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Spring Practice Opens for the Cardinals

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Alan

Coach Lembo opens his second spring practice season today for the Cardinals

Like most rabid college football fans, the time between the national championship game in January and the following season opener in September (or late August depending on the year) is quite the change of pace than the usual fall weekends of guzzling beer, grilling out, and yelling at 18-22 year olds through a plasma television for their perceived athletic failures on the field. Obviously there are myriad things wrong with the above scenario, ranging from borderline alcoholism to rage issues at young adults, but in the time-honored tradition of ornery old timers, “I am what I am and if you don’t like it, you can proceed to piss off”. That time period between January and September is 8 months of tranquility, productivity, and focus on things other than MAC boxscores, but thankfully there’s a couple of weeks to knock the rust off your game before the regular season in the form of spring practice.

The NCAA, they of the “Mandate Everything and Control All of our Subjects” school of leadership surprisingly has given the schools a bit of freedom when it comes to spring ball. Loose parameters exist like how many practices can be completed, the stretch of time you have to complete them, etc. but for the most part it’s up to the school to figure out when that best works into their schedule. For the 2012 edition of the Ball State University Cardinals, that time has come today.

BSU’s first of 15 practices begins this afternoon at 3:30 at Scheumann Stadium and will conclude with the Spring Game on Saturday April 21 at 3pm. If you’ve never been to a BSU football practice before, I’d highly encourage you to check out the schedule at left. Honestly, you’ll get more out of the individual practices than you will the spring game, if it’s anything like years past with a non-game feel and more of a light scrimmage-type vibe to it. To be honest, the most information gained is about rising stars, team speed, and schematic familiarity with the returners. Truthfully, that’s about all spring practice is good for in terms of the common fan. Obviously the coaching staff is looking for different things and to measure offseason gains, but fans can’t take much (if anything) from practice sessions without most of the incoming freshmen.

Though it might not be information heavy or a great way to tell just how talented or successful this team will be come fall, at bare minimum it’s something to wet your whistle in regards to the football portion of your life. Additionally, in case your whistle needs additional wetting or you’re not close enough to check out the Cards in person, you can read all about their upcoming season in the Spring prospectus. It’s a good way to sort of refresh your memory as to last season, be reminded about the players that have graduated, learn about the incomers, and read some responses from Coach  Lembo about the 2012 season. It’s a good starting point for the coming year, and we’ll be breaking down the information in it starting tomorrow interspersed with our spring season coverage. My initial thought is the offense is going to be scary good, the special teams considerably consistent, and the defense the great question mark. In many respects the defensive performance may very well be the difference between a .500 season and no Bowl or a potential MAC Championship. More on all that as the week goes on, for now just enjoy the return of the Cards. Download the spring prospectus in PDF format here: BallStateFootballSpring Prospectus

 

Filed under: BallStateFootball, SpringBall | Leave a Comment »

The Iron Curtain Known as Ball State Athletics

Posted on March 26, 2012 by nathanpace

When it comes to transparency with the public Ball State takes after Moscow.

The resignation of Kelly Packard on March, 21 was deeply troubling and not because of the event itself but by how administration handled the situation.

Here is the news release from Tom Collins.

“I respect Kelly’s unforced decision to step down as the head women’s basketball coach at Ball State University,” said Collins. “Kelly has represented Ball State University with class and dignity, and has been a great role model for her student-athletes. Her leadership has provided her players with a solid foundation for success following their collegiate careers. She has been a great member of the Ball State Athletics family, and we wish her and her family the best of luck in their future endeavors.”

The word “unforced” is the key.

Even my 83-year-old grandma thinks that is bogus.

How many resignations occur in sports where the athletic department places no pressure on the coach to find a new place of employment?

Not many.

The only one at Ball State that I can think of is, ironically, Packard’s predecessor Tracy Roller.

The few times where coaches resign without pressure from the athletic department usually involves health reasons and that does not apply to Packard as far as we know.

Instead of being transparent Ball State chose to present a weather balloon story. Packard declined interviews with the Star Press which again is weird. Whatever happened between Packard and Collins we do not know? What I do know is it is tough to buy the department’s story of events.

Packard’s departure is justified. Two straight seasons of 9-21 turns fans away faster than someone passing gas in a car.

Still, why did this go down in such a mysterious manner?

Who thought Russia and Ball State sports would have common ground? I guess that is better than having common ground with the Jamaican Bobsled team.

In the fall of 2009, Packard was the only coach Collins could point to and say “What a good hire I made.” The women’s team won the MAC tournament for the first time in school history and beat Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA. The joke among some Daily News sports writers was Collins kissed a picture of Packard before he went to bed each night as she was the only one keeping fan support alive for him.

Days earlier Collins announced the decision to bring back Billy Taylor with vague justification for doing so. If Collins wanted Packard back he would have given her the same endorsement at the same time of Taylor’s. That alone means Packard was pressured to leave. Rather than stay in limbo she chose the only option she could.

