Ball State Transfer C Payton Sparks to Indiana and back to Ball State

[yogisballin 2,299]

Did I read that right, he played tennis in high school? Must be able to move his feet pretty decent if that’s the case.


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[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,130]

Sparks has made his nest so to speak at Ball State and the new coach is a name he has some familiarity with.  What could be important to him is the opportunity to step up to a higher level program with more visibility.

[cybergates 427]

On 3/24/2022 at 10:20 AM, ap2345 said:

I believe he was the 3rd all time freshman scorer at Ball State behind Bonzi Wells and Ray McCallum. This guy can play. 

Impressive. Certain people might have guessed a different freshman to do that

[ap2345 7,581]

1 minute ago, cybergates said:

Impressive. Certain people might have guessed a different freshman to do that

No reason to joke about Luke Brown.There was no way that he could’ve having to sit until the semester. 

[cybergates 427]

Just now, ap2345 said:

No reason to joke about Luke Brown.There was no way that he could’ve having to sit until the semester. 

Where's the joke? 

[ap2345 7,581]

1 minute ago, cybergates said:

Where's the joke? 

Maybe I should’ve said take a shot. The kid had no chance to and also wasn’t physical ready.

[cybergates 427]

Just now, ap2345 said:

Maybe I should’ve said take a shot. The kid had no chance to and also wasn’t physical ready.

Didn't take a shot at Luke Brown either. 

I meant what I said, nothing more nothing less.

I'll spell it out for you. I found it interesting that a different in state kid that wasn't recruited by the big boys ended up top 3 freshman scorer there. I liked the post where you brought it to the boards attention. It is even more interesting when a hs scoring legend is also a freshman there. 

As you pointed out, Luke had no chance given he sat out half the season, and only averaged 12mpg.  

[ap2345 7,581]

4 minutes ago, cybergates said:

Didn't take a shot at Luke Brown either. 

I meant what I said, nothing more nothing less.

I'll spell it out for you. I found it interesting that a different in state kid that wasn't recruited by the big boys ended up top 3 freshman scorer there. I liked the post where you brought it to the boards attention. It is even more interesting when a hs scoring legend is also a freshman there. 

As you pointed out, Luke had no chance given he sat out half the season, and only averaged 12mpg.  

My bad. I read it as if there was some sarcasm in there. I agree though. I do think Lewis could do very well there because they always seem to get good talent that should compete in the MAC. They just haven’t been coached well the last few years.

[Bowhunter 2,693]

I’ve never watched him, but unless we lose our entire front court, I don’t see why this guy makes us better than a 7 ft Durr or Logan D. Especially with all the major conference teams getting ready to disperse more big men into the transfer portal. 

[Stuhoo 79,861]

Just now, Bowhunter said:

I’ve never watched him, but unless we lose our entire front court, I don’t see why this guy makes us better than a 7 ft Durr or Logan D. Especially with all the big conference teams getting ready to disperse more big men into the transfer portal. 

Because Payton Sparks is good at basketball and Michael Durr is … is… tall at basketball.

Also, Payton Sparks is good at basketball while Logan Duncomb is … is… “can’t beat out Michael Durr” at basketball. And tall.

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 8,943]

3 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Because Payton Sparks is good at basketball and Michael Durr is … is… tall at basketball.

Also, Payton Sparks is good at basketball while Logan Duncomb is … is… “can’t beat out Michael Durr” at basketball. And tall.

Just so accurate. 

If you can upgrade, you upgrade... mostly. Especially thinking you could get 2-3 years with this kid.

The first filter is "good at basketball."

[rcbowla 7,047]

6'9". Doesn't shoot 3's, doesn't block shots, shoots 70% FT's and turns it over more than twice per game at the 5. I don't know about him. Never watched a second of his game but the numbers don't look great. 13.5 and 8.5 in the MAC at the 5 translates to what in the B1G? 7 and 5 range?

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[RaceToTheTop 25,133]

27 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

6'9". Doesn't shoot 3's, doesn't block shots, shoots 70% FT's and turns it over more than twice per game at the 5. I don't know about him. Never watched a second of his game but the numbers don't look great. 13.5 and 8.5 in the MAC at the 5 translates to what in the B1G? 7 and 5 range?

