The smiling faces of Bonzi Wells and his son as they walked down the red carpet to center court only got brighter when they saw a No. 42 banner revealed in the Worthen Arena rafters.
Wells, who finished his career in 1998 as Ball State's and the Mid-American Conference's all-time leading scorer, formally saw his number formally retired Saturday during halftime of the Cardinals' game against Drexel.
A member of the NBA's Memphis Grizzles, Wells was away from the team for a while because of the All-Star break. He changed his schedule in order to be on hand for the ceremony.
Wells and his son were introduced before the game to a season-high crowd of 6,641 fans. At halftime several members of his family, along with Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham and President Jo Ann Gora, awaited him at center court.
Both him and his son, dressed in suits, walked slowly down the red carpet. After Wells greeted his family members, everyone turned their attention to the end of the court where a replica No. 42 jersey was unfurled. Wells waved to a crowd that gave him a standing ovation and chanted "Bonzi" before saying a few words.
"I want to thank everyone. It's a great day for my family," he said. "I don't know what to say; I'm so overwhelmed. If it wasn't for Ball State, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Wells did not make himself available to the media afterwards. He left soon after the game was over with his family.
It is just the second number in any Ball State sport to be retired. The other is the No. 10, which was worn by Ray McCallum (1979-83). McCallum, who like Wells graduated from Central High School, was also Wells' head coach at Ball State.
Cunningham said while it's not common to retire numbers, after discussions with many people in the athletic department and the community he felt it was the right thing to do.
"We've talked about doing this for quite some time," he said. "We're trying to recognize outstanding achievement. Obviously, what he did was outstanding."
Wells was named the MAC Freshman of the Year in 1995, then MAC Player of the Year his senior season. He completed his career with 2,485 points, which passed McCallum's record of 2,109. Wells also compiled 347 steals, which ranks first in Ball State and MAC history.
In 1998 Wells was the 11th selection overall by the Detroit Pistons. Since then he has played for the Portland Trail Blazers and currently plays for the Grizzles, where he is averaging 10.9 points per game.
While Wells accomplishments on the court spoke for themselves, he ultimately didn't graduate from Ball State. Cunningham said that was a factor in not retiring his number before.
"You don't have to be a graduate to be in the [Ball State Athletics] Hall of Fame," he said. "There's no consistency in the MAC on how players are honored."
Cunningham's predecessor, Andrea Seger, was athletics director from 1995-2002.
Head coach Tim Buckley thought it was fantastic No. 42 was retired and commended the administration for doing it.
"I've always believed it's the right thing to do," he said. "I think it's great for the university, I think it's great for the Mid-American Conference.
"I know how hard he worked when he was here and he was talented."
Wells was also honored in September of 2004 when the Roy C. Buley Community Center, where Wells spent much of his time playing basketball as a kid, was named the Bonzi Wells Gymnasium.
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