Newsletter 17 Redbird Ball MAY 2015 Pg. 1 Assistant Coach Jeremy Ballard Pt. I I would like to begin by saying how ecstatic I feel to be a part of the Illinois State basketball family. In my 11 years of coaching Division I basketball I have, albeit from a !distance, become familiar with the history and tradition of Redbird basketball. From Coach Will Robinson and Doug Collins to Coach Kevin Stallings and the current Coach Dan Muller tenure, I have come to both admire and respect what Illinois State basketball stands for and is all about. To now be an active participant in continuing the TABLE OF CONTENTS Red Bird tradition is truly thrilling. My basketball journey to Normal, Illinois has been full of both good fortune and 1. Coach Ballard Intro Pt. I even better people. After graduating from North Atlanta High School and playing with one of the best coaches I have ever seen in terms of the psychological aspect of the 2. Coach Ballard Intro Pt. II game as well as man-to-man defensive principles, in Herman Harris, I was able to embark on my college basketball career at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. 3. YouTube Page There I played for Emmett Davis who had just finished a 12-year stint at the United State Naval Academy, where he coached multiple NCAA Tournament teams, including 4. 2015 Recruits coaching Hall of Famer David Robinson. Coach Davis was an excellent tactician, who related extremely well with the players and was able to get the utmost out of every 5. 2016 Academic player and team that he coached. I was fortunate enough to be named Co-Captain during my senior year, which helped me forge a powerful bond and relationship with Requirements Coach Davis that stands to this day. 6. Coach Winter After having already taken a huge chance on me as a player, Coach Davis took an even bigger gamble by offering me an assistant coaching position on his staff just 7. 2015-2016 one year removed from college. Not only was I a 22-year-old Division I assistant coach Non-Conference Schedule with no experience, but also I was now coaching two classes of players who happened to be my teammates while playing at Colgate. This took great trust on Coach Davis’s part and it was the first huge break of many that have marked my coaching career. I spent 3 years with Coach Davis that really laid the foundation for my experience as an assistant coach. Not only did Coach Davis afford me all of the normal responsibilities of a full time assistant coach, but due to the fact that our program had neither a Director of Operations nor a Film Coordinator, I also performed those duties as well. Those 3 years helped give me a working knowledge of the responsibilities that an entire staff my have while more importantly helping me carry a great appreciation for all of the hard work that the administrative positions on a staff put in on a daily basis. I was fortunate to spend 3 years coaching at my Alma Mater before briefly accepting a position at Mercer University. While in transition from Colgate to Mercer I was offered an assistant coaching position at The University of Tulsa, with Head Coach Doug Wojcik. Coach Wojcik was entering his third season as the Head Coach of Tulsa after an illustrious career as an assistant coach at Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and the United State Naval Academy respectively. My connection to Coach Wojcik was through Coach Emmett Davis and the Naval Academy. As a high school player, I was recruited heavily by Navy and was very close to attending the Academy, where both Coach Davis and Coach Wojcik served as assistant coaches at the time. The University of Tulsa served as a great opportunity for me to make a major jump in terms of the level of basketball, from the Patriot League with Colgate to Conference USA. I was on staff there for 5 years which included the only back to back 25 win seasons in school history, a CBI Championship and 2 NIT appearances, while also coaching 3 future NBA players in Jerome Jordan, Ben Uzoh, and Jordan Clarkson. Illinois State Men’s Basketball - 202 Redbird Arena - Normal, IL - 61790 - 309-438-8681 Newsletter 17 Redbird Ball MAY 2015 Pg. 2 -The Illinois State men's Assistant Coach basketball team will take an international trip to Spain in late summer August 7th – Jeremy Ballard Pt. II August 16th I learned a tremendous amount during my stint at Tulsa and was able to work under Coach Wojcik who was a brilliant defensive coach whose game-to-game - ISU plans to play four games preparation and attention to detail was undoubtedly second to none. While at Tulsa, during the 10-day