Twelve years ago, 6-year-old Jauwan Scaife would watch his older cousin and then Ball State University men's basketball player, Bonzi Wells, who was picked 11th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft play at Worthen Arena.
Now 18-years-old, Scaife trains and works out with Wells everyday at the downtown Muncie YMCA to prepare for his freshman season with the Cardinals, just like his older cousin.
"When I was younger, I always wanted to be around him and liked being able to say he was my cousin," Scaife said. "I still look up to him today and even workout with him."
Scaife, who has lived in Muncie his entire life and played on the Muncie Central High School basketball team, signed a National Letter of Intent in May to play for Ball State. After signing to play for the Cardinals, news came out that he signed at Ball State because of where his cousin played.
"Bonzi never really influenced me to play at Ball State," Scaife said. "Me choosing Ball State was really coincidental."
Scaife said he chose Ball State because it was the only university he was able to visit, the school offered the major he was looking to study in and he fit in with the style of basketball that coach Billy Taylor uses. He also said playing in his hometown was not a factor.
Another coincidental similarity between Scaife and Wells is their jersey numbers. Scaife wore number 42 while at Muncie Central, as did Wells. Wells continued to wear the number at Ball State and it was retired in 2004. Scaife said his father started wearing the number when he was in high school and he and Wells continued the family tradition. Scaife said he will not ask him for permission to wear the number 42 at Ball State and has asked to wear the number 4 instead.
"He had his number retired, he deserves it to be up in the banners," Scaife said. "I am going to make my own number and go from there."
The difference of numbers during college will be one difference Scaife wants to set between he and Wells, Scaife said. Though he does not feel the pressure of being Wells' cousin, he said the pressure of playing in his hometown is greater. Scaife has been in the community for 18 years and is expected to do well at Ball State. He said having playing time and contributing to the team early will help get the pressure off his shoulders.
Along with being from Muncie and playing for Ball State, Scaife has gained some attention during the summer. He is already posted on two billboards, one in Muncie and one in Indianapolis. He said he has had numerous people come up to him on the streets wishing him luck for the season and some people even honk their horns at him while he walks down the streets.
"Most people here in Muncie already know me because I grew up here," Scaife said. "But I liked the billboards, even though I really couldn't tell it was me on them."
With the departures of Laron Frazier and Anthony Newell, Scaife said his shooting guard position this year is open, but knows it will be tough for him to earn the starting spot. He said Taylor wants him to come in with the mentality to work hard because the spot is open but there are two returning players who saw playing time last season who will be vying for the position as well.
Taylor also gave Scaife a list of areas he needed to work on in preparation for the coming season. Taylor wants Scaife to be more aggressive on offense, to shoot the ball more, to improve his ball handling and to work on getting a quicker shot, Scaife said.
Scaife said he has also been told by Taylor to maintain his weight this summer and eat a healthy diet.
Taylor was not the only person to give Scaife advice about college. His cousin had a few pointers to give him too, Scaife said.
Wells told him that he will have to adjust to all the freedom that college offers, he needs to make sure he manages his time wisely by getting his homework done early so he has time to play ball, Scaife said.
Scaife said he has given himself a "to-do list" of things he wants to achieve while at Ball State. He wants to maintain a winning record all four years and set a personal goal of winning the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year Award. Scaife also wants to win a MAC championship and reach the NCAA tournament before he graduates. Scaife also hopes at some point in his Ball State career to be in the starting line-up.
He knows that he will not enter the season as the "go-to-guy" for his team like he was in high school, but has no problem with it.
"I'm just a freshman, so if I have to sit the bench and come in later, I'm fine with that. I just want to get in the game," Scaife said. "I've got a lot of time, so I'm not rushing anything."
He said he feels his abilities and talent will give the Cardinals more depth and could help the team advance past last season's MAC Tournament semifinals loss.
Scaife has yet to play his first minutes of college basketball, but he already knows the game will be much different from high school. The game will be quicker and more physical, Scaife said. The more physical game is what he has been training for, so he can keep up with the experienced players on the floor, Scaife said.
He said at Ball State's home opener, he will feel the pressure with all his friends and family watching him play in his first college basketball game.
"It will be crazy, but I just have to go out and play ball and ignore the crowd," Scaife said. "The rims are still 10 feet high."
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