This is more of a conference that is affiliated with the Big Ten (sisters of the poor anyone) and football but the MAC does have a strong basketball tradition.  These five schools all kept up their rivalries and all played each other but ended up with differing results correlating with how good the conference they were competing in.  As good as the Sycamores and Purple Aces were in Division Two they struggled to compete with the high level of the Valley and its tremendous history and great programs.  Butler and Valpo immediately, as stated above, became power players in their lesser conferences.  Ball State who was nowhere near Indiana State and Evansville in the ICC but are hoping to make a solid impact in the MAC.  One thing about the MAC is this conference, like the NFL, has much parody.   But the Cardinals, after making great strides last year, got a bit of a jolt in the offseason when Coach Rick Majerus decided to hop hotels and moved his tremendous coaching chops out West.  The powerhouse Utah Utes came calling and when they threw in the benefit of a suite at University Park Hotel the rotund Mr. Majerus could not resist and left for the Wasatchs.  The irony here is that he has left the reins to Assistant Coach Dick Hunsiker, who actually played and coached at Weber State College, which is just a stone’s throw from the great Salt Lake. Majerus realized while he was in Muncie that he  did not have enough talent and size up front to compete in the mighty MAC and decided to recruit some transfers.  Got to love that portal as supposedly Hunsiker (who was btw the primary recruiter for Majerus) has an entirely new front line coming in with incoming freshmen and those transfer students if they are all eligible to start the year? That is good news for the fans in Muncie (and their alumnus right Dave) especially after a season where this program had gained notoriety for winning many more games than expected with Majerus’s terrific coaching which prioritizes defense.  You got to have the best car in the race if you are going to win the Indy 500 no matter how good of a driver you have behind the wheel.  Still, Hunsiker has never been a head coach and Majerus has already gained a reputation as one of the brightest up and coming coaches in the country thus the move west.  This new talent better perform or last year’s miracle run (to 5th place btw) will look like a one and done for the Cardinals. 

The Ball State Cardinals are not by any means the most gifted team in the MAC.  As a matter of fact most prognosticators have this program somewhere near the bottom of the league in preseason polls but they had shown last year they could compete and most importantly they have a plan.  Coach Rick Majerus had set the stage for this year’s team when he came in and set a system that included very structured practices, workmanlike drills to be repeated daily and emphasis on defense.  These Cardinals’ played with a bunch of overachievers who knew what it takes to get the job done and went out every night and gave it their all.  This young team played consistent basketball that kept them in almost every game.  They learned that they could compete with anyone if they just stay focused and stayed on the game plan with which Coach Majerus had come up with.  That game plan meant rotating as many players in as he could to see what he had with this young team and playing hard-nosed defense.   The plan worked for the boys from Muncie Indiana and the fans filled new John Worthen arena. With David Letterman promoting them heavily every night (he is an alum) they got more than enough recognition and it looked like they were destined for post season play.  Now it is time to put the rubber on the road and we shall see if this team with new Coach Hunsiker can match (or hopefully exceed) last season’s magic.        

 Senior Ed Butler is the best retuning player on this roster after having three monster seasons underneath the boards for the Cardinals.  A workmanlike post player who gets by with guile and desire, Butler is an old school throwback who loves to board.   Matched up usually against much bigger guys (Butler goes 6’6 210), Butler always seems to get the job done no matter who he is stacked up against. With the rumors of the new guys coming to town Butler might not be getting as many minutes as he has in the past but there is no doubt he will still be the main man in Muncie for one more year. 

Junior Randy Boarden is the other returning starter up front for BSU.  Boarden got solid minutes for most of the year next to Butler and gives the team a bit more size at 6’9 215.  He fits his name as he is a board specialist who loves to bang down low but can also score a little. This Chicago native can play but is a little too svelte for the wars of the MAC and might lose some minutes to the oncoming recruits.  He will compete though and I would not count him out.   

