Published Dec 7, 2020
Q&A: Mitch Ballock talks about return home, favorite game in AFH, and more
Shay Wildeboor  •  JayhawkSlant
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Creighton senior guard Mitch Ballock, who grew up in Eudora, Kan., will return to a venue he frequented many times throughout his high school career. On Monday morning, Ballock talked about some of his favorite memories of Allen Fieldhouse, why he signed with Creighton over Kansas, how he feels heading into the game, and more.

Q: I was wondering if you have a favorite memory from Allen Fieldhouse, whether it's a game you saw there, or maybe you played a game there, or maybe you and your buddies tried to sneak in and play there or anything like that just over the years.

A: Probably my favorite memory from Allen Fieldhouse was probably the Oklahoma game. I don't remember what year it was. I think it was a triple overtime game, just a high-level competition. Buddy Hield went crazy. I think he had like 46 or 47. But a close second was the Kentucky game at home as well. I mean, they really got up and down. There was high-level athleticism and it was a really good game to attend. So I'd probably say those top two, but probably Buddy Hield in the Fieldhouse was pretty ridiculous.

Q: How many people are you going to have there? I know it's not as many tickets available as it once was, but we talked this summer about you bringing in the whole town.

A: Yeah. My family, this is going to be the first game where I actually have a majority of my family. I have a brother down in Florida and a sister in Brazil. So I'm going to have 10 total people from my family, just with nieces and nephews and sister-in-law's, brother-in-law's type of thing. So 10 total, and then hopefully some other familiar faces I can pick out in the crowd.

Q: Did you have to do extra work or was it harder (to get the extra tickets)?

A: A teammate helped me out with four of them, and then I had my four, and then my mom knew somebody from my hometown that had some extra tickets available. I don't know how, but my mom just figures things out and she gets things done. So it'll be good. It'll be really fun just to see some familiar faces, like I said, and hopefully see some people I don't expect to see.

Q: I don't know what you've seen so far from Kansas much, but they seem to have some lineup versatility moreso this year than they have in years past. What stands out to you about what makes that particular group dangerous when they put that on the floor

A: Yeah. Sometimes, I mean, they play a lot like we do in a way. I mean, half the time they play five guards and then they pose matchup problems that we've posed in the past. Usually traditionally they have a guy like Udoka or a big five that can really bang on the inside and just pose a lot of problems in the paint. But now they just have a lot of guys that the paint and play kind of the way we do. My bad. I was looking at him. They get to the paint and they spray and they just make plays for one another. So they play a lot like we do, just with a five guard system.


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Q: Any extra emotions going into tomorrow? Obviously I know a Coach Self recruited you heavily and you've been to a lot of games there. Just any thoughts on the game and just your feelings going into it?

A: Not really any extra emotions right now. I'm probably trying to slow play it a little bit until I actually am in the moment. But honestly, it's just another game. It's a good opportunity just to see where we're at as a team, what we need to work on and kind of what we can do to keep getting better. So this will be a good test for us building up for the rest of the season, building up into conference play. So hopefully we can get a baseline of where we're at and get a little better. But in terms of emotion, I'm sure I'll have a little bit more adrenaline, especially because this is going to be the first game with a couple thousand fans. So that'll be interesting. But at the end of the day, it's just basketball. You come in, you do what you've been doing the last three years and just have fun with it.

Q: Okay. Hey, sorry about that, Mitch. Fran Fraschilla and I are looking forward to calling your game in the Fieldhouse. My question is this. From what I understand, you admitted there were several times you were close to signing with Kansas. So what was the event or events or sequence where you eventually came to the conclusion that Creighton would be the best place for you?

A: Yeah, like you said, I was, I mean, it's kind of hard not to. Obviously you've been in Allen Fieldhouse. It's an unbelievable atmosphere. And the way they do things is the right ... I mean, I'm not saying it's the right or wrong way, but they win. So when you have a program that wins games like that at the level at which they win, then it appealing to a recruit, especially when you're 15 and 16 years old. So just seeing that so close to home, it was just an opportunity for me to play at the next level and play in front of that atmosphere and those fans.Mitch Ballock:But at the end of the day, I don't think it fit me as a person overall. So I thought Creighton, when I went to Creighton, the opportunities it posed for me right away and the opportunities it posed for me down in my future, I thought it was a better situation for me. And I think it's going to be more beneficial for me playing out. And I haven't had any regrets. I mean, I've been here for three years. This is my fourth year. And I've had an unbelievable experience here at Creighton. So I have no regrets. I mean, Kansas has done an unbelievable job in the past four years. So I don't think they miss me that much. So it's been fun being at Creighton.

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