Yet the athletic department still had the nerve to say it was “unforced.”

At the very least, Packard was pressured in such an indirect way with the endorsement of Taylor and no mention of her status.

Compared to Packard, Taylor has the same if not less of a defense for keeping his job.

The men’s team folded in 2012. They had talent but did not reach potential.

Packard’s teams the last two years were the opposite; lack of talent but hard-working.

Packard missed on her first few recruiting classes but appeared to get better with freshman and sophomores earning starts. Packard could at least make the argument that when the younger players matured her team could make a run at the MAC again.

Taylor could not even say that. This was his mature team as seniors Jarrod Jones and Randy Davis are abandoning ship.

Every news release from the athletic department seems to raise more questions than answers and even worse, comes across as arrogant.

Does the department truly believe that fans will buy into Packard resigning without pressure to do so?

Does the department truly believe that fans will buy into one more year of Taylor because he has good APR scores?

Does the department truly believe that serving a dish of horse manure to fans will not have any repercussions in terms of booster dollars and attendance?

Sign me up to the Cardinal Varsity Club now!

Sure, the athletic department has been burned by the media in the past but getting revenge on the Muncie Star Press for negative coverage (or what they think is negative coverage) is not going make things better. If a media outlet screws you over simply go to an alternate. I heard a blog called overthepylon.net would be more than willing to lend a hand.

I sure hope the new athletic director opens the department to the outside world. I am tired of coaching decisions going down as if the CIA is wire tapping all the phones in 47360 ZIP code.

Until then, it is a beautiful spring day here in Moscow, Indiana.

Filed under: Coaches, YouBeTheJudge | 3 Comments »

Big Weekend for Ball State Volleyball and the MAC

Posted on March 19, 2012 by nathanpace

Ball State Men’s Volleyball Upsets No. 10 Ohio State

Ball State snapped an 11-match losing streak to Ohio State Sunday winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12) in one of the best performances I have seen in person as a Ball State fan.

The win meant clearing a mental hurdle for Ball State. Hopefully, Ball State can get back to winning MIVA championships in the future. Ohio State can no longer claim Muncie as a second residence and that is a start.

Whenever Ball State takes one from the juggernaut from Columbus it is time to celebrate.

What is shocking is this Ball State team only has one senior on the roster and were still able to win. Even more shocking is Ball State gave away the first and third sets as it had chances in both. This match did not have to go five sets.

The fact is men’s volleyball games are typically more exciting to the student body than basketball and football games in my four years here.

The men’s volleyball team has the ability to compete for national championships (few schools have a team) if adequately funded.  Coach Joel Walton has had to build a team with a meager amount of scholarships in the past. Tom Collins has increased the team’s budget in recent years but it could be a moot point when the new athletic director comes in.

President Gora has a huge decision ahead of her. She could find an athletic director that is all about football and let the other sports fight for themselves. Or she could hire one who is dedicated to the “Olympic” sports. Mid-majors like Ball State do not have the resources to go all out in both.

Personally, I want the latter. The geography favors Ball State in both basketball  and volleyball.  Muncie is the volleyball capital of the Midwest and the state is loaded with great basketball players. Indiana is weaker than Ohio and Michigan in terms of high school football talent.

Given the chance, the men’s and women’s volleyball programs can do some special things. I hope the new athletic director is more than accommodating to those programs.

Billy Taylor is Back

Collins made it clear that Billy Taylor will be returning as men’s basketball coach next season. In other news women’s basketball coach Kelly Packard bit her last fingernail as no word has come down on her future.  The fingernail part is a joke but why say one coach is back without mentioning the other?

Here is a quote from Collins in the news release.

“When we hired Coach Taylor we knew we were in for a major rebuilding project in regards to our men’s basketball program. When he became our coach prior to the 2007 season, we had to address many concerns within the program.  There were on-court issues, academic issues, APR and compliance concerns.  In addition, we had severe community and public relations issues.  Coach Taylor and his staff have done an outstanding job and worked tirelessly to improve our program in many areas.  Although, we were all disappointed with the 2011-12 season, it will not deter us from reaching all of our goals with the program and with its place in Ball State University’s mission.”

There is enough spin in that paragraph to make Bill O’Reilly sick. We do not know how much impact of having a lame duck athletic director had to do with this but given the flimsy “APR” defense we know it had quite a bit. Nothing inspires fan support and sells tickets like good APR scores.

Nice smile Billy. That is more emotion than what we see in some of your games.

The new argument for Ball State having a chance next season in the Muncie Star Press is the quantity of 3-point shooters. Ball State had plenty of 3-point shooters this past year so it is not an argument that makes a great deal of sense.

Ball State needs guard Juwan Scaife back to his former self. Once Taylor benched him in favor of other guards he became frustrated. If Scaife is not a key part of the offense and fails to take the role as senior leader the season will be get away from Ball State quick.