Incoming transfers (yes, kids change their mind quickly nowadays without the required year to sit out rule being abolished) Dan Palombizio, Paris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd will all look to push for some serious minutes on this undersized team.  Palombizio (who came in from Purdue where he started his college career but was caught behind that tremendous frontline) was a big time recruit out of Michigan City Indiana and the Cardinals are happy to get him in Muncie.  At 6’8 230 Palombizio was the 9th leading scorer and 2nd leading rebounder in Indiana prep history but was not getting any minutes behind Joe Barry Carroll and Terry Dischinger and will play here.  The big man is a go to guy down low and brings the kind of size and skill this program has lacked.  Kidd and McCurdy are a combo pack after playing together not only at legendary Cooley High in Detroit but for one year down at Arkansas-Little Rock.  McCurdy is 6’7 225 and Kidd is 6’9 235 and have the potential to be dynamite together but could also blow up especially since they are the first to challenge the transfer rules and might not be eligible right away.  No mind as Hunsiker has a large group of freshmen big men coming in as well and supposedly has the best wing this program has ever seen! 

Junior Larry Bullington and sophomore Ray McCallum are a fine combo in the backcourt.  Neither is extremely big but both are smart players who know how to play together and complement each other well.  Bullington is a 6’2 Indiana high school legend who averaged 36.5 ppg which is still the Indiana prep record.  He is heady and tough and will knock you down if needed and can really light it up. Bullington became the quasi point guard which he did not mind as that meant he had the ball in his hands more but definitely leans on the side of the shoot first, pass second style. Bullington came in from Marshall High in Indy and became an instant star with his ability to penetrate to the hole and to shoot the consistent jumper.  This kid looks straight out of a British 60’s pop band but man can he play.  His only problem was guarding quick little waterbug point guards but playing next to McCallum he does not have to worry about that. 

The diminutive McCallum has taken the city of Muncie by storm.  McCallum may be the most popular player on the team with fans because of his ability to score at and go to the hoop at only 5 foot 9.  McCallum is very consistent on the offensive end and can score in a variety of ways.  He is developing more range on his jumper but for now is a fearless penetrator who loves to get to the hole.  He is not the quintessential point guard as McCallum would both rather shoot than distribute, sound familiar, but playing next to Bullington it works.  Of course somebody has to guard the athletic wings that are in the backcourt on many teams nowadays even in the MAC.  Just look at the two favorites in this league as Miami of Ohio features an all-world athlete in 6’6 Ron Harper and the Bobcats of Ohio have at their disposal 6’5 gunner Dave Jamerson and 6’4 do everything SI star Walt Luckett.  This team needs to get bigger and more athletic on the wings to keep pace and they might have to look no further than right under their nose in Muncie. 

Hunsiker does have some depth coming back to battle for playing time but unless this new class is overhyped then most of these kids will be playing only at mop up time.  Three Junior guards all named Jim are foremost of this list.  Jim Regenold, Jim Fields and Jim Hahn have all shown flashes of production during their time here but they were recruited when this school was still in the lower divisions and have that style of game.  Will they play?  Sure, some of them will but Hunsiker will play the kids who can guard at this level and this trio is just not that.   Seniors John Lee and Wayne Van Sickle (rhymes with) are also in this boat.  Lee, like Bullington, was a huge get for the Cardinals from up the road in New Castle. Back in the day Lee shared the backcourt with Bullington but took a huge step back on the depth chart.  Van Sickle actually transferred from Michigan and has got some game but needs to improve his defense to stay in the rotation.  The up front guys are even in worse shape as far as playing time.  Senior Tom Hobbs, junior Chris Collins and sophomore Al Gooden are the best of the bunch but none are big enough or strong enough to play at this level especially with the new monsters coming in.  That is just the way the cookie crumbles in college basketball nowadays and things like seniority are long gone. 

The Ball State Cardinals are not the favorites to win the MAC this season as they transition from a coach who put this program on the map to his protégé who has never coached at this level. Coach Dick Hunsiker will continue the teachings of Rick Majerus and this team will for sure play in your face defense but will they score enough to hang with the Jones’s of the MAC?  IN the words of John Wetton only time will tell but the smile has not left the eyes of the fans in Muncie!