Pre-Season Year One

Will Fullerton is an Indiana sports legend. The former Mr. Basketball led his Delta High School Eagles to back to back class 4A state championships. He played at Indiana University, a part of two Big Ten Champion Hoosier squads. The Indiana Pacers gave him an invite to camp after his senior year and even though he didn’t make the team, they still called him up from the G-League team in Fort Wayne after he made a splash there. Yes, things were looking to be coming up roses… until the injury. A freak knee injury 3 games into his NBA career abruptly ended that dream. While he was able to still play the game, the NBA never came calling again, and success he found in the G-League was never replicated. He played overseas in China and Turkey, until his final stop in Lithuania. It was there, at the age of 33, Fullerton decided the dream was done. He lamented on the phone with his wife, Kate, back in Indiana raising their children, about how he would miss the game and how he never knew what else he wanted to do with his life. And then she said it: “I heard Ball State just fired Gunderson.”

Fullerton’s life has come full circle it would seem. Growing up in Muncie, he’d go to Worthen Arena and watch the Cardinals with his grandfather. Now he was walking into Worthen again, this time as their head coach. His introductory press conference was full of fanfare, he was the local hero, returning to bring Ball State back to basketball relevancy. At the press conference, he was asked about how he felt about the team he was inheriting.

“I’m excited about coaching guys like Dontay Murphy, Adam Tillman, Josh Ash. Local guys from small high schools, like me. I see their fire, and their passion for the game. That excites me. We will have our work cut out for us for sure, but I think there’s a good class of four freshman coming in that we can work with and develop. I want to start a winning culture here.”

Fullerton also brings with him a new staff member:
Aki Thomas is a big get for Fullerton. The former UMBC head coach is a defensive wizard, something Fullerton wants to be become the Cardinals calling card. Thomas will help lead practices and develop strategies for opponents.

Glendon Peterson and Jamaal Braswell are retained from the old guard in Muncie. Braswell is a well know figure in the community and former high school rival of Coach Fullerton. It will be exciting for the local fans to see them working on the same side this time.

Before the season begins, Fullerton sits down to review his recruitment strategy. He wants to make sure to do right by the Hoosier state, but also believes his international playing experience gives him a leg up recruiting around the globe. For his first offseason, he’ll have three scholarships and a fairly limited budget, so keeping it local will have to do. Starting PG Josh Ash is a senior, so PG will be a major focus, as will C, with two seniors at that position as well. The harsh realities of recruitment hit Fullerton hard. Most of the budget went to attending camps, and scouting reports, leaving little to use for actual in-person recruitment. The preseason recruitment period ends, disappointingly with coach Fullerton and his staff, with no commitments for the Cardinals.

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but I wanted to try to get back into these reports. They might get more detailed as I get to know the characters and get a few seasons in, so bear with me on the first year or two at least. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

I like the start. Getting commitments at a school with a small budget is tough. The dynamic between Fullerton and his old rival could be an intriguing twist as Fullerton tries to develop the Cardinals. Also, will Thomas' defensive genius translate high defensive pressure and make the Cardinals defense the focus of their future success? Time will tell.

Note: We're going to fly through the first year, sorry, but I wanted to get to the good stuff later on... I promise it gets more in depth after this year.

The schedule for the Cardinals in Fullerton’s opening season is not a tough one, with only one power conference opponent (Utah) on the board, and no team ranked higher than 140 in RPI, meaning Ball State will play on of the easiest non-conference schedules in the NCAA. Perfect for a first time coach, well, hopefully.

Despite the easy schedule, times are predictably tough for the first year coach. Despite a promising 2-0 start with wins over Texas Rio-Grande and in-state rival Valparaiso, the Cards suffer three straight road losses to Bucknell, Loyola Marymount and Utah, before betting a home win against LIU Brooklyn to start 3-3 and on the season. The BSU faithful are happy with this start, but Fullerton is not and he begins tinkering with the lineups. The constant changes take a toll on the Cards and the next six games result in losses, varying from blowouts (Alabama State, NC A&T, Southeastern Louisana), to nail-biting OT thrillers (Air Force and Tulane). The Cards limp into MAC play not really knowing what kind of team they are.

After a not-so-bad 2-3 MAC start, the Cards conference play takes a dark turn, very dark. 10 straight losses dark. Despite some close loses, Ball State can’t seem to muster up any success in Mid-American play. The players seem exhausted by the constant lineup changes. Fullerton gives in and sets a consistent lineup for the remaining 5 games, which see the Cradinals finally get together on the last game of conference play, wrapping up the season with a win over Northern Illinois, the only MAC team with a worse record than Ball State.

The Ball State Cardinals have an uphill battle ahead of them come conference tournament time, beginning with a matchup with the Buffalo Bulls. The Cards fell behind early and despite a valiant effort, were never able to make up the difference. Depite big games from Zamiro Christian and Brett Barnes, the Cardinals season has unceremoniously come to an end, much to Coach Fullerton’s disappointment.

After a disappointing first season, the athletic department let’s Coach Fullerton know that even though he is safe, they need to see a definite improvement next season in order to keep his job. They inform him that he needs a clearer vision next year, and that any red flags may lead to his seat getting a bit warm. They also tell Coach Fullerton he needs to hire a couple new assistant coaches. Jamaal Braswell is asked to stay on staff due to his local ties, but the athletic department insists on bringing in John Kelly, a former USC assistant more focused on offense than defense, as well as Joey Jensen, a Purdue assistant known for his abilities to develop lower level recruits into solid rotation players.

The Cardinals also managed to sign a Letter of Intent with Jerome Jones, a 6-8 Center from nearby Anderson, IN. Jones is a gifted inside scorer, and is skilled at drawing fouls down low. With some improvement in his free throw shooting, Jones could be a good building block for the future of the Ball State program.

The Cardinals do lose promising forward Reggie Sawyer to transfer (he ends up at Tennessee Tech). In the transfer sessions, the Cards add Josh James, former Wofford forward from South Carolina and Andy Cox, former Tulane center from Louisana. Both player will have to sit out for upcoming year. While Coach Fullerton doesn't want to make it a habit of bringing in a lot of out of state guys, James and Cox fill positional needs and showed early interest in transferring to BSU.