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#89 Ball State Cardinals

Mid-American Conference



2004-05: 15-13, 10-8, 3rd West

2004-05 postseason: none


By Joel Welser

Ball State was a couple last-second losses away from winning the MAC West in 2004-2005. Instead, the Cardinals ended 10-8 in the conference, lost in their first game of the MAC Tournament and failed to make a post season tournament.

Who’s Out: The absence of the number two and three scorers will hurt. Dennis Trammell averaged nearly 16 points and the offensive rebounding machine, Terrance Chapman, averaged 14.1 points per contest and tacked on a team high 9.4 rebounds. The guard trio of Matt McCollom, Michael Bennett and Jesse McClung were solid options off the bench but will not be returning to Muncie.

Who’s In: Coach Tim Buckley’s thin bench contributed to the late season slide last year. A whole slew of newcomers should put an end to that problem. Guards Maurice Acker, Jalon Perryman and Christopher Ames will need to be ready to see a lot of minutes along side of returnees Peyton Stovall and Darren Yates. Acker, a 5-8 point guard, could be starting by the end of the year so Stovall can move over to the two. Perryman averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists last year at Rogers High School in Detroit. Ames could end up making the biggest impact this season. The 6-3, 200 pound bruiser played at Southeastern Illinois last year and his experience, toughness and versatility will earn him some quality minutes. Junior college transfer D’Andre Peyton can run the floor very well and is a solid defender. The 6-7 small forward needs to work on his jumper, but he’ll see some playing time at both forward spots. Pat Nelson, a 6-10 230 pound center, is a hardworking big man who has plenty of potential. Landon Adler and Anthony Newell, who both redshirted a year ago, have some experience with the team and will be looked upon to provide a spark off the bench. It is difficult to call Charles Bass a newcomer since he’s been at Ball State for a year and a half. The 6-9, 215 pound forward sat out for a year after transferring from Ohio State and when he was eligible after the first semester last year, he was sidelined with an injury. Expected to be healthy, Bass will compete for a starting job at the five spot.

Who to Watch: All of Muncie held their breath when Peyton Stovall went down during the opening round MAC Tournament game at Bowling Green. The 6-1 guard could only hobble back to the bench with an injured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Stovall is well on his way to a full recovery and will be ready to once again lead the Cardinals. As a sophomore last year he averaged 16.7 points, ranking fifth overall in the MAC. The Lafayette, Indiana native also added 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. If Stovall struggles, so will Ball State.

Projected Conference Rank: Four players averaged double digits last year and two of them are gone. After that group, nobody averaged more than four points per game. Beyond Peyton Stovall and Skip Mills, the starting jobs are up for grabs. Center Anthony Kent came on strong at the end of the year and Darren Yates has some experience. The Cardinals may start off with Kent and Bass in the starting five, but eventually a three guard lineup is more likely. The only problem is Tim Buckley will have to wait until he has three guards that are ready to start. At least there are options and that will help Ball State finish 4th overall in the MAC and earn a trip to the NIT.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Peyton Stovall, Junior, Guard, 16.7 points per game

Darren Yates, Junior, Guard, 3.9 points per game

Skip Mills, Junior, Forward, 11.9 points per game

Charles Bass, Junior, Forward, DNP last season

Anthony Kent, Senior, Center, 2.7 points per game
I guess that lays to rest the idea Ball State was going to ranked ahead of OU in the poll......

:)
Ball State has too many unknowns to be ranked any higher at this point. Ohio has most of their team returning, while BSU has a lot of promise, with an influx of new big men and some good guard prospects to back up the already good guard tandem, but it's all on paper at this point. Of course, I should mention that there has been a lot of promise for several years now, and injuries and other things have squashed any return to greatness, so I, for one, refuse to get too excited until I see them on the court. Though I think we'll really miss Chapman, it'll sure be nice to have 5 guys at 6'8" or taller instead of having to play 6'5" guards (Bennett) and 6'7" forwards (Echols) in the center slot. Just hope that these guys can stay healthy and produce (between them -- double figure boards, some points, some blocks, some changes, defensive presence), and we may have a reason to celebrate... Boy I miss having guys like Kidd, McCurdy, Payne and Gillis around this campus. H#&&, I'd even take David Broz back at this point...
Ohio should be somewhere in the 40's. That is where they were placed in ESPN's pre-season special (44 to be exact).
I'm thinking 40's as well. We are too small on the frontline crack the top 30, but 40's is strong for a mid-major not named Gonzaga.
Akron will be near Ohio. Zips are under the national radar, but are right with Ohio. Ohio as the defending champ will get the national buzz, but also the pressure to being the hunted. Keeping the egoes of the team in check may be our biggest challange.
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