Brett Ballard’s 2008 University of Kansas National Championship ring engulfed his right ring finger Tuesday in Collins House during his first press conference as Baker’s men’s basketball coach.
When Ballard met with the Baker basketball team Sunday night in the first team meeting, the ring started in his pocket, but later emerged, not as a reminder of past success at an old job, but as motivation for successes to come at his new job.
“I don’t wear it very much, it’s kind of big and bulky for me,” Ballard said. “I took it out and I showed them and I told the guys, I said ‘this is what our goal will be, is to win a ring, a conference championship ring and then a national championship ring.’ That’s why I came here. I said, ‘I won’t wear it that much, but I wanted you guys to see that if we do something special, you guys will get one of these.'”
Ballard has many transitions to go through in his new role: a new city, program, job title and especially the people.
“We’ve been blessed with the people that we’ve been around and I know meeting new people here (Tuesday), we’ll be just as blessed. So, it’s really neat,” Ballard’s wife Kelly said.
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<a href="https://www.thebakerorange.com/multimedia/slideshows/photos-from-brett-ballard-s-press-conference-1.2202585"><strong>PHOTOS of the press conference</strong></a> PHOTOS of the press conference
Ballard said leaving the people he worked with at KU was the hardest part of the process, but the people he met at Baker made him realize this was the right choice.
“I met with a ton of people throughout that day on my interview … and I was blown away by the people and totally blown away by how they treated me,” Ballard said. “By the end of the day, I knew this was right. It was because of the people. The same reason it was so hard for me to leave KU is the same reason this is such a great place for me.”
Ballard joked during the press conference that the hardest transition may not be for him personally, but for his 3-year old son Kaden, who was not sure what to think of supporting a mascot like Baker’s.
“My wife graduated from KU, I graduated from KU, everyone in my family loves KU, and so somehow, I don’t know how this happened, I haven’t figured this out yet … but my little boy Kaden, who is three, he despises Wildcats,” Ballard said.
Ballard had to explain to his son that there are good Wildcats and bad Wildcats, and Baker is the good kind.
Ballard said Baker “felt like a perfect fit” and expressed his excitement with the opportunity to coach the Wildcats. Members of the athletic department were just as excited in their choice for the coach.
“We think that Brett and what has been said about him is that he’s an overachiever, he’s a hard worker, he’s a person who knows basketball, he’s an individual who can win, he’s a family man, he has strong values and you know at the end of every reference call, ‘Brett,’ they would say, ‘you know, he’s just an all-around great guy,'” University President Pat Long said during the press conference. “And that’s who we’ve hired.”
An area Ballard wants to focus on is recruiting, and former Baker athletic director Dan Harris said Ballard’s KU connection will help with that.
“High school kids are going to say, ‘my coach at Baker played for Roy Williams … (coached) with Danny Manning, played with Wayne Simien,'” Harris said. “That’s impressive, so those are the kinds of things that are going to get his foot in the door to recruit with. I think the connections will be powerful.”
Several current and former members of the KU basketball program were on hand to support Ballard at the press conference, including athletic director Lew Perkins, assistant coach Danny Manning and former KU player Wayne Simien.
Simien and Ballard know each other well, as they were teammates and roommates on road trips during Simien’s freshman year at KU. Simien said this is a great opportunity for Ballard, one that he knew would come.
“I’ve told everybody that I’ve ever known, when they ask me about Brett Ballard, that he’s going to be a fantastic head coach one day, and it’s finally great to be able to see him get that chance,” Simien said.
One particular aspect of the hire Simien enjoyed was the location of Ballard’s new job. There may be a line of cars heading south on 59 highway from Lawrence when Ballard and his Wildcats take the court.
"I'm particularly excited that it's going to be right down the road where we're all going to be able to come down here and support him and continue to be close to him and his family," Simien said. "I think Baker University has gotten a wonderful head coach."<br/>&#160;