Freshman Maurice Acker's first impression on fans at the Fan Jam in October was one to remember.
The 5-foot-8-inch guard dashed from one end of the court to the other with seconds remaining in the scrimmage, swiftly flew by two defenders on his way to the basket, softly floated in an open lay-up, and ran off the court amid resounding applause from the crowd.
Acker, five inches shorter than starting point guard Peyton Stovall, showed fans how he relies upon his quickness to help him succeed on the court. It's his quickness that's earned him quality playing time from Ball State University coach Tim Buckley.
Acker played the most minutes off the bench for the Cardinals in Ball State's exhibition win over Saginaw Valley State and he'll get his first taste of real action in Saturday's regular season opener against Oakland City. Buckley has given Acker the green light to run a quick, up-tempo offense when he's at the point.
"I think Maurice does a good job at the point guard setting the tone and the pressure for this team," Buckley said. "His quickness and his ability to find the open guys on the court are great assets to have."
In 19 minutes against Saginaw Valley, Acker pulled in four rebounds (third most on the team), two assists (tied for most on the team) and committed no turnovers. His passes were on target but he still surprised some teammates when he got the ball to them.
A pass in the second half to freshman Pat Nelson was nearly fumbled when he didn't expect Acker to push the ball past two defenders and into Nelson's hands. Besides a pair of juggled passes to his teammates, Acker had only one complaint about his performance - his 0-for-2 shooting from the field.
"I didn't really take any good shots in the game," Acker said. "I can shoot better and I know I have the potential to do that. I really was just trying to get everyone involved in the game."
Acker will be used frequently this season in tandem with Stovall in the backcourt. When Acker is running the point Stovall moves to shooting guard, allowing him to focus on scoring rather than fighting pressure to bring the ball up court.
"[Playing shooting guard] was really different but I liked it," Stovall said. "I don't have to bring the ball up and worry about any ball pressure and just try to get open, which is good. It's not something I want to do all the time but it's definitely something that works for our team."
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