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Four months ago, former Ball State University men's basketball coach Ronny Thompson resigned his position amid a wave of controversy.
Now, the two-game deal Ball State signed as a friendly family rivalry becomes a whole lot more as No. 5 Georgetown University, led by Ronny's older brother John Thompson III, comes to Worthen Arena Wednesday night.
"It's a great opportunity," first-year Ball State coach Billy Taylor said. "We get the opportunity to play a top five team in the country, arguably could be number one or number two, and we get to play them here."
Taylor insisted his team won't be distracted by the Thompson sideshow Wednesday night.
"I think everybody's just focused on the game," Taylor said. "It's a game against a top five team, which makes it special. You just try to get ready to play basketball."
The Hoyas' leading returning player from 2006-07 is 7'2" center Roy Hibbert, who passed up becoming a likely first-round NBA draft choice to return for another year at Georgetown.
Taylor said things will be difficult considering the Cardinals' height disadvantage. Every Ball State player gives up at least nine inches to Hibbert.
"It's tough," Taylor said. "Hibbert is certainly a player of the year candidate, with his size and his talent. He's a matchup nightmare for guys who are seven feet tall, certainly more for [6-foot-5-inch] guys."
Although Georgetown made the NCAA Final Four last season, Taylor said his team will try not to depart from its normal game plan any more than necessary.
"We want to stick with the foundational pieces of our program," Taylor said. "It is one game. It's a great challenge for us. We don't want to deviate too much from what we would normally do. This game doesn't decide the Mid-American Conference championship for us."
Although the team's game plan will be similar, Taylor said the their excitement level is high.
"We've got a great opportunity to play against a tremendous team," Taylor said. "It's exciting. I've sensed a mood shift."
John Thompson III was once coach at Princeton University, a school known in basketball for using as much clock as possible offensively in order to give itself a better chance against more talented opponents. Taylor, however, said he won't necessarily follow that game plan.
"Not so much that, more so just getting a great shot," Taylor said. "Georgetown's a great defensive team. It's important to us to move the basketball, be patient and get a great shot."
Cardinals' guard Peyton Stovall enters the game five points shy of 1,000 for his career. He will be the 24th Ball State player to reach that mark. However, of late he's received attention for his rebounding. Stovall has 22 rebounds through two games.
"For him to get double-figure rebounds again shows his willingness to lead by example," Taylor said. "Everyone knows we're undersized, and he's taking it upon himself to mix it up and get rebounds."
A loss to the Hoyas would send Ball State to its first 0-3 start since the 1973-74 season. Taylor made no bones about what his team will have to do to avoid hitting that number.
"We've got to play great," Taylor said. "That's the bottom line. Our guys will have to play at a very elite level if they want to beat one of the top teams in the country."
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