As Chris Bond slid his feet to defend Wofford point guard Indiana Faithfull, Ball State’s junior forward was slowly shading his man toward the sideline where it intersects midcourt.
Bond’s eyes grew wider as he sank lower in his stance, seemingly waiting in recognition for what was about to happen.
Just before Faithfull could change direction, Bond slid his right arm across his man’s body for a steal that resembled a cornerback jumping a premeditated out-route.
“The first half I was just reading him to see how he would react when I stunt at him and everything,” Bond said. “In the second half, I just got up, and I don’t know. [It was] instinct — I just went for it, and I got it.”
Bond’s instincts led to one of his five steals in Friday’s 66-61 win over Wofford.
Through two games, the Cardinals’ defensive stopper is averaging 4.5 steals per game, tied for fifth-best in the nation.
After primarily guarding the opposition’s best wing player in recent seasons, coach Billy Taylor said he moved Bond onto the ball this season, because his defensive pressure set the tone during practices and scrimmages.
“He’s just done a fantastic job for us in practice, and it’s something I can say we almost stumbled upon,” Taylor said. “Whether it was against some of our guards in practice or going through match-ups — [we noticed] his pressure and ability to get deflections and kind of create havoc.”
While his second-hand steal against Faithfull didn’t amount to points for himself, Ball State scored six of its 14 points off turnovers because of Bond’s steals.
Outside just the tangible effect of points off turnovers, Bond’s defensive intensity makes a noticeable difference on the attitude of his teammates.
Every time Bond forced Wofford’s offense to start way beyond the 3-point line in Friday’s game, Ball State’s defense picked up its pressure behind him.
“Jesse [Berry] and Jauwan [Scaife] do a terrific job chasing those shooters,” Taylor said. “I thought they did a great job of that [Friday] with guys like [Karl] Cochran and [Spencer] Collins.
“They’re dynamic scorers, and you have to be there step for step. If you make a mistake you’ll give up a three. With Chris’ pressure, it allowed us, sometimes even if we were a step late — it kind of disrupted the flow of their offense.”
