Ball State Big Men Show Flashes of Dominance
By Greg Huss
Ball State’s front court showed signs of dominance against Indiana State Sycamores Tuesday night.
The big men came up… *clears throat* …BIG against in-state rival Indiana State on Tuesday night. The Ball State front line carried the Cardinals in all aspects of the game in an impressive 86-69 victory in their primer before a big Saturday night battle with yet another in-state rival, Purdue.
Tahjai Teague led the way all night in one of the best games of his career, stacking up 21 points on 10-14 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds. He dominated on offense, driving at will and finishing in his trademarked off balance ways that remind one of Dirk Nowitzki. But it was his defense that actually impressed coach James Whitford the most, according to his post-game press conference:
"“As good as he was on offense, it was one of the most dominant defensive performances that we’ve had here in a long time.”"
Teague has shown the ability – and freak athleticism – over his first two seasons on the court to be a true star. It has just come down to a matter of consistency for the 6’8” big man. If he can turn into a true 16 points and 7 rebounds type of player game-in and game-out, Tayler Persons won’t be the only star on this Ball State team.
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Transfers make up such an important part of this team, and Brachen Hazen is already showing how he plans to make difference on the court. His stat line read 15 points and 9 boards, but his impact was much greater. Hazen is the player that everyone hates to play against on the blacktop because he never stops hustling. While his 4 offensive rebounds are indicative of his gritty performance, his talent doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet.
That will be the role of Hazen moving forward this season. His hustle after loose balls, diving on the floor, and tipping missed shots back out to shooters will be enough to keep him in the rotation. But don’t expect that to be all he provides. He also was a perfect 6-6 from the field and drilled his only three pointer on the night in his first significant “real” game action since he was a senior at Columbia City High School three years ago.
If Tayler Persons is the star of this team, then big man Trey Moses might be the most important player to the team’s success. The 6’9” center is still making his way back from pre-season knee surgery and was limited to just 11 minutes Tuesday night. But the fact that he was able to shake some rust off at all was a win in and of itself, as reports were that he was hoping to be back by the Charleston Classic late next week.
In his short amount of time in the game, Moses proved just how valuable he will be this season. He tallied 4 blocks, 3 rebounds, and a steal in those quick 11 minutes, showing why he was named First Team All-Defense in the MAC just a season ago. As soon as he is fully healthy he will be posted in the middle of the paint for the majority of every game.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention Kyle Mallers in this discussion of Ball State big men. Last year playing the stretch-4 position, he could have gotten word for word the same description that I gave Brachen Hazen just a few seconds ago. But this year, Mallers lines up at the small forward position which is much more natural for him. Still standing 6’7”, he completes one of the tallest front courts in the MAC.
While he struggled in the points department on Tuesday night (4 points on 0-4 shooting), he still made his presence felt with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. That is the calling card for Mallers, who finds a way to contribute even on nights where shots aren’t falling or are getting distributed to other players. On the other hand, he can still be a driving force for this offense if he can shoot the way he did in the team’s exhibition game against University of Indianapolis where he put up 25 points on 8-10 shooting.
Next. Indiana Freshman Romeo Langford Impresses in Debut. dark
It might be too early to tell, but it looks as if the front court is going to play a major role for the success of the Cardinals in 2018-2019. They will need to come up even bigger in just a few short nights as they take on the nationally ranked Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette on Saturday night.