Rarely does a Ball State University basketball recruit join the team with as much hype as freshman guard Melvin Goins did when he committed to the Cardinals.
Goins, a 5'8" point guard, was a McDonald's All-American nominee who averaged 18 points, six rebounds and five assists a game as a senior at Christian Life Center in Dallas. He was also the first Cardinal to hail from the Lone Star State.
Early returns weren't as high as expected for Goins, who managed one game of 10 or more points in his first five games as a Cardinal. However, in the nine games since, he averaged 8.7 points a contest, including two outings of 17 points. The most recent of those was Sunday's Ball State victory against Central Michigan University.
"He's become a much better practice player," first-year Cardinals' coach Billy Taylor said. "He's playing at a much higher level in practice, which carries over to the games."
Taylor said in the early part of the season, Goins was taking good shots but was not getting them to fall. He said Goins's recent success has helped his point guard's confidence and taken pressure off team captains and leading scorers Peyton Stovall and Anthony Newell.
"It's an adjustment for anyone in Division I basketball," Taylor said of Goins's new supporting role. "It's nice for Melvin to see those shots go in, to get some payback on those drives he is making."
Stovall, who takes turns with Goins running the point during games, said the freshman's unique abilities of long-range shooting as well as driving and lofting floaters into the basket makes him a tough task defensively.
"He's tough to guard," Stovall said concisely.
Taylor said he thinks the team's philosophy of sharing the basketball, particularly by his two captains, has helped Goins maintain his ability to distribute the ball as well as score.
"When you've got guys like Stovall and Newell, who are great scorers but are willing to share the basketball, that helps a freshman," Taylor said. "I think he's following the lead of our older players, and they've been doing great helping Melvin along."
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