Ballock brings professional basketball experience to future Cardinals

Mitch Ballock was on his honeymoon, but his thoughts were with Eudora basketball.

Boys basketball head coach Kyle Deterding said Ballock couldn’t wait to come back to town for his summer basketball camp. 

“He actually on his honeymoon of all places, he calls and says, ‘Hey, you got a date set?’” Deterding said. “He’s just always been one to give back to people. He loves working with little kids, and he’s a great role model. So, anytime he can be around, it’s perfect for the kids.”

The former Cardinal returned to Eudora after spending last year playing professional basketball in Germany for the Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club. For the second year in a row, Ballock hosted a basketball skills camp for fourth through eighth graders Thursday and Friday morning. 

Ballock said coming back to Eudora and teaching young players what he has learned is a special way for him to give back to the community that has supported him throughout his basketball career.

“I’ve been in their situation. I’ve been in their shoes. I’ve done a lot of cool things. I’ve seen a lot of cool things. I’ve had a lot of cool experiences,” Ballock said. “So, if I can share that stuff with them through the game of basketball, because that’s kind of my best language to speak through, and just work with them and get to see how they develop through the years is cool to watch.” 

Players at Ballock’s camp were also excited to learn basketball skills from someone who has taken his talents to the professional level. 

“I think it’s really cool that he has the opportunity to come and teach us some stuff. He’s a good guy. I like him,” seventh grader Cade Cleveland said. 

During his time as a Cardinal, Ballock helped lead the team to a state championship in 2014. 

Ballock averaged 25.4 points his senior season and was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. 

After his senior year, Ballock committed to play at Creighton University. 

Deterding said Ballock’s commitment to a top 20 university at the time was a testament to how much work Ballock put into the game. 

Despite all his hard work though, Ballock didn’t want a signing day. 

“He just never was one to seek that attention,” Deterding said. “They say work in the dark and that dude worked in the dark because he did not ever want to bring attention to himself. He just went about his business. He’s different, which is what made him succeed as much as he did.” 

As a freshman with the Bluejays, Ballock averaged 7.3 points on 42% shooting. Ballock earned Big East All-Freshman Team honors. 

Ballock was moved into a starting role his sophomore season. During this season, Ballock set a school record with 11 3-pointers made in a game when he scored 39 against DePaul. 

Ballock is third on Creighton’s all-time list with 308 3-pointers made, only behind Kyle Korver (371) and Ethan Wragge (334). 

Ballock said he is proud of his accomplishments, but gives much of the credit to his Bluejay teammates and coaches. 

“If I’m on a heater, if I heat two, three, four in a row, then yeah, the next one is definitely going up. But a lot of my shots were in the flow of the game,” Ballock said. “I played with some good point guards to kind of give me those shots. Guys were able to make plays and get me open shots. Then Coach Mac (Greg McDermott) is an offensive mastermind. So, he could put me in situations where I could get open shots or open looks, and all I had to do was make it.” 

During his junior season, Ballock averaged a career-high 11.9 points and shot 43.5% from 3-point range. 

Creighton made its deepest tournament run during Ballock’s senior season when the team advanced to the Sweet 16. Gonzaga defeated Creighton on its way to the national championship game where they lost to Baylor 86-70. 

Ballock said getting to play deep into the NCAA tournament was an interesting experience, especially during the pandemic. 

“We played with like a fifth capacity of the crowd, and until Christmas there were no fans,” Ballock said. “But it was a cool experience getting to play in that Sweet 16 for the first time.” 

Ballock averaged 9.9 points with a 38.6% 3-point percentage his final season with the Bluejays.

Ballock opted to pursue a professional career despite having an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. 

Ballock said he doesn’t regret anything about his time at Creighton. 

“I would do everything over the same way I did it before,” he said. “My four years at Creighton was some of the best times, some of the best memories. I still have some of my best friends from Creighton that I’ll talk to forever. Without Creighton, I wouldn’t know my wife (Bailey). I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in today. Honestly, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today.” 

Ballock went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, but signed a summer league deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Later that summer, Ballock signed a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and appeared in one preseason game before being cut. 

About a week after being waived, Ballock signed with the NBA G-League’s Cleveland Charge. 

Ballock said his experience in the G-League was OK, but wasn’t really his brand of basketball. 

“I was unfortunately on a team that was very ball dominant, like a very one-on-one playstyle,” Ballock said. “So, like I’m just running around. I’m just out there. I was just a fifth body, and I wasn’t a really big fan of that.” 

Ballock said his agent helped set up a deal for him to play with the Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club in Germany last year. 

Ballock played in 28 games for Mitteldeutscher BC and averaged 7.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists. 

Ballock said playing overseas was a great experience, but vastly different from playing in America. 

“It’s a different atmosphere because they bring drums and stuff in there. They got all their chants, and they’re smoking at halftime. So, it’s like cigarette smoke and stuff everywhere,” Ballock said. “So, it’s just a different vibe, a little different environment, but it’s really cool. It was a really good opportunity and I’d definitely go back if the situation was right.”

Ballock is currently awaiting his next opportunity to play in either the NBA or Europe. 

Even though he is currently out of the NBA, Ballock saidthat’s not going to stop him from continuing to pursue his dreams. 

“It’s tough to make it to the NBA, but I was right there. I was on the fringe,” Ballock said. “I’m still right there. I mean, it might come in five years or it might not ever come, but I’m still going to keep working as if it’s going to come tomorrow.” 

No matter where he goes, Ballock knows he will have the support of the Eudora community behind him all the way. 

“My parents still live here, my nieces and nephews, my sister, my brother, they’re all here,” Ballock said. “I had various people come up to me in Omaha and come to games from Eudora. Even people came to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament from Eudora.” 

This is why he wants to keep coming back to his hometown as well. 

“That love and support, I want to give that back through their kids as they’re coming up through kind of the same situations that I did,” Ballock said. “That’s basically why I keep coming back, why I want to do these things, and why Eudora will always hold a special place in my heart.” 

Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]

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