Mitch Ballock’s family is in Indianapolis this afternoon preparing to watch him play in the Sweet 16 against tournament favorite Gonzaga.

The former Eudora High School basketball standout and senior guard for the Creighton Bluejays takes the court today at 1:10 p.m. on CBS.

His mother, LaDonna Ballock, said she couldn’t describe how it feels to watch Mitch play college basketball this year as a senior. His season was cut short last year during the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament in New York due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

“I think it’s indescribable,” she said. “Last year they had a great team, and we were down there in New York when things shut down.”

Mitch Ballock comes from a competitive family with five siblings. His mother said being the youngest of the family pushed him to improve his game.

“When he wanted to play with them, it pushed him,” she said. “Pretty soon he got bigger, he got stronger, he got better, and he was able to compete and they’ve certainly, I think, been instrumental in his development, his mind, and his physical abilities.”

Mitch Ballock had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in Creighton’s 72-58 win against Ohio in the round of 32 on Monday.

Don Ballock said he knew his son had the talent to make an impact at the college level when Mitch was getting calls from college coaches in high school.

“He might have come home from a tournament and said he talked to this coach or that coach from a university,” he said.

Don Ballock said there are many talented players that don’t find the right fit for their talents, but Mitch found the right school in Creighton.

“Mitch picked the right system for his game and that’s worked out to his advantage,” he said.

He said is not nervous as the game approaches.

“I’m just excited for him and his team just to play the top seed and it should be a lot of fun,” he said. “We have a lot of fans here, so the atmosphere should be good, and I know the kids are all excited.”

LaDonna Ballock said this season has been eerie because of the lack of fans at the CHI Health Center in Omaha where Creighton plays its home games.

“It is [normally] sold out every game, it’s loud, there’s fans, and they’ve missed that,” she said. “The players have missed it and the fans of Omaha have missed it, so that has been a bummer.”

Mitch’s older brother Andrew just finished his first year as a graduate assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Jacksonville State in Florida. He said his experience as a coach has allowed him to see Mitch’s mature approach to the game that he doesn’t see from many players.

“One thing about Mitch that I’ve always loved and I’m really starting to see now is the way he plays the game,” he said. “The way he approaches the game is very professional and he’s always playing for everybody else and making the right play.”

Andrew said this experience has been exciting for his whole family and Eudora.

“Eudora has been incredible for Mitch and our family with the support they have shown through the years,” he said.

LaDonna Ballock said it will be a tough game against No. 1 seed Gonzaga.

“The game is daunting,” she said. “This is the best team in the nation, and I’ve watched their clips, I’ve watched their games, yup, scary going in, but you just hope that everybody brings their best game, and we’ll compete.”

Reach reporter Chris Fortune at [email protected].

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