Ohio Advances to the Sweet Sixteen

With Ohio showing up Big Ten and Big East teams I hope the days of the MAC champion getting a 13 seed or worse are over.  Akron was a 15 last year and Ohio was a 14 two years ago.

MAC fans know the conference is better than that as the rest of the country is discovering. Akron was not even seen as bubble team this year. We will see a MAC school get an at-large bid to the big dance sometime this decade. Maybe Ball State will be that team with their amazing 3-point shooting next year.

While we are at it maybe Newt Gingrich will be president.

Filed under: Academics, Ball State, Basketball, Coaches, MAC | Leave a Comment »

Time for the OTP Bracket Challenge

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Alan

If you know who this is, you're a basketball fan. If you don't, you'll probably win the pool.

7 days, ladies and gents. That’s all we have left until your Thursday stops being productive at approximately 12:01pm. For many, myself included, things like work, socializing, and/or sleeping begins to become secondary when maybe the two best days of sports happen. Of course, I’m talking about the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. (NOTE: Yes, I know they have now rebranded the Tuesday play in games as the first round. I refuse to acknowledge this. Deal with it.) But even more exciting than watching the games is being able to compete with friends, colleagues, or strangers about who can randomly select basketball games the best. Competition? Basketball? No other sports happening to speak of? Prizes? No entry fee? Sign you up, right?

How about you sign yourself up, Mr. (or Ms.) Lazypants. We’ve really done most of the hard work anyway, including but not limited to, lauding Kentucky since the season started. Your welcome for the advice. As for the game, we’re running this through Yahoo Sports this year. The link you’d need to sign up is this one. If you don’t have a Yahoo! username and password, you’ll need to make one, then you’ll need to let me know how you made it through the 90s without one. Continue to read on if you’d like some info about the rules, prizes, etc. Or if you really want to live dangerously, just blindly charge on without really knowing what you’re doing. I’m sure that strategy has flaws, but I’ll be damned if I know what they are.

Some things to note about the rules and such as this isn’t your run of the mill bracket challenge. The finer details:

  • Unlike prior years where people went banana sandwich with multiple entries, this contest is limited to one entry per contestant. If you want to be shady and create multiple Yahoo! accounts just to win a fairly unimpressive prize, then so be it. We would probably need to have a talk about how you value your time however.
  • The scoring system is a little different from the stock Yahoo! scoring. As the rounds progress, the scoring for correct picks increase. 1 point for a first round correct pick, 32 points for picking the national champion.
  • The twist this year is we’re throwing in some upset bonuses. Up until the Final 4, picking lower seeded teams gives you bonus points, assuming you get it right. The difference in seeding multiplied by a round-specific number gives you your total bonus points. Example: Louisville is a 5th seed. They get beat by 12th seeded Morehead State in the first round. Again. The seed difference is 7, the round multiplier is 1, and if you picked Morehead, you get the 1 point for the correct pick and 7 bonus points for 8 total. First two rounds have a multiplier of 1, next two rounds have a multiplier of 2. The Final 4 has no multiplier.

    Upset Multipliers and Round Scoring

  • As mentioned, there is no buy in.

Everyone loves prizes, and it’s time once again to do a little spring cleaning in the OTP Prize closet. Here’s what’s up for grabs:

  • Overall winner: Mini-helmet of the college team of their choosing. We are a football blog after all.
  • Highest First Round Score: To be decided. We’ll figure something out and throw it on the group’s message board.
  • Most Creative Entry Name: A random piece of memorabilia of our choosing. We will take your fan allegiance into consideration, but not a guarantee. This is a highly subjective decision decided by Edge, RV, and myself. We may narrow it down to finalists and let the collective vote. Know your audience if you’re trying to get on our good sides.

That’s the long and the short of it, boys and girls. Get yourself signed up and enjoy the next week of talking heads, prognosticators, and learning how someone’s aunt won their office pool three years ago by picking the fiercest mascots, or how a neighbor won their bracket by selecting based on the attractiveness of the starting point guard. March Madness, indeed.

Filed under: Basketball | Leave a Comment »

URGENT: Henryville Needs Help. You Can Do It!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Alan

Henryville High School after the tornado

One of the things that I’ve been fortunate (or unfortunate depending on your perspective) to have happen to me is to be from a town that is for the most part, largely unknown. As I have progressed throughout my career, people have actually been curious where I’m from, what it’s like, and how it differs from where they are from. I assume when you’re from a large city like Indy, Chicago, etc. people already have a pre-established notion about what to expect and can, for the most part, picture themselves spending time in your locale. Being from Henryville, Indiana, though, meant that each person that asked about my home was someone I could share the wonderful atmosphere, goings on, and character of perhaps the best little town you’ve never heard of, at least until recently.

