Ball State's Michael Lewis talks transfer portal and vision for 2023-24 roster

MUNCIE, Ind. — Like most programs around the country, Ball State men's basketball must deal with the modern state of the sport.

It's now common, especially at the mid-major level, for several players every year to look for a new team. As of Sunday, four Cardinals — sophomore center Payton Sparks and junior guards Luke Bumbalough, Jalen Windham and Kaiyem Cleary — have entered the transfer portal, and Bumbalough on Saturday announced his commitment to finish his collegiate career at Niagara University in Lewiston, New York.

More:Ball State finally combining fully-healthy pitching staff with its red-hot lineup

Sparks made it clear why he decided to look elsewhere, announcing on Twitter that "it has always been a dream of mine to play at the highest level of college basketball" and telling 247Sports that he's "definitely making a change this time" after returning to BSU out of the portal last season.

Sparks has reportedly heard from "Illinois, Dayton, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Florida, Arkansas, Seton Hall, Butler, LSU, Georgetown, Missouri, Purdue, Virginia, and Pitt, among others," according to 247Sports, and head coach Michael Lewis said the Winchester native has aspirations to compete in the Big Ten, in particular.

The other three, like many transfers, likely just want to play more. Bumbalough saw his minutes cut in half this year and his scoring average plummet from 10.9 to 2.8. Windham played a career-high 30 games but lost his starting spot after nine outings, leading to inconsistent production and playing time thereafter. Cleary received just 5.4 minutes per game and went scoreless in 15 of 21 appearances.

With their departures, guards Demarius Jacobs and Darian Owens-White being out of eligibility, the still pending status of redshirt junior guard Jarron Coleman's return and the future arrival of incoming freshman forward Mason Jones from Valparaiso, Lewis and his staff are currently working with five scholarships.

Although such significant roster turnover and the competitive nature of recruiting both high schoolers and college transfers makes this time of year hectic, it also offers plenty of exciting possibilities.

"This is the era that we're in," Lewis said. "The days of being hired and coming in and trying to build a program have kind of gone by the wayside. I think with what's going on right now, you try to construct the best roster that you can from a year-to-year standpoint and try to compete at the highest level that you can."

More:Emotional in press conference, Lewis happy with season and excited to build for the future

Ball State lacked impactful depth in 2022-23, a weakness that was exacerbated at the worst time when several late-season injuries and overall fatigue contributed to the team losing five of its final six games.

Now with several open roster spots, Lewis and his staff have the opportunity to construct more balance. Replacing Sparks, an 2023 All-Mid-American Conference Second Team selection with averages of 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest, is the biggest individual challenge, especially since Lewis doesn't believe he can find a player with the same "unbelievable" combination of production and quality character that Sparks displayed during his two-year Cardinals career.

Yet with the bulk of BSU's losses coming on the perimeter, Lewis is primarily focus on recruiting backcourt pieces. If Coleman doesn't return, Ball State will be devoid of all three of its primary ball-handlers and top-4 assisters from this past campaign, as well as its top wing defender in Jacobs.

"I want some dynamic guards that can play on both ends of the floor. I think we need to add some athleticism to our perimeter, both offensively and, especially, defensively," Lewis said. "I thought we were limited in some areas this year on the defensive end. We really struggled ... to defend the ball one-on-one and keeping things in front of us."

Ball State's coaches have had several player meetings and are "actively recruiting" every day. According to The Portal Report, some of the players BSU have reached out to are Quinnipiac junior wing Tymu Chenery, Mississippi Valley State junior Tyronn Mosley, Monmouth junior Myles Foster and Chicago State sophomore Bryce Johnson.

Yet with the unpredictability of the process and several schools still participating in postseason tournaments, there is no timeline on when any signings will occur.

Lewis is encouraged, though, by the response he and his staff are getting so far, telling Mark Foerster on WMUN Radio on March 16 that "we're getting a lot more callbacks this year than we did last year."

He also thinks Sparks potentially moving on to a bigger program could bode well for BSU's recruiting efforts. Similarly to how Lewis as an assistant at UCLA would try to help players reach the NBA, he also refuses to hold back any Cardinal from wanting to advance.

And if someone like Sparks shows that it's possible to start at Ball State and improve enough to later contribute at a Power 5 program, maybe others will be encouraged to choose BSU as well.

"It's our job to support him and try to help him get there ... I think, for our program, that's a good thing," Lewis said on WMUN Radio. "Does it suck for us short term because, yea, he's a good player, but there's a thousand other kids gonna be in that portal. Can we get a good player out of there? That's our job."

But Lewis is not simply looking to compile greater talent. He puts a premium on a player's toughness, their fight, their ability to respond to difficult situations and failure.

While not always easy, bringing in that type of person and avoiding opposing personalities impacts a team's on-court play and overall culture, even if the four-year one-school college player is a rare breed nowadays.

"You've got to do your homework. You've got to really dive into what they're about," Lewis said. "I think 'talent' is kind of the most overused term when it comes to basketball ... 'Talented' will lose a lot of games. You've got to be able to find guys that understand winning, that are about winning and have the necessary skills and traits that equate to win."

Lewis sees those characteristics in Jones, who was recently named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's "Supreme 15" after averaging 19.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 57% shooting in 27 games.

He won't guarantee the 6-foot-7-inch recruit any playing time, instead making sure he earns all opportunities, but Lewis is confident in the youngster's profile and potential to contribute sooner than later.

"Love Mason's makeup. I love what he's about. He does a lot of things that I believe play into winning. I think he's a tough kid," Lewis said. "He's got the ability to shoot the basketball from three. He's got good size and length. Very competitive. He's very versatile on both ends of the floor. His physical abilities allow him to guard multiple positions, and then his skill set allows him to do a lot of different things on the offensive end. Very excited about what he can bring to our program."

It is still early in the offseason, however, and there is still plenty of uncertainty around the status of Ball State's roster for the 2023-24 season.

Lewis understands that Cardinals fans might be worried or anxious after seeing four players enter the portal so quickly. Coaches, players and fans are all navigating the new and unpredictable college basketball landscape together.

He even called some of what goes on now "ridiculous" and joked that "if (everyone) knew all the ins and outs (of recruiting), they probably wouldn't be as big a fan of college athletics right now."

Still, excitement is warranted for the Cardinals moving forward. They're coming off one of their best recent campaigns, enjoyed some strong crowd turnout and have enough flexibility and program momentum to potentially make some major improvements.

"I'm very optimistic about our program, very optimistic about the excitement we were able to create, the feedback that we're getting from a recruiting standpoint as we speak," Lewis said. "I feel like we can build a consistent winner at Ball State and I think we took a huge step in Year 1, and I don't see us taking steps backwards."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State men's basketball: Lewis transfer portal 2023-24 roster