12.19.01
Brett Ballard is living a dream — a dream that was cultivated at a young age when he watched the likes of Kevin Pritchard, Rex Walters and Jacque Vaughn play for the storied Kansas basketball program.
“I remember my dad bringing me up here when we played Kentucky and it was something like 155-90,” said Ballard, now a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior on the current Jayhawk basketball team. “(Kentucky) Coach (Rick) Pitino was so upset.”
Actually, the final score of that memorable game on Dec. 9, 1989, was 150-95, but, hey, details, details ... who’s counting? After all, this is Ballard's dream and he’s loving every minute of it.
After entering the KU program last year as a walk-on and expecting to play only in lopsided games, Ballard became an important player for the Jayhawks after freshman guard Mario Kinsey decided to leave the program. Instead of mop-up duty, Ballard played in crucial situations for the Jayhawks, who advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Illinois.
“I never expected to play,” Ballard said. “Coming here, I just wanted to be part of (the program) and figured to play in blowouts and maybe a couple minutes at the end of the game.”
After averaging just three and a half minutes of playing time during the first 21 games of the 2000-01 season — and not even playing in nine of them — Ballard averaged nearly 10 minutes a game in the final 12. He played 40 minutes in three NCAA Tournament games against Cal-State Northridge, Syracuse and Illinois.
“It was a great experience for me,” Ballard said. “One thing it did was give me a lot of confidence for this year. I really worked hard this summer and know that if I get called on, I can go in and play.”
The Jayhawks are deeper than a year ago, so Ballard’s playing time isn’t as extensive as a year ago. But, he did play eight minutes against Arizona earlier this month in a nationally-televised game and banked in a crucial 3-pointer in the final minutes.
Ballard, who played at Hutchinson High School and junior college ball for Cowley County and Hutchinson, was one of four walk-ons on the KU roster last year. Those four — Chris Zerbe, Todd Kappelmann and Lewis Harrison the others — are seniors on the KU squad this season. Each is receiving some scholarship money this season, but none is on a full-ride scholarship.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said it doesn’t matter whether one of his players is on scholarship or not. They are all treated equally.
“It’s all the same, except they don’t get as many minutes in the game,” Williams said. “If I eat steak, Brett Ballard eats steak. If I have a milk shake, that’s what he has, too. It’s the same with all the players.”
Ballard is grateful for the opportunity.
“That’s one thing about KU, we got respect from the first minute we started playing,” Ballard said. “Obviously, as walk-ons, you’re a little nervous, especially your first couple weeks, even your first semester.
But, the guys always have been great and now we’re to the point where they have complete respect for us. They see how hard we work every day in practice and they realize we don’t get to play in the games that much.”
Ballard’s family also understands. Brett had two brothers and sisters attend KU and an aunt played for the Jayhawk women’s team. Everyone in the Ballard clan is a Jayhawk fan whether Brett gets in the game
or not.
“I don’t know if there are words to express what this means,” said Larry Ballard, Brett’s father. “I’m so proud of him and he’s worked so hard, and the thrill of seeing him run out of the tunnel with a Kansas jersey on his back is unbelievable. Last year was an absolute dream come true and it is this year, too. It’s been quite an experience.”
Larry Ballard said his son’s playing time on the court has been “beyond our expectations and his expectations.”
“He is truly one of those young people that, if he doesn’t get to play, he knows the experience is worth much more,” Larry Ballard said. “It’s hard to explain to people. If you took the Dayton experience (2001 NCAA Tournament), the Arizona experience ... but there’s been a hundred experiences like that.”
Brett Ballard is hoping to parlay his experience at KU into a coaching career. He met with Williams at the beginning of the year to discuss his future. He’s said he’s been keeping all the practice plans and jots down notes a couple times a week.
“I just try to soak up everything from these coaches,” Ballard said. “I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great coaches throughout my career and I’m definitely learning something from coach Williams every day.”
But, the coaching career can wait. There are still plenty of games remaining in Ballard’s career, and that could mean some crucial playing time.
“He’s a young man that’s going to be in there sometimes at crunch time,” Williams said. “I think he understands that and, for the most part, he comes through. After Mario (Kinsey) was not on the team anymore (last year), we needed another guard and I was hoping somebody would step up. (Ballard) stepped up and did some nice things for us and gave me a lot of confidence in him, too.”
Ballard said getting on the floor more this season is a goal, but he isn’t about to complain if it doesn’t work out.
“I knew coming here it would be a risk, but at the same time, I wanted to coach in the future and I knew I could learn a great deal from coach Williams and be part of something special, something I wouldn’t get at a smaller school,” Ballard said. “I knew it would be tough not playing, but it’s definitely been worth it with everything I’ve learned, plus all the experience I’ve had being a member of this team. It’s been great.”