Brett Ballard to coach against his former team in Thursday’s KU-Washburn exhibition
Former Kansas preferred walk-on guard, video coordinator and director of basketball operations Brett Ballard returns to Allen Fieldhouse in an unfamiliar role — head coach of the opposing team — on Thursday night.
“I have mixed emotions,” said 38-year-old Hutchinson, Kan., native Ballard, whose second Washburn team will tangle with the Jayhawks in a 7 p.m. exhibition game.
“I want our team to play well and compete, but a big part of it is helping KU get ready for the season. If I’m not mistaken, the next game is Michigan State (Tuesday in Indianapolis). We want to try the best we can to help coach (Bill) Self get the guys ready,” Ballard added.
He figures to receive a warm welcome from 16,300 fans who are well aware he not only played on KU’s 2001-02 Final Four team, but was a member of Self’s KU coaching staff during the 2007-08 NCAA championship season.
“I don’t know. They normally don’t cheer too loud for the opposing coach,” Ballard said, laughing. “I’ll have friends and family there, so hopefully a few (will cheer). The fans always appreciate former guys and players who come back.
“It’ll be cool to see Coach Self and his staff. Coach has been so good to me and my family. He’s helped me in so many ways, helped me get jobs, helped in daily life stuff. I’m in debt to him.”
Ballard said he’s also looking forward to visiting with the Jayhawks players. All 15 on the roster served as counselors at his Washburn basketball camps in June at Lee Arena in Topeka.
“For sure, hopefully a little before the game, warmups maybe. I don’t know for how long (they’ll visit). I’m a huge supporter of those guys,” Ballard said.
“I’m a KU guy. I am an alum. I always want to see them do well and I appreciate them taking time in the summer to do my camp.”
Ballard said the Jayhawks are popular with the pupils who attend his camp.
“It’s great for the kids to get to interact with the KU guys, who they see on TV all the time. A lot of our campers can’t go to KU games. The kids eat it up,” Ballard said of Topeka youths learning fundamentals from the Jayhawks.
Asked to rate some of the KU players’ performances as counselors, Ballard said: “Let’s see, best workers this past summer … Silvio (De Sousa) was great. He was terrific with the kids. Dedric (Lawson) was very interactive with the campers. He did a great job. David (McCormack) was terrific. Probably those guys stuck out more than anybody.”
The Jayhawks seem to enjoy making the short drive from Lawrence to Topeka to work the Washburn camp. Legendary Ichabods coach Bob Chipman, the man Ballard replaced before the 2017-18 season, also employed KU players as summer camp counselors during his 38 years at the Topeka school.
“Coach Ballard is a great guy, a good person, good with people, good with family. He’s a good coach who definitely loves KU,” said KU junior center Udoka Azubuike, who has worked the camp the past three summers.
“It’s been fun getting to know him. It’s going to be a good game playing against him. I know they will be ready and we’ll be ready, so it’ll be a good game,” Azubuike added.
Ballard — he left Danny Manning’s coaching staff at Wake Forest to replace Chipman at Washburn — will represent the opposing team in the fieldhouse for the first time.
“I grew up a KU fan. I’ve been in the fieldhouse as a fan,” said Ballard, who played at both Hutchinson High and Hutchinson Junior College before joining Roy Williams’ KU program as an invited walk-on. He played at KU from 2000-02.
“I was fortunate enough to get to play there and fortunate enough to be on the coaching staff (seven seasons working for Self). I’ve experienced three sides of it. The fourth side of it, being on the opposing bench, will probably be my least favorite of them all.
“I have a feeling my record in Allen Fieldhouse will take a hit,” Ballard added with a laugh.
He said he’s “looking forward to seeing people I know who work at KU — in marketing, Rock Chalk Video, the sports information department, facilities. There are so many people I’ve stayed friends with and stay in touch with.”
Ballard said his 2018-19 Ichabods team, “has three or four big-time KU fans (on roster). Four or five are pretty strong fans. More than half our team cheers for the Jayhawks. The out-of-state kids probably aren’t (fans) as much. Our guys enjoy being with the KU guys at our camps, too. There’s mutual respect.”
Ballard has studied tape of the 2018-19 Jayhawks this week.
“As people they’ve been great to deal with and work with at camp. As a team, they are loaded,” Ballard said. “They have a lot of depth. The thing that really sticks out on film is how big they are. It’s one of coach Self’s biggest teams. They will be able to pummel people inside and they have some talented guys in the backcourt who are young. They’ll have to grow up quick.”
Ballard recruited both Azubuike and freshman guard Devon Dotson while an assistant at Wake Forest from 2014-17. He’s also been head coach at Baker (2010-12) and an assistant under Manning at Tulsa (2012-14).
“Devon reminds me of Frank Mason. I’m not saying he is Frank, but has the same pitbull mindset. He’s not the biggest guy, but plays with the most heart on the court. He’s talented and quick with the ball. KU fans will love to watch him play,” Ballard said.
“Quentin (Grimes, freshman guard) had a big-time summer and comes in with a lot of accolades,” he added. They’ll be fine. Early they may have ups and down in the backcourt. By conference time they’ll be rocking and rolling.”
Ballard’s team is led by Javion Blake, a 6-3 senior guard from Olathe, who averaged 14.3 points a game a year ago for the 22-10 Ichabods. Senior guard Tyas Martin averaged 10.7 points for a Washburn squad that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2012.
The Ichabods placed third of 14 teams in the MIAA’s preseason media and coaches polls.
“I was pleased with the season we had in our first year. We’ve still got a long way to go,” said Ballard, who noted he “loves” coaching at Washburn.
“It’s a great situation for me — the support, the facilities, university leadership and great family atmosphere. I love coaching basketball and helping young people get better. It’s an unbelievable opportunity. ‘Chip’ won a lot of games here. It’s a program that’s been very good over time.”
KU coach Self says Washburn has a rising star in Ballard.
“He obviously will be part of the fabric of who we are and what we try to do because he was with us seven years, part of some great teams,” Self said. “He was unbelievable from an organization standpoint helping run the office. I’ve been real impressed with what he’s done and his knowledge.
“He was born to be a head coach,” Self added, noting, “he’ll come in here, try to mess with us, do some stuff we’ve not practiced against. I’d expect nothing less.”
Gary Bedore
Gary Bedore covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.
