Assistant job suits former Jayhawk walk-on
 
 

By Frank Tankard University Daily Kansan

Lawrence, KS (U-WIRE) -- Brett Ballard still talks about the time his father took him to see Kansas play Kentucky 15 years ago. Some memories don't fade.

He recalls looking up at his dad and not being able to speak over the screaming fans and the band seated just below. He remembers gazing across the cavernous stadium; staring slack-jawed at Terry Brown drilling seven three point shots while leading the Jayhawks to a record 150 points as brown-haired, second-year coach Roy Williams stalked the sideline. To a nine-year-old kid from Hutchinson, it seemed unreal.

Years later, Ballard would play on that court as a walk-on guard. When people ask him to name the loudest game he's been to, he tells them it was Dec. 9, 1989.

On that night, the Brett Ballard that Kansas coach Bill Self knows was born. He became the pesky little guy who refused to give up and the guy who showed up to the office before the coaches and who left after most of them. This was the guy who walked into Self's office in 2003 as a former walk-on - days after Self was hired - and asked for a job as an assistant.
 

Ballard may be one of the most loyal, bull-headed, dedicated men in Kansas basketball.

Brett Ballard unlocked the door to the Kansas basketball office. It was 8:30 a.m., the morning after a long Senior Night, and he was the first one there, as usual. This is a busy time of year for Ballard. It is filled with editing hours of tape on possible NCAA Tournament opponents.

Ballard, a little groggy, grabbed a drink from the fridge and sat down on the big, black leather couch in a posh room of the office. He rubbed his eyes and remembered the community college coach who helped him get his chance at Kansas.

Eric Duft coached Ballard at Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, and then at Hutchinson Community College. He knew Ballard was dedicated and a good point guard - he played more than 35 minutes a game at Hutchinson.

He also knew Ballard was a Kansas basketball dreamer and always had been. So when Kansas assistant coach Joe Holladay came to games to scout Hutchinson standout Chris Zerbe, Duft told him to keep an eye on Ballard. It didn't help much though - Ballard had two of his worst games of the season.

Holladay didn't see much in Ballard, but Duft told him to give Ballard an opportunity for a walk-on spot. He figured that was all Ballard would need.

"I told him he was a great-conditioned kid, that he's more athletic than he looks, and that he really works," Duft said. "From there, it was all Brett."

Not too tall, not too strong, not well-known by Kansas coaches, Ballard had to impress Williams with his work ethic when he transferred in the fall of 2000.

In preseason workouts, he ran the hardest, arrived the earliest and stayed the latest. Basically, he practiced the same way he always had.

But he wasn't sure Williams took notice. Then, a few days before Late Night, Williams told him he'd made the team.

"He took a chance on a skinny white kid from Kansas," Ballard said. "I guess I had a big heart."

But after three weeks of practicing for his debut against the California All-Stars, Ballard received a blow: he was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

He didn't know how long the virus would last. Mono can ruin an entire season. He was scared.

"It was honestly one of the lowest times for me," he said. "It was really a bummer."

After four agonizing games dressed in street clothes, straddling the sideline within inches of his dream, he decided to play.

He suited up for the first time against North Dakota at home. He didn't do much except turn the ball over in the 1 minute he played. Two games later against Washburn, he took his first two shots - both three point shots, both nothing but net.

As the weeks of practice wore on, Ballard showed the coaches that he could keep up. He could run the point, shoot from outside and play defense.

He averaged 6.4 minutes and 1.5 points per game that first season, more than even Duft had expected.

"I didn't have any doubts that he could contribute in practice," Duft said. "But I didn't know he'd be as productive in games as he was."

The next season Ballard played a little less, averaging 4.2 minutes and 0.8 points per game, but he stepped up in the team's five conference and NCAA Tournament games, averaging 12.4 minutes and 3.4 points.

He also met his fiancee, Kelly Temple, that season on the team's trip to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational. Temple lived in Lawrence and was on vacation with her sister.

Forward Wayne Simien, Ballard's roommate on the trip, still claims that he had a role in the match.

"Wayne gives me a hard time," Ballard said. "He says I owe him for that."

After his last year of eligibility in 2002, Ballard kept busy while he figured out what to do next. He finished up his secondary education degree and got a radio gig at KLWN 1320 AM, where he did some broadcasting and co-hosted "Rock Chalk Sports Talk."

Eventually, Ballard decided to pursue the path he wanted to take all along: coaching college basketball. But just as he was about to try to get a position at Kansas, Roy Williams left for North Carolina and took his staff with him, and left Ballard stranded without any connections.

When he walked into Bill Self's office, just days after the new coach was hired, he noticed dark circles under Self's eyes as he asked him if there were any positions open on his staff.

"I kind of bugged him a little bit," Ballard said. "He had a million things going on."

Ballard pestered him a couple more times and Self told him he could be a student assistant on his staff. In that role, Ballard helped out however he could. He edited tape and helped plan the Bill Self Basketball Camp.

Self said he was happy with the effort Ballard put in.

"Because of the way he went about his business, he was one of the best hires I made," Self said. "He works his butt off."

Just as Roy Williams rewarded Ballard for his hard work with playing time, Self rewarded him and promoted him to administrative assistant when the position opened up after the season.

* * *

After telling his story for about an hour on the big black couch, it was time for Ballard to get to work in the video room next door.

Assistant coach Tim Jankovich, like Self, is impressed by Ballard's long hours.

"I see him every day from sunup to well past sundown," he said. "Film work may be as critical as anything we do. It's a very difficult job."

But it's not all work all the time. Every now and then, Ballard scrimmages with the team or plays in a pick-up game with Simien, senior guard Aaron Miles and the rest of the guys he used to play with.

"It's getting tougher to hang with those guys," he said, laughing.

And, of course, he gets a prime seat on the end of the bench at each game. All in all, he's lived the Kansas fan's dream.

"It's a pretty good job," he said.