First year head basketball coach get nominated for two awards

Written by Christian Almanza/Staff Writer

FIU men’s basketball head coach Jeremy Ballard was recently nominated for two prestigious awards following the end of the team’s regular season.

Ballard received a nomination for the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award, an accolade given to the top first-year head coach in NCAA Division I college basketball, and also received a nomination for the 2019 Ben Jobe Coach of the Year Award, which recognizes the top minority head coach in Division I basketball.

However, don’t attempt to credit Ballard for the accomplishments of the team during his first season with the program. He will vehemently deny responsibility and instead accredit his players and fellow coaches for any recognition.

“Those nominations are certainly program nominations. The only reason I’m even being recognized is because of what our team has done, and what our staff has done,” said Ballard after team practice. “I really believed in the coaching staff that I assembled. These guys are rock stars.  They’ve done an amazing job.”

Whenever asked about personal success the first-year head coach is quick to deflect and instead empower his players and coaches.

“I had no idea that the character [of the players] would be as strong as it is,” he said. “They’ve shown a great ability to be able to buy into and trust in something that was a big unknown to them.”

Ballard recognizes the importance of preaching togetherness and team collaboration.

“There hadn’t been a winning season here in a long time. There’s only been two since the turn of the century,” said Ballard. “These guys understanding the work that it takes outside of the game to be able to win consistently has been our biggest steps for growth.”

He does not want to be identified as the cause for what has been a historically successful season for the FIU basketball program.

That selfless mentality, along with unwavering belief in the players, has created a culture of togetherness and a group that plays with confidence. His approach to leadership may be correct but it cannot be denied that his hiring has created a large effect on the program.

The team’s 19 wins are third-most in team history and mark the first winning season since 2012-13, and only the second since 1999-2000.

Ballard also credits his mentors for influencing his coaching style and schematic philosophies.  

While he maintains that he has taken a lot from every coach he has worked under, two stood out for him in particular.

“I would say that I took the most from my time with [Shaka] Smart and Mike Rhoades at [Virginia Commonwealth University],” said Ballard. “A lot of the things we do defensively, and a lot of the ways that we try to move our guys forward, as players and as people, comes from my time with those two guys.”

Ballard was an assistants under Smart while he [Smart] was head coach at VCU from 2009-2015 and is one of six assistants from Smart’s coaching tree that have gone on to secure a head coach position.

Along with great mentoring and support, Ballard’s experience as a former Division I basketball player has undoubtedly helped him.

“As a point guard I really tried to be a coach on the floor, so I had a lot of reps and a lot of practice being a coach,” he said.

Ballard played on the basketball team at Colgate University from 1999-2003.

“I’m really proud of my alma mater. My little sister and I both played basketball there and we have a lot of love for Colgate.” said Ballard. “[Head Coach] Matt Langel is a great guy and a great coach. I actually played with his younger brother when I was there. Really happy to see the success that they are having right now.”

Ballard was asked by Student Media if he always anticipated becoming a coach after his playing days were over.

“To be honest I didn’t think much beyond playing. I’m like a lot of these guys. I thought I was going to have a 15-year NBA career so all I was focused on was playing,” said Ballard. “I knew that I wanted to stay in basketball in some shape or form, and I was just fortunate enough that my college coach [Emmett Davis] hired me the year after I graduated. It’s been a great 14-year journey to [become] a head coach here [at FIU] for the first time.

While suffering a disappointing loss against North Texas in the first round of the Conference USA tournament on March 13, the team received postseason invitations to both the CollegenInsider.com Postseason Tournament and the College Basketball Invitational.

“It’s a testament to the season that they’ve had that we were invited to two postseasons, both the CDI and the CIT,” said Ballard. “It’s a testament to how hard they’ve worked and the success that they’ve had, and that we have an opportunity to end the season the right way. No one wanted to end the season with that bitter taste in their mouth from the defeat against North Texas.”

It marks the first time FIU advances to post-season play since the 1995-1996 season.

“We wanted to continue to keep doing this for our seniors,” said Ballard. “We wanted to continue to do this for the legacy of our program.”

Feature Image by Daniel Torres/PantherNOW