On Friday of last week, that small little town became the epicenter of the current news cycle as Mother Nature again proved that no matter how much control, order, and plan we may have, it’s basically for nothing if the universe has other ideas. In just a few short minutes, Henryville was transformed from a sleepy Mayberry-esque existence to a series of images and videos that rival combat footage of war zones thanks to a string of tornadoes that left damage, destruction, and even death in its path. Henryville was not the only town hit, but many of the most heartbreaking stories, shocking footage, and attention has been focused on this area. School buses thrown through windows, houses completely leveled, gas stations destroyed, and Henryville High School nearly unrecognizable.

It’s staggering, heart breaking, and a whole host of other adjectives. It’s not uncommon to see weather related tragedy on television or in print and feel a tinge of sadness at the destruction and devastation that mother nature can cause. From experience, now though, let me tell you that seeing those images and seeing shells of places you’ve been, roads you’ve driven on, or houses you’ve been in just makes it seem all the more unfathomable. This sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen to you or people you know. It’s supposed to be people in some faraway place that you have heard of, but have never been to. It isn’t supposed to be your neighbors who lose their homes or their lives. Its not supposed to be your town’s school that lays in shambles. It’s not supposed to be your town’s residents being interviewed and quoted by media organizations from Australia. I’ve wanted everyone to know about Henryville for a while now, but not like this.

Like many rural areas, the town and surrounding communities have rallied, helping tirelessly to clear debris, rebuild, replenish materials, and in general, assist their fellow man. The news cycle will eventually move on, and the eyes of the nation will find the next tragedy to focus on, Tweet about, and update their Facebook statuses regarding. But for Henryville, the work is just beginning. The destruction and devastation is so complete and thorough that long after CNN clears Clark County there will still be people with little more than the clothes on their backs and the bags of donations that have poured in from all over the area. That’s where people, people like you and me, come into play.

As much as people would like to think otherwise, aside from the manual labor needed to tarp roofs, chainsaw trees, or go through piles of rubble, financial backing for organizations providing help on the ground is sometimes just as important. Especially so, if like me, you are almost half a day’s drive away and are simply unable to lend a strong back. For the readers of this blog or folks this may be forwarded to, there are several ways you can help. By texting 90999 a $10 donation will be added to your cell bill with the proceeds going directly to the American Red Cross. For those without the capability to text, or for those who would prefer a more direct way to help, donations will be accepted here at OverThePylon.net until I return home on March 23rd. 100% of donations made on the right hand sidebar via PayPal will be given directly to the victims as First Christian Church of Scottsburg is coordinating the financial help. Every little bit will help and could mean the difference between someone starting over with something or simply back at square one. There are few opportunities that come along where your efforts to help can be felt so immediately and so directly. This is one of those times.

Filed under: DonationDrive | 5 Comments »

Is Tonight Billy Taylor’s Last Stand?

Posted on March 5, 2012 by nathanpace

Billy Taylor is in a much better position of Ball State coaches who have lost their jobs. Take a look at his competition.

Stan Parrish: Last stand came in 2010 when Ball State football took winless Eastern Michigan to overtime and lost at home destroying the hearts of the 20 fans who still believed in him.

Ronny Thompson: Last stand came in court. Enough said.

Those two examples are not exactly glorious. Just add some Chicago Bulls music and Taylor is five times better off. Here are some reasons why Taylor should return or hit the road after the season.

Reasons for Taylor’s return.

The” bad hand” argument: Taylor inherited a total disaster of a basketball program in 2007 from Thompson and fans all knew it would take time to repair. Taylor had plenty of forgiveness for losses as fans saw progress for the program as a whole each year, well until 2012. Not many wanted to coach at Ball State when he took the job and Taylor deserves a lot of credit for taking a chance on Ball State.

The “good guy” argument: After Thompson, any guy who is normal is seen as a saint. Add to the fact how calm Taylor is on the sideline shows more proof of the “good guy” mentality.  No one has ever said anything bad about Taylor the person.

The “who is going to replace him” argument: Rick Majerus is not walking through that door. A new coach would have to maintain the players signed on for next year, and be able to relate for Muncie. Does not sound too hard but how many coaches have been hired and fired at Ball State because he or she was not good fit in East Central Indiana?

The “able to recruit Indiana” argument: Taylor has been able to keep local players in Muncie and that is no small achievement. Jarrod Jones, Randy Davis, Jauwan Scaife, Tyrae Robinson, Chris Bond, Tyler Koch, are all Indiana boys. MAC schools are not going to recruit nationally but keeping the shields up locally is encouraging as high school players are not turned off to the program.

Reason’s for Taylor’s dismissal.

The “It’s all downhill from here” argument: With Jarrod Jones and Randy Davis graduating one can say Ball State has maxed out after this season. Hard to see how the Cardinals will be better next year so might as well end the Taylor era now.

The “team has quit listening to him” argument: This is something that is hard to prove. Fans question the effort of the players but that does not mean the players have turned on Taylor. If it is true that the players have lost all confidence in him then it is clearly time for a coaching change. This is something that Taylor can prove false tonight by Ball State playing hard from start to finish at Western Michigan. Fans want to see a will to win in the Cardinals tonight and if they do not then the hot seat will get hotter for Taylor.

