10 Reasons to Not Get Discouraged About 2007-08 Ball State Men’s Basketball

We all know the Ball State men’s basketball team was historically bad this year and that, barring an unfortunate mutation, its wins can be counted on two hands. But who likes a sour grape? As we take a final look at Cardinal basketball, let’s focus on some positives from the 2007-08 season.

10. The Cardinals finished the season on a bit of an upswing, relatively speaking. After earning just three wins in its first 22 games, Ball State proceeded to win three of its final eight, effectively doubling its win total. Ball State also went 3-3 in its last six MAC games to salvage a 5-11 conference record to go with its 6-24 overall mark.

9. Students didn’t walk away from home games empty-handed. In addition to gaining free admittance with a school ID, Ball State students received free t-shirts just for showing up to home games and filling the Nest. Anything that can stretch out laundry one more day is well worth the trip to Worthen Arena.

8. Six wins is not, in fact, the smallest win total in school history. The Cardinals went 5-17 under coach Jim Hinga in the 1959-60 season. The 1970-71 Cardinal club also won six games, amassing a 6-20 record under coach Bud Getchell.

7. A pair of freshman stepped into starting roles this year and delivered. Melvin Goins started 26 of Ball State’s 30 games on his way to being named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. Goins finished the season third on the team in points per game (8.0), first in assists per game (2.3), and first in steals (52). Malik Perry started all 30 games for the Cardinals and contributed 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. His low-post presence proved vital to an otherwise-undersized club.

6. A dismal record in a BSU head coach’s first season is not necessarily a sign of things to come. Steve Yoder took over the team in 1977 and coached the Cardinals to a 10-15 record. Just three years later, Yoder’s team won the 1981 MAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA. His Cardinals would go on to lose 93-90 to Boston College in the first round.

5. The Cardinals will have one of the top players in the MAC returning next year. Junior Anthony Newell led the team with 16.9 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, and 10 blocks. Despite missing nine games due to injury, Newell was named to the All-MAC Honorable Mention squad. His points (16.8) and rebounds (8.1) per game in conference play ranked second and third in the league, respectively. If Ball State hopes to experience success next year, it will start with Newell.

4. The current Cardinal coaching staff is not in the process of being reprimanded for multiple NCAA rules violations, as last year’s staff infamously was. The charges against former coach Ronny Thompson, combined with his own claims that racially-offensive notes had been slipped under his office door, helped plunge the men’s basketball program to an all-time low. This year’s record on the court was worse, but least there was no record in the court.

3. Ball State played five NCAA tournament teams in Georgetown (#2 seed), Purdue (#6), Butler (#7), Kent State (#9), and Saint Joseph’s (#11). Although the Cardinals lost all five games, they fell to Big East regular-season champion Georgetown by just nine points and to MAC champion Kent State by just three in overtime. They also hosted the games against the Hoyas and the Bulldogs, both of which were nationally ranked for a majority of the season.

2. Peyton Stovall. A model of dependency, class, and humility throughout his five years in cardinal and white, Stovall oozes sportsmanship, and he’s got the resume to prove it. He was one of five national finalists for the 2008 Coach John Wooden Citizenship Cup and one of ten finalists for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award. In his Cardinal career, Stovall started more than 100 games, ranks second in school history in minutes played, and ranks tenth in school history in points. Ball State will miss much more than his 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and the program is lucky to have graduated such a model student-athlete.

1. Despite their continuing post-season woes, the Cardinals, like this blog, prefer to be optimistic. Who really cares about the Big Dance, anyway? The Cardinals certainly don’t want to go dancing. It’s not worth the risk of Anthony Newell reinjuring his left foot while attempting the cha-cha.