trip. Coach Wojcik also became the winningest coach in school history. Specific opponents and dates Another very interesting aside to my time at Tulsa was that I worked with and became have yet to be determined. best of friends with former Red Bird Most Valuable Player, David Cason, who was also Coach Stallings’ very first recruit as Head Coach at Illinois State. Illinois State is scheduled to arrive in Madrid, Spain, From Tulsa I was given another huge opportunity by being offered a position on Friday, Aug. 7, and depart Shaka Smart’s coaching staff at VCU. Here I was able to join a program only one year from Barcelona, Spain, removed from a Final Four run and while also coming off back-to-back NCAA Sunday, Aug. 16. Tournaments. While at VCU our teams were ranked as high as #10 in the country and were constant fixtures in the National Polls. During my time with the Rams, we - Along with their games and reached 3 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and I was fortunate to coach future NBA extra practice time, the player Troy Daniels. VCU afforded me the awesome opportunity to coach in a system Redbirds will enjoy an unpar- that was truly unique and was branded as “Havoc”. Havoc was an up-tempo system alleled multicultural experi- that relied on full court defensive pressure for the entire game while also relentlessly attacking and forcing the tempo on the offensive end. While at VCU we also played ence more than 4,000 miles Illinois State the last two seasons, the last of which proved to be a true a thriller in Red away from Normal, Illinois. Bird Arena where VCU was very fortunate to come out victorious. - ISU will be allowed 10 After 3 wonderful years at VCU, I was finally offered the opportunity to join practices before leaving for Illinois State University, the program that I have steadily learned more and more about Spain. Each NCAA Division I during my 11-year coaching career. I was fortunate to have known Coach Muller since men's basketball program is my coaching days at Tulsa and always knew without the shadow of a doubt that he permitted to take an interna- would be an extremely successful head coach. Although I have only been in Normal for tional trip every four years. a matter of weeks I already feel accepted into the community and university while ISU last traveled to Canada having witnessed first hand the family atmosphere that Coach Muller has created within the basketball program. I look forward to offering up some of the various prior to the 2011-12 cam- perspectives and ideas that I have developed during my coaching career and meshing paign. them with Coach Muller’s already innovative and successful philosophies. - Illinois State aims to build off As is painstakingly obvious, I have lived a charmed coaching career that has of last season's 22-13 record been marked by good fortune. To have the opportunity to join a program with the proud and postseason appearance tradition of Illinois State while it is experiencing an exciting upswing under the in the National Invitation leadership of Coach Muller is truly incredible. I cannot wait to be a part of the exciting Tournament (NIT), after things that are happening here at Illinois State and look forward to meeting more of falling just short in the Red Bird Nation! championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Redbirds ! upset No. 8 Wichita State !! during their MVC Tourna- ment run, and ISU has beaten a Top-25 team in each of its last four seasons. Illinois State Men’s Basketball - 202 Redbird Arena - Normal, IL - 61790 - 309-438-8681 Newsletter 17 Redbird Ball MAY 2015 Pg. 3 Redbird Basketball Page Illinois State Men’s Basketball - 202 Redbird Arena - Normal, IL - 61790 - 309-438-8681 Newsletter 17 Redbird Ball MAY 2015 Pg. 4 - Illinois State fans hoping to 2015 Recruiting Class enjoy the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Keyshawn Evans | 6-0 | Guard | Plantation, Florida | The Sagemont School Mexico, with the Redbird - During his senior season at The Sagemont School, Keyshawn Evans helped lead the Lyons to the men's basketball team, can Florida Class 3A state championship game, scoring a team-best 17 points in the title game. As a register for an all-inclusive junior Evns helped guide American Heritage-Plantation High School to its first-ever Florida Class 5A package through Suzi Davis state title, with a 28-7 overall record. Evans was named MVP of the championship game, scoring Travel, as the Redbirds take 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Evans was also a member of the E1T1 part in the 2015 Cancun Elite AAU team.