The “bad schedule” argument: The days of Ball State playing teams worthy of Yorktown and Muncie Southside seems to be getting on the nerves of Cardinals fans. Fans are accusing Ball State of getting fat on cupcakes in non-conference play to the point where the team cannot compete in MAC action. Personally I think this is a bogus argument as this is a team with seniors who know about MAC play all ready. Butler, Morehead State, and IUPUI are similar to MAC teams so it is not like Ball State was not ready for the MAC.

The “not inspiring players” argument: Ball State has had collapses before under Taylor. Two years ago Ball State dropped all the way down to the eight seed in the MAC tournament. With Ball State dropping down to the nine seed this year many are questioning Taylor’s ability to lead. This is where his calmness on the sideline does not help. Some fans see it as apathy, but Taylor is not one to yell at a player in public. What goes on in practice and closed meetings stay in those places. I seriously think Taylor would benefit from wearing a microphone during a game or in practice and posting the recording on the school’s website. This would persuade some fans that he is actually working on the sidelines.

The wild card.

The new athletic director: With the men’s and women’s basketball coaches trying to keep their jobs nothing causes more chaos than having a lame duck AD in Collins who really wants to just ease his way out. The new AD may want to put his (or her) stamp on the program with his own hire. If that is the case then no matter what Taylor does tonight in MAC tournament he is out of luck.

Tonight at the Broncos

The fact is Taylor put himself in this position. Injuries and suspensions have happened this year, but not to the point where it warrants as an excuse. Fans know Ball State has the talent to be better than the ninth best team in the MAC.

Ball State does not need to win the MAC tournament for Taylor to keep his job, but the team must prove it still wants him as head coach with strong performances. Going one and done as Western could be game over.

Ball State beat the two weakest teams in the MAC to close out the regular season this past week but did so unconvincingly. Trailing Northern Illinois (four wins on the year) at halftime on senior day is offensive. Ball State was clearly a better team yet Northern acted like the game was more important to them. That cannot happen tonight.

Best case scenario is the Cardinals wake up tonight. Jones gets 20 points and 10 boards. The guards play defense on the perimeter for the first time this season and make shots of their own.

Worst case scenario is Ball State continues to let three-point shooters get open. Jones continues to struggle. Davis gets upset near the end of a certain loss and starts punching people like he is Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest. Taylor is fired, players transfer, recruits decomitt and the basketball program enters another dimension called the Ronny Thompson Zone. That sounded like one of those new commercials for satellite TV.

Honestly, I hope Taylor is back next year. I hope I am not in minority of Cardinals fans who feel this way. Taylor fits in here in Muncie and like I said that is not an easy find. Some wins this week should quiet the critics long enough to give him another year.

Show us what you got Billy Taylor. This may be your last chance to do so.

Filed under: Basketball | Leave a Comment »

Men’s Basketball Learns a Hard Lesson in Chemistry

Posted on February 27, 2012 by nathanpace

Ball State basketball 2011-12. Serving humble pie to Cardinals fans twice a week.

The train wreck known as the Ball State men’s basketball team may be the most depressing feeling I have had as a Cardinals fan and the lessons from the debacle can be applied to every sport on campus, including football.

Excuses for the Cardinals poor season (13-14, 4-10 MAC) have ranged from lack of talent to the death of a sibling of one of the players. After summarizing some sources, Ball State basketball has been hit with a problem commonly found in struggling teams.

Chemistry.

Ball State basketball is beating Ball State basketball in a way no other MAC team can do.

Inside the locker room.

The collapse Ball State is having did not start in 2012. This one started six years ago in 2006.

The Cardinals have been through a lot ever since athletic director Tom Collins relieved Coach Tim Buckley of his coaching duties in the spring of 06. I strongly believe that this was Collins worst decision while as boss. Hiring Stan Parrish was at least understandable at the time. Booting a good coach in Buckley, when his best players were injured the whole season appeared to be a power move as Collins was trying to assert control.

Hiring Ronny Thompson made sense at the time as Ball State wanted a guy with name recognition. Thompson provided excitement but that turned out to be the only positive.

I was fortunate to take a class taught by someone close to the program who explained in detail the horrors of Thompson’s one year reign. The discussion of the Thompson era made my jaw drop for an hour. I guess 95 percent of current Ball State students do not know the scandal even existed or of its magnitude. They just know Ball State struggled at basketball the next several years. Every time I explained why Ball State basketball was in rebuilding mode to a classmate he or she suddenly has a new appreciation for the program. Why has the marketing department not figured this out all ready?

Billy Taylor came on board in the late summer of 2007 with 6’4” as the tallest height on the team.

Taylor was able to recruit a heck of class in 2008 with forward Jarrod Jones and guard Randy Davis.  Taylor repaired Ball State to respectability and added more key players like Muncie native Jauwan Scaife.