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Depends on minutes and role.

That said, if I'm him I'm going to go somewhere that I could immediately step in and get good minutes.  A lot of teams are recruiting him and unless both Race and Trayce moved on, he probably can get more minutes at another P5 school if he fits a good fit.

FWIW, I would not expect him to expand his range anytime soon.  He didn't shoot many threes there either.  Hit 6 his senior year and shot 28% from three at the high school level.

[Hoosier Roots 743]

I feel like people on here are getting way too caught up on this kid’s 3pt shooting. Yeah our shooting sucks as a team but it’s pretty unlikely we’re going to change that through the 5. Unfortunately KAT and Dirk aren’t coming to IU anytime soon so we might have to temper our expectations there. 

[rcbowla 7,047]

I feel like people on here are getting way too caught up on this kid’s 3pt shooting. Yeah our shooting sucks as a team but it’s pretty unlikely we’re going to change that through the 5. Unfortunately KAT and Dirk aren’t coming to IU anytime soon so we might have to temper our expectations there. 

I couldn't care less that he can't hit 3's if......he could block shots, make FT's and was an elite rebounder. To me if you're going to be a 6'9" C in the B1G then you need to be very good at something. I guess my real question is what is the one thing that this kid can do better than the majority of 5's in this league? Not trying to hate on him but purely from a paper perspective I have a tough time getting excited about the possibility of adding him to the roster.

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[Certified Sunshine Pumper 8,943]

7 hours ago, Hoosier Roots said:

I feel like people on here are getting way too caught up on this kid’s 3pt shooting. Yeah our shooting sucks as a team but it’s pretty unlikely we’re going to change that through the 5. Unfortunately KAT and Dirk aren’t coming to IU anytime soon so we might have to temper our expectations there. 

Plus if you admit you haven't watched the kid. Maybe an opinion isn't needed? 

[Hoosier Roots 743]

10 hours ago, rcs29 said:

I couldn't care less that he can't hit 3's if......he could block shots, make FT's and was an elite rebounder. To me if you're going to be a 6'9" C in the B1G then you need to be very good at something. I guess my real question is what is the one thing that this kid can do better than the majority of 5's in this league? Not trying to hate on him but purely from a paper perspective I have a tough time getting excited about the possibility of adding him to the roster.

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From the small amount of tape I’ve seen, he seems like he definitely has the ability to rebound and block shots. 8.5 rpg is more than what Trayce did his freshman year and his scoring output rose throughout the season to over 16 ppg during MAC play, pointing to a player who was improving during the season. Also he was a 70% FT shooter which would be an improvement over what Race and Trayce put up last season. I don’t think he would come in and be the star of the team as a sophomore but I think it’s worth seeing what he can do over 3 years. 

[RaceToTheTop 25,133]

9 hours ago, btownqb said:

Plus if you admit you haven't watched the kid. Maybe an opinion isn't needed? 

Yeah, good luck with that on a board that is meant to post opinions.  

Stats paint him as a guy good enough to be a really good freshman at a MAC level.  Pretty safe bet to predict he's not a 13.5/8.5 guy at a Big Ten level, so the question is how good is he now and how good will he be in the future?  We can pretty safely pretty he's never going to be a big time shot blocker.

 

[Alford Bailey 12,363]

Had a conversation about Sparks over the weekend. Apparently he had dropped about 30 lbs at BSU and is in great shape.  My guy still isn’t sure he’s ready for B1G action but Sparks is improving and is by all accounts a great kid.

[Brass Cannon 24,295]

On 3/29/2022 at 7:35 PM, Alford Bailey said:

Had a conversation about Sparks over the weekend. Apparently he had dropped about 30 lbs at BSU and is in great shape.  My guy still isn’t sure he’s ready for B1G action but Sparks is improving and is by all accounts a great kid.

I’ll take him over Durr at least we know Durr wasn’t ready on a nightly basis.  I am not big on getting guys based on potential but seems like a clear upgrade.