Zach Carter is the Sports Editor of the Ball State Daily News. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper.
Before every home game this season, a hype video for Ball State men’s basketball was played on the jumbotron in Worthen Arena. Being the only Mid-American Conference (MAC) program in Indiana, they use a clever phrase to set the stage.
At the conclusion of the video, it read: “Indiana’s Game. Muncie’s Team.”
But for the second-straight season, ‘Muncie’s Team’ who plays ‘Indiana’s Game’ didn’t go to their conference tournament.
Last month, I said Ball State would make the MAC Tournament. So, yeah. I was wrong.
Way wrong.
I guess this shows that beat reporters are not fortune tellers or can see the future. I didn’t expect Ball State to fall to Bowling Green, lose a 21-point lead to Central Michigan or get run out of the gym against Miami.
But these results have my brain running like a hamster in a hamster wheel. So, what the hell happened to the 2024-25 Cardinals? Was this season a failure? In my eyes, yes.
Here are my end-of-the-year thoughts.
Having upperclassmen doesn’t equate to leadership
When Ball State head coach Michael Lewis put this roster together, one of the things he wanted was veteran players. With the state of the NCAA’s transfer portal, you have to take advantage of experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never coached on any level, so I’m not going to say I understand every facet of college basketball.
But for everyone that plays NCAA 25 — the college football video game — you have to use the portal to get somewhere close to success.
After the 2023-24 season that saw seven freshmen — two redshirt — suit up for the Cardinals, Lewis brought experience to the squad. First, former Ball State center, senior Payton Sparks, returned after spending a season at Indiana University. The next three were all brand-new players to the program. Junior guards Jermahri Hill and Juanse Gorosito and graduate student forward Jeremiah Hernandez.
Arguably, Hill turned out to be the biggest pickup. The guy made SportsCenter’s Top 10 moments with some disgusting dunks. One of them was a game-winning slam against Eastern Michigan that brought the entire Worthen Arena crowd to its feet. He also led the Cardinals, averaging 15.8 points per game.
Sparks also found his old ways of playing MAC basketball and being a force in the paint while Gorosito found some success from beyond the 3-point line.
But with these older players came leadership, right?
According to Lewis, nope. Notta. Zero. Zilch.
Early in the season, sure. A new team needs time to gel or grow together. However, the Cardinals’ third-year head coach said this was an issue with only a handful of games left in the season.
What is that about? No clue. But to me, there are two things to blame it on. Players that might be selfish and have poor coaching. Again, not a coach of any type. But if Lewis and his staff couldn’t get these guys together by the end of the MAC regular season, I don’t know what to tell you.
There has to be a reason for it, but you wouldn’t know unless you were in practice or with the team 24/7.
They couldn’t play a full 40 minutes
A run here, a solid few minutes there and then a collapse.
That was most of Ball State’s games summed up in 12 words. The Cardinals could not complete a game of basketball. I think Lewis said it best after their loss March 4 against the Chippewas.
“There are too many other things that are important [to this team] other than winning,” Lewis said. “... I’ve been with these guys and the mentality to chip away and do the little things and not get caught up in the emotion of everything … we haven't shown the ability to tackle that.”
You can’t wish for a result to happen. You have to make it happen.
That’s not just for sports but for life in general. There were plenty of games where Ball State struggled down the stretch to close games. The Central Michigan loss is a great example. Ball State led by 21 points. In football, that’s three touchdowns and three extra points. That should be a ball game.
But it wasn’t.
The Chippewas stormed back to control the final minutes and take a lead with eight seconds remaining. After Ball State failed to convert, they surrendered the game and their chances of making the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
But why? Why couldn’t a Division 1 college basketball team play a full game? Again, I’m not there in practice, but Lewis said that this team would ‘wander’ during both those sessions and games. He’s not wrong.
Too many times this season did Lewis have to yell at guys for not being in the right position. They stood around on defense and on offense, well, they either relied on someone too much or took some questionable shots.
Neither of those is going to win you college basketball games.
Was this season a failure?
In my humble opinion, this season was a huge misstep for the program. I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste, but with what Lewis wanted this team to be, it definitely went south quickly.
Lewis called the season a ‘disappointment’ about the season following the Cardinals’ final game of the year March 7.
I’m going to be real, I don’t have all the answers but going forward, I’m not sure what this coaching staff can do. They went the freshman route last year — the 2023-24 season saw multiple injuries for Ball State — and now they’ve gone the route of bringing in veteran players. However, neither saw a MAC Tournament berth, meaning Lewis’ first team was the only ‘successful’ roster.
Ball State is one of only three MAC teams, alongside Buffalo and Northern Illinois, who have not made the conference tournament the last two seasons. As the only MAC team repping the Hoosier State, I’m not sure how there’s no success.
Sure, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and having other state teams like Indiana, Purdue and Butler don’t help, especially since Ball State’s a mid-major program. Still, it’s weird seeing the lack of production the last two years from the Cardinals.
Maybe it’s recruiting, coaching or what Lewis said. It’s the ‘me, me, me attitude’ that’s ruining college basketball and the attitudes of players.
Whatever it is, Ball State fans have shared their thoughts on social media and a good majority of them want better from the program. After the Cardinals’ final game of the year, Lewis brought up funding. He said that the men’s team is bottom of the MAC while the women’s program is at the top of the conference.
I don’t think you can compare those two.I also think when it comes to the women’s success, it comes down to head coach Brady Sallee and the way he’s been able to keep talent in the program. Because of that, the Cardinals won the regular season title, the MAC Tournament championship and are playing in March Madness.
For the men’s side, that hasn’t been the case
Though Ball State Athletics announced that assistant coach Benn Botts was dismissed March 13, I think they’re looking in the wrong spot. I don’t think an assistant coach was the reason for a rough season.
But while Lewis wants — and said talks have happened — help from Ball State, only time will tell if the university will answer that request. If the program does get help and there are still poor results, then it’s time to start asking the tough questions.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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