Ball State won 19 games in the 2010-11 season and looked poised to make a run at the MAC Championship returning all but one player. The Cardinals had battled through the rebuilding process and had developed good chemistry. Ball State was so confident in their team going into this season it rejected postseason tournament offers in 2011 to save money for an exhibition trip to Canada in the summer. It was a move that few questioned a year ago, but now appears to be idiotic.

Ball State began MAC play 4-1 in 2012 but has lost nine straight and are in danger of having a losing season. So much for winning 20 games.

So what happened? Chemistry was destroyed through player rotations that angered some. Upperclassmen, who fought for years trying to build Ball State back up, saw themselves on the bench in favor of freshman and sophomores.

For the upperclassman it is a slap in the face. To them, Coach Taylor is playing underclassmen that would have gone elsewhere if the program did not improve thanks to the seniors and juniors.

Playing underclassmen over upperclassmen is not a crime but a coach must have a sound reason for it. At schools like Kentucky, where NBA draft picks are recruited every year, it is easier for upperclassmen to understand being benched. Not the case at Ball State.

I do not want to identify the upperclassmen who are upset, but anyone who looks at a box score the last several games can figure out who. Exhibit A speaks for itself.

Guards Tyrae Robinson, Jesse Berry and forward Tyler Koch, may have more talent but not by a significant enough amount for upperclassmen to understand the merit of starting them.

Robinson was academically ineligible for the first semester but saw heavy minutes since his returned around Christmas. His minutes take away from upperclassmen who are not happy about it. They worked hard on the court and the classroom to build Ball State back up only to be benched by a sophomore who has a history of not taking school seriously. The elephant has entered the room.

This is not the underclassmen’s fault; it is Taylor’s for the lineup changes. Taylor forgot to dance with the one that brought you as the upperclassmen felt stood up. Once Ball State lost some tough games in the MAC the animosity in the locker room was no longer covered up from the deodorant of winning. At the point Worthen Arena might as well be next to a damaged nuclear reactor because a meltdown is inevitable.

Ball State is not a team right now. It is a collection of players who cannot play defense as a cohesive unit and forces up a prayer as the shot clock expires every blasted possession on offense.

A lack of chemistry is all it takes for a team to quit once adversity strikes.

Hold the phone. We found someone who has not given up all hope in the season.

I never thought it would come to this. I love Ball State basketball the same if not more than my love for the Kentucky Wildcats, and that is from a guy who was born in Lexington. My family moved to Indiana before high school where I started watching Ball State on the local channels. Then there are my experiences with the players.

I will never forget the time I met Jarrod Jones in the Atrium as he ate chicken nuggets by himself. Never thought a 6’9” guy with NBA aspirations could be so invisible in a public place. I have done class projects with Pierre Sneed and my friend had forward Chris Bond as his gym partner.

I have been watching Davis pass the ball to Jones for four years and wanted them to go out like a champ. In January I seriously thought about how feasible it would be for me and some friends to spend part of spring break in Cleveland watching Ball State win the MAC tournament.

Instead the seniors who brought Ball State basketball out of the Thompson era will go out with a whimper. Taylor’s coaching job is at the mercy of whoever replaces Collins. Ball State will be lucky to win a game in the MAC tournament as it is clear many of the players just want the season to end.

Ball State can have an amazing basketball program. I am tired of everyone kissing up to Butler. Your Cardinals have the resources in place to build a team capable of having deep NCAA tourney runs of its own. Sadly, it will not be anytime soon.

Turning to football, I believe Coach Pete Lembo understands the chemistry side of a team as he is big on redshirting freshman. This makes sure upperclassman get nod unless an amazing newcomer joins the squad. An example Cardinals fans know was senior quarterback Joey Lynch stepping aside for some freshman named Nate Davis. Lynch understood the reasoning behind Davis getting the start. Quarterback Kelly Page stepping down for Keith Wenning is a more recent example. Several Ball State basketball players did not understand the reason for their lack of playing time in 2012 destroying chemistry. The result is implosion in Worthen Arena that is hard to watch.

Well… the Indiana Pacers are looking good.

Filed under: Ball State, Basketball | Leave a Comment »

Is the MAC Gaining Ground on the Big Ten?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by nathanpace

Writer’s note: This is the third installment of the statistical breakdown series. Here are links to the first Keith Wenning vs. Nate Davis and second, BSU Defense Tackles Misleading Stats, installments.

Fans of MAC teams have known for a while that the Big Ten has been backpedaling and Big Ten fans are finally coming around to admitting it. But many Big Ten fans still see their conference as vastly superior to the MAC.

Time to see how the conferences truly stack up.

If the MAC played Monopoly with the Big Ten. Your move Penn State. Post $50 bail or roll for doubles.

Head to Head Games

The Big Ten crushed the MAC going 11-1 in head to head games. Ball State’s win over Indiana was the only exception. The MAC can claim several moral victories.

