9 Players, 9 Days: Deontay Twyman

NOTE: The first in a nine-part series on each of the Ball State men's basketball players, exclusively on ballstatesports.com through Nov. 9.

MUNCIE, Ind. -- For some athletes, the focus is on one sport during high school.

For others, the athlete excels in more than one and has a chance to play his second favorite in college.

For Ball State freshman Deontay Twyman, that first love was football, but he found his niche in college basketball.

A former high-school standout on the gridiron, Twyman earned state awards and accolades for his accomplishments in the sport.

He even held a record for most touchdown passes for a career in the state of Maryland at 80. But as he soon discovered, football would not be where his time would be spent after high school.

“Coming directly out of high school, I didn’t have many offers to play football," Twyman said. "I had a couple from Division-II schools and some 1-AA.”

Standing six feet tall, the athletic Twyman had to resort to basketball as a collegiate athlete, even though he was a two-time state champion contender in football in the 4A class.

“I played in the Capital Classic All-Star basketball game,” Twyman said. "I had a good game and attracted a lot of interest from Division I basketball programs. Ball State was one of them.”

Even though Twyman always wanted to play football, he has enjoyed his first few months at Ball State with his team on the hardwood.

“I’m a football man,” Twyman said. “But the