Ball State moves on from James Whitford, seeks someone to bring back former basketball glory

MUNCIE, Ind. — For the first time in nearly a decade, Ball State is searching for a new basketball coach. On Monday, it announced James Whitford will not be returning for a 10th season.

Whitford, a former assistant at Arizona, Xavier and Miami, spent the last nine years of his 28-year collegiate coaching career in Muncie. Whitford finished with a 131-148 overall record, second all-time in program wins and losses, and a 69-93 mark in Mid-American Conference play.

"James restored respect into the program, made the state of Indiana a recruiting priority and represented the Cardinals with integrity," Ball State Director of Athletics Beth Goetz said in a release. "I am grateful to James for his contributions to our athletes, department and university, and wish him the best moving forward."

Last summer, Whitford signed a two-year contract extension through April 30, 2024. Per his contract, Ball State owes Whitford $519,125 in liquidated damages for termination without cause prior to April 30, 2022. That number would have been $351,083 starting May 1.

At the time of his extension, Whitford said it brought "a sense of security" for coaches and recruits coming in.

When hired in 2013, Whitford's intention was to bring Ball State back to the prominence and success it witnessed in the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s. From 1980 to 2002, Ball State won all seven of its MAC tournament titles — the most by any MAC team — along with five regular season titles and three MAC West Division Championships.

Whitford arrived in 2013 with a long-term plan

Whitford came in with a long-term plan focused on winning MAC titles.

After accumulating a combined 12-48 record (4-32 MAC) in his first two seasons, Ball State won between 19 and 21 games over the next three years. The Cardinals' 21-14 season in 2015-16 was the fourth-best turnaround in college basketball and marked the first time Ball State played in a postseason tournament — the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) — since it made the National Invitation Tournament in 2002.

Ball State, which went 21-13 the next season, made the CIT in 2017, as well, and advanced to the MAC Tournament quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed, where it lost to Akron.

The following year, Whitford's third winning season in a row, Ball State could've played in another postseason tournament. But, after playing a full season following the death of player Zach Hollywood, it opted not to pay to play in the CIT of College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

Five years into Whitford's tenure, Ball State appeared to be heading in the right direction.

It was a top-four team in the conference two straight years and just happened to lose by a possession or two in the conference tournament. It beat No. 9 Notre Dame on a buzzer-beater, its first victory over a ranked opponent since it beat No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Kansas in the Maui Invitational in 2001. It was bringing in a pair of Power Five transfers in Brachen Hazen and KJ Walton. It averaged 20-plus wins over three years, something it hadn't done since 1999-2002.

Lack of postseason success

Under Whitford, Ball State never made it back to the NCAA Tournament or NIT. It went 16-17 (6-12 MAC) in 2019, winning its second and final MAC Tournament game under Whitford as the No. 11 seed.

Early exits in the MAC Tournament became commonplace, though Whitford firmly believes the 2020 team, MAC West Division champions and a No. 3 seed, had what it took to make a run at the MAC title.

The 2020-21 season, in which Ball State went 10-13 (8-9 MAC) and lost in the opening round of the MAC Tournament 91-89 in overtime against Toledo, Ball State was unable to overcome injuries and the obstacles COVID-19 presented.

Following that season, Ball State's top four scorers — Ishmael El-Amin (Rhode Island), KJ Walton (Akron), Jarron Coleman (Missouri) and Brachen Hazen (graduation) — departed. Assistant Matt Crenshaw left to take over at IUPUI while assistants Jason Grunkemeyer and Billy Wright, who had been on staff for a month and a half, took jobs outside of college basketball.

Ball State was in rebuild mode while fans and boosters grew impatient with years of disappointment in March. During pregame introductions at Worthen Arena, there were hardly any cheers when Whitford was introduced. Fans online were asking for him to be fired.

Whitford brought in four transfers — Tyler Cochran, Demarius Jacobs, Mickey Pearson and Luke Brown — and signed three freshmen in 2022 MAC Player of the Year Payton Sparks, MAC All-Freshman Team selection Jaylin Sellers and Basheer Jihad. Reggie Jones, Kani Acree and Teemu Suokas all left the program during the 2021-22 season.

Ball State had one of the youngest rosters in the NCAA this season. It beat No. 1 Toledo, a game in which Goetz asked "where's this team been?" with a smile, but also went 1-9 against the top five teams in the MAC. It secured a No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament, finishing with the best record among the seven sub-.500 teams in the league.

In Cleveland, the Cardinals competed for a half against No. 3 Ohio but the difference in the two teams — one fighting for its second straight NCAA Tournament berth and another which, often times, couldn't get out of its own way — was obvious.

Even when it trailed, Ohio fans cheered and its players rose to their feet on every big play. Ball State's fans hardly grew excited and the bench remained seated unless it had to get up during timeouts.

Four days later, it was announced Whitford's tenure in Muncie was over.

Ball State hasn't made an NCAA Tournament since 2000

By all accounts, Whitford was well-liked among players, both current and former, coaches and fans. He recruited in the state of Indiana well, signing 12 Indiana All-Stars — Sean Sellers, Jeremie Tyler, Tahjai Teague, Tayler Persons, Kyle Mallers, Zach Gunn, K.J. Walton, Brachen Hazen, Jarron Coleman, Luke Bumbalough, Jalen Windham and Luke Brown — during his time.

The challenge at a mid-major is developing that young talent into All-Conference-caliber players. Under Whitford, Ball State had four players — Zavier Turner (2014), Sean Sellers (2015), Jarron Coleman (2020) and Sparks (2022) — named MAC Freshman of the Year, one — Tahjai Teague, 2020 — earn All-MAC First Team honors, three earn Second Team honors and five earn Third Team honors.

Throughout the 2021-22 season, fans made it clear they were ready for a change. His time had in Muncie had, ultimately, run its course. The issues that plagued Ball State at the beginning of the year were the same ones that led to inconsistent results at the end of the year. Nine years in, fans and boosters made it clear they weren't looking for a rebuild, at least not with Whitford in charge.

Now, Ball State moves on from the second-longest-tenured coach in program history in largely the same place where it began nine years ago, good enough to be competitive in the MAC but not enough to beat the top teams in the league. The Cardinals have young talent but there are doubts in keeping them around with the amount of turnover Ball State has seen in recent years.

There have been four coaches who've tried, and failed, to get Ball State back to the NCAA Tournament since Ray McCallum did so in 2000. Whitford was the closest of them all. The search for the 20th men's basketball coach in Ball State history is already underway.

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school athletics for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com, on Twitter @rgeneraljr or phone at 765-283-8864.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State basketball moves on from Whitford, still seeks former glory