Western Michigan lost to Illinois on the road by three and Purdue in a bowl game by five. Temple lost to Penn State 14-10 at home. Toledo failed to score a last minute touchdown from the red zone in their 27-22 loss at Ohio State. Miami University dropped a 29-23 decision at Minnesota. That means five of the 11 Big Ten wins, almost half, were decided by a six points or less.

There were lopsided affairs too. Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Central Michigan all played at least one Big Ten school each in 2011 and the results were worse than the acting talent in a “Twilight” movie.

The most disappointing loss came from the MAC Champion Northern Illinois.  Northern was pounded 49-7 at Big Ten Champion Wisconsin. The gap between the best team in the Big Ten and the best in the MAC is still as large as it ever has been. The Huskies were not going to win that game but they needed to make it more respectable than that.

The MAC did find success against BCS schools outside the Big Ten. Temple knocked out Maryland 38-7 on the road. Western Michigan went into Connecticut and won 38-31. Toledo was robbed at Syracuse with a blown call on an extra point and went on to lose 33-30 in overtime (cut to Toledo fans shaking their heads).

Bowl Games

The MAC went 4-1 in bowl games this season which is a testament to how deep the conference was in 2011. The Big Ten went 4-6. To be fair, this stat is not a good measuring stick as the Big Ten played SEC schools while the MAC faced Mountain West and Sun Belt teams.  Even though this stat favors the MAC we have to throw it out when comparing the MAC to the Big Ten.

Vs. FCS Schools

The MAC went 12-0 against FCS schools while Minnesota was upset at home for a 9-1 record for the Big Ten. The MAC appears to fumble a game or two to a FCS school every year and your Ball State Cardinals were one of the repeat offenders in previous seasons.

Even 1-11 Akron won their only game against FCS Virginia Military Institute. Say that again. Even Akron won a game against a FCS school. Anything is possible.

Still, this measurement is flawed too as not every FCS school is created equally. This stat only proves that the MAC did their homework in scheduling the right cupcake.

Sagarin Ratings

Now we are talking. The Sagarin ratings are ultimate rating system for college football nerds everywhere. Namely me.

Unlike most polls, the Sagarin ratings compare every FBS and FCS team into one giant list. The Sagarin ratings are somewhat similar to RPI in college basketball.

Here are the rankings for all the Big Ten and MAC schools. The MAC schools are bolded.

First, discard Indiana and Akron. Those two schools are outliers as they were so bad they were virtually disowned by their conferences in 2011.

The theory behind the Sagarin ratings is the closer two schools are in terms of points the closer the game would be if they played on the field. For example, Western Michigan is five points away from Illinois and only three points away from Purdue. The Broncos did lose to those teams but came very close to winning. Western is 19 points away from Michigan and was trashed accordingly 34-10.

From the data we can infer the five MAC bowl teams could do damage in the Big Ten if they played their conference schedule in 2011. Toledo, Temple, and Northern Illinois would have a realistic shot at beating eight of the 12 Big Ten schools (please change the name of the conference). Penn State is only three points away from Toledo and four away from Temple and Northern Illinois. Thus, the top three MAC schools can compete with two-thirds of the BCS conference.

In theory, Ohio and Western Michigan are capable of defeating Illinois on down and maybe Ohio State and Iowa.

That makes five MAC schools the Big Ten does not want to tangle with. Especially when they are paying the MAC schools a truck load of cash to come to their house.

The Big Ten still has an advantage with their four top teams being bulletproof against a MAC school.

The Big Ten had a down year with Ohio State and Penn State ending up on CNN more than ESPN for scandals. Nebraska was making the transition to the conference and will settle in soon. Ohio State with Urban Meyer will be back at the top of the conference in no time. Penn State is a volatile situation and therefore tough to predict.

For the MAC, 2011 was a break out year. If the top teams in the MAC can stay in the top 50 in the Sagarin ratings then more upsets against BCS conference foes will come in 2012. That said the back half of the conference has to improve in order for the national perception to progress.

If the rear of the conference can make some strides in the next few years then maybe a 6-6 MAC team, your Ball State Cardinals, can earn a bowl invite (cue angry Ball State fans writing e-mails to the Akron athletic director).

Big Ten schools beware in 2012. Buying an easy win against a MAC school is getting harder and harder.

