFW and at Evansville.
The Cardinals return home Dec. 9, when they host Big Ten power Purdue at Worthen Arena. The game will mark the first visit to Worthen Arena by a Big Ten team since the 2005-06 season and will be the Boilermakers' only non-conference road game of the season.
“We have some tremendous games on our schedule this year,” Taylor said. “The rivalry game against Butler is one that is always an exciting game for our student-athletes and our fans. Also, the opportunity to bring a program like Purdue into Worthen Arena is very exciting for us and we are very thankful we have the opportunity to play one of the favorites in the Big Ten.”
The Cardinals continue their three-game home stretch with games against Eastern Kentucky and Presbyterian. Ball State heads out west Dec. 29, with a return to NIT participant UC-Santa Barbara. The Cardinals open the New Year Jan. 3, when they host St. Joseph's.
The 16-game Mid-American Conference schedule begins Jan. 10 at Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals will host Northern Illinois Jan. 13, in their first MAC home game.
“MAC play is always an exciting part of the schedule and we are looking forward to that competition,” Taylor said. “We have some new coaches in the MAC this year so there will be some differences in style of play. Also, we have some coaches like us that our in their second or third year in a program so it should make for some very exciting basketball.”
The Cardinals play a home-and-home series against each team from the MAC West Division while playing each team from the MAC East Division once. The 2009 MAC Tournament will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio March 10-14.
“The MAC will be a competitive mix of games throughout the schedule and I am looking forward to how our men respond and step up against the competition,” Taylor said. “Every single game will provide a challenge for our team and our success will be determined on how we respond to those challenges.”
The foundation has been set for the Ball State basketball program heading into year two of the Taylor era with the pillars securely anchored by four traits -- character, commitment, mental toughness and dedication.
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