When Tracy Roller took over as Ball State University women's basketball coach in 2001, the program had experienced more 20-loss seasons (nine) than winning records (six) in its 33-year existence.-á
Though Ball State had back-to-back winning seasons, the two years preceding Roller's regime, the Cardinals had never won a regular-season championship in the Mid-American Conference, let alone receive a berth in any post-season tournament.
Six years later, the fortune of Ball State women's basketball has reversed, with Roller's steady hand guiding the program. On Dec. 30, in the championship game of the SPC Aeropostale Holiday Classic, Roller became the first women's basketball coach to reach 100 wins.-á
"Did I expect to be where we're at right now? Absolutely," Roller said. "That's what should be happening when you're coaching at this level. You should always have high expectations. When you have the resources with the staff and players I have around me, I wouldn't have expected anything else."
As Roller has produced impressive win totals, she has also earned the respect of those working with her behind the scenes. Associate head coach Lisa McDonald, who has been a part of Roller's staff the last six seasons, said she has the utmost admiration for her boss.-á
"She definitely has a vision and focus of what she wants and what her goals are for this program," McDonald said. "She does a really good job of communicating that to her staff and to her players, and then getting everybody to believe in it. She has the ability to recognize everybody's strengths, and she allows everybody to play to their strengths - from players to coaches. She's very good at making everybody want to do their best."
McDonald said there was never a mention of the program's slumps when she joined Roller's staff.
"We just came in with expectations that we were going to be great," McDonald said. "We never even talked about what it was in the past, we just really focused on the future. We looked forward to what we could be instead of what we had been. I think it's just gone up and up and up since we've been here, and I see good things coming in the future too."
The holiday classic win gave the Cardinals their second non-conference tournament championship of the season, and Roller said it wasn't until after the fact that she was able to appreciate the milestone.-á
"Considering the game itself, I think my 100th win was probably fifth on the list of things I was excited about at that time," Roller said. "Obviously those 100 wins aren't all mine, and there were a lot of people involved in that. When we got back to the hotel after the game, all the parents and players and coaches were in the lobby, and we raised some non-alcoholic glasses to celebrate the milestone."-á
The players Roller mentors understand the importance of having women program's winningest coach on the sidelines. Senior point guard Kelsey Corbin, who is averaging 11.4 points and 4.5 assists per game in her final year, said her respect for Roller transcends the basketball court.
"She really caters to her players and does her best to make sure that we're not only good basketball players, but that we develop as young adults so that we can go out to the real world," Corbin said. "I think that's one thing she does head and shoulders above everybody else. Being at college, you don't really have a parental figure around, and that's what she is. She's not just our coach. She's our friend, she's our mom, and she's a role model."
Though her accomplishments on the hardwood have been sterling, Roller said the thing that makes her proudest is the academic standards her players maintain.
"Last semester we had eight [out of 11] kids with a 3.0 or higher," Roller said. "Every year we have a kid who gets an academic award of some kind. I'm really proud of that because, obviously, I want to win games, and that's why I'm here. But I'm also trying to get kids ready for the real world by working as hard as they can in the classroom. I'm trying to prepare them for life after they leave this university because they are a reflection on this program and on this university."
According to Roller, a coach can't win without talented players, and this year's roster is made up of five former Indiana High School All-Stars. Freshman guard Audrey McDonald, who was an Indiana All-Star last year and now starts for the Cardinals, said Roller was one of the major draws that helped her choose Ball State.
"She played a huge role in me deciding to come here because she doesn't just have her assistant coaches go out and recruit; she does that as well," Audrey McDonald said. "She makes the process very personable, and she's very easy to get to know. I already knew coming in that it was going to be a fun team, and she was going to be a fun coach to work with."
Even with the milestones that have been achieved over the past six years, Roller said there is still more work to do. According to the coach, the one glaring absence is a trip to the NCAA tournament, which Roller said she is striving to accomplish this year.
"I'm looking for us to get that national attention," Roller said. "I think we're right on the cusp of getting that right now. Matt McCollester, our Sports Information Director, sent me an e-mail earlier this week that I thought really described our team. The subject line read, 'The best team that nobody's heard about.' I think that's a good way to describe what's going on with us right now. That's why I just wish we could get the word out about us that we're not such a secret anymore, and the way to do that is by making the NCAA tournament."
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