Filed under: BallStateFootball, BCS, Big 10, FCS, MAC, Statistics | 2 Comments »

BSU Footballers Doing Dill Street-y Things

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Alan

Dill Street is no Double Duece

Remember the old adage that we seem to espouse here frequently that news in the offseason is rarely good? Yeah, it proved itself yet again as Travis Freeman and Kenny Lee were involved in an incident leading to the arrest of them both this past weekend at Dill Street Bar and Grill. BSU students are known for going to Dill Street and chaos ensuing, so I can’t say it’s a shock or really all that big of a deal. BSU students go to Dill Street for one of three reasons…

  1. To get ridiculously blasted on cheap beer or liquor
  2. To find a member of the opposite sex and proceed to follow the Malcolm X philosophy of “By any means necessary” to enjoy their company for the evening (TRANSLATION: Find a member of the other gender and get to bangin’)
  3. Cause chaos

I can only hope that since Freeman and Lee seem to be partaking in bullet #3 above they at least got to enjoy #1 before they were arrested. For their sake, I hope #2 either didn’t happen or came to fruition before they were put in cuffs, because the bangin’ at the Delaware County Jail is neither a member of the opposite sex nor enjoyable in the least. Lembo has a nice no-comment kind of comment in the papers pledging to fully investigate and blah blah blah. The specifics of the case are murky at best, and their lack of respectable behavior is really nothing when compared to their poor taste in drinking establishments. That’s what really needs to be punished. Dill Street has been a shithole for as long as I’ve been connected to BSU and I cannot imagine it has gotten any better.

The crime itself is a class B misdemeanor which I can’t imagine is going to not get knocked down or plead out, but battery it stands as for now. Perspective: It was out of season, it seems like their was collective male groupthink fueled by booze, and some fisticuffs broke out. In the grand scheme of things, not a big deal. It wasn’t like this was BCS level skullduggery where players are firing off uzis in a fast food parking lot or running a remarkably sizable drug ring right there on campus. For this kind of stuff, I’m happy BSU is more small time than BCS champion.

UPDATE: The Star Press also has some info on the story here.

Filed under: BallStateFootball, Doin Time, Offseason | 2 Comments »

Ball State Defense Tackles Misleading Statistics

Posted on February 13, 2012 by nathanpace

Is this good offense or bad defense? The stats want you to think the latter.

The Ball State defense has been ripped in the media (what little media that covers the Cardinals) through backhanded compliments. Phrases like “The offense carried the team” are about as mean as you can get in terms of criticizing a defense full of college students.

The statistics of Ball State gave up the most yards in the Mid-American Conference and the 11th most points out of the 13 teams have been well publicized. While these stats are true there are some holes.

Take a look at the rankings for points allowed and points forced for MAC schools. These numbers only take into account the eight conference games as some schools loaded up on FCS tomato cans in their non-conference schedule while others were being paid to take a beating from BCS juggernauts.

Please enjoy this cheap color coded table while the MAC schedules the toughest offenses in the league for Ball State again. Poor Akron having zip to show for.

First thing I noticed is Ball State gave up a 60 more points than it scored and still finished with a 4-4 record in conference. The Temple loss itself almost made the disparity. The Cardinals were like that one guy in fantasy football we all hate who made the playoffs with a negative point differential.

The next thing I noticed is the top five offenses all played Ball State. Ball State was sixth and also played Central Michigan and Buffalo too. That means Ball State played the seven strongest offenses they could have possibly have played.

Ball State did not have the luxury of playing the worse offenses in the MAC. Teams that played Kent State and Akron had a chance to pad their numbers. The Golden Flashes at least had a good defense but the Zips were a bonfire near a gas leak in 2011. It is not a coincidence that the top four defenses in the conference reside in MAC East. Eastern Michigan was the weakest MAC offense Ball State faced and Eastern was not the cupcake in 2011 MAC followers know and laugh at.

To make matters worse, Ball State’s two best defensive players (Sean Baker and Joshua Howard) were injured going into the Temple game resulting in a 42-0 loss Ball State fans erased from their memory banks.

The weakest offense Ball State faced all season was probably Indiana. Instead of playing an FCS school for a cupcake the Cardinals should keep playing the Hoosiers every year. Army, with their unique option offense, is a tough team to gauge. South Florida and Oklahoma would have lit up any MAC team.

It is easy for Cardinal fans to point the finger at the defense when they gave up a lot of points. But teams like Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan can score on anyone. It is not a court marshal offense to give up 40 points to those teams.

The MAC hurt Ball State more than anyone with Akron or Kent State avoiding the schedule. Switch Akron for Temple and Ball State’s defense would have had respectable statistics.

There is also the eyeball test for the defense as well. The Cardinals did not give up many big plays as much as they gave up a buffet of medium ones. Running backs and wide receivers would break through the line of scrimmage until Howard and Baker came up to make the tackle.

The real concern going into next season will be how will the defense hold up without Howard and Baker making plays? I think Baker is probably the best defensive back in Ball State history. (Granted I’m only in my twenties so sorry if there is someone in the 1970s I am leaving out.) No matter what any player or coach says Baker and Howard cannot be replaced in a year.

The MAC West will still have a lot of offenses next year that can create havoc. Graduation will take a toll on those teams but how much?

For now, the next time you hear someone say “Ball State’s defense stinks,” you have my support to tell them off. You are on your own if it turns into a fist fight.

 

Filed under: BallStateFootball, MAC, Statistics | 3 Comments »

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