At the beginning of the season, the Ball State men’s basketball team exhibited youth, experience and variety in its roster.
Cardinals head coach James Whitford would commonly use a rotation that consisted of four freshmen, Zavier Turner, Franko House, Mark Alstork, Quinten Payne, and sophomore Bo Calhoun as they started off 2-2.
“That’s the team you’re going to see all season,” Whitford said. “The way we play, you can’t just play six or seven guys. And that’s going to force guys to step up.”
Since the start of Mid-American Conference play, Whitford starts Turner, House and Alstork to complement seniors Chris Bond and Majok Majok. Payne watched his minutes dwindle down after his foot injury in mid-December, and senior guard Kindon Crowder has benefitted.
The Cardinals now sit at 4-15 following the overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday. The Huskies exposed the Cardinals’ lack of a backup point guard and a second option in the post, something that the team has missed since November.
Majok fouled out with 15 seconds left in regulation, forcing Ball State to rely on Calhoun and then House on the inside during the extra period.
“We don’t really know how to run offense through him at center,” Whitford said about House playing for Majok. “I thought it made it awkward for us.”
After undergoing a second wrist surgery, senior Matt Kamieniecki redshirted this year to recover. Kamieniecki was projected to start in the front court with Majok, and his absence was felt immediately with a season-opening loss to Indiana State.
Kamieniecki is known for his rugged rebounding style. The 6-foot-8 Clarkston, Mich., student-athlete averaged 3.4 points and four rebounds per game in his 74 games as a Cardinal. Though his averages are low, he brought intangibles that the Cardinals are missing.
Jauwan Scaife graduated and became a graduate student manager for the team. Last year’s starting point guard Marcus Posley transferred to Indian Hills. Turner was expected to take over the point guard position and lead the team.
Turner has started all but one game, averaging 32.4 minutes per game. He started off the season averaging 17.7 points and shooting 71 percent from three-point distance through his first three games. Those numbers have dipped, but he still leads the team in all three categories. While he is no longer No. 1 in the nation for free throw percentage, he sits at No. 3 with 87.9 percent.
“I love coaching him,” Whitford said. “He’s my type of kid.”
Whitford has a 2014 recruiting class he’s hoping can fill voids. He recruited a pair from Arsenal Tech, Jeremie Tyler and Rashaun Richardson.
Tyler is a 6-foot-2 combo guard who excels at scoring the basketball. Richardson is a 6-foot-7 forward who can play both forward positions and plays solid defense.
Whitford also signed Sean Sellers from Greensburg, Ind. Since his freshman season, the 6-foot-6 wing has started. When his senior season started, he was already the leading scorer and rebounder in his school’s history. Whitford said Sellers has a high basketball IQ.
The final product for Whitford comes originally from Canada, Francis Kiapway. This 6-foot-2 guard is an outside shooter playing in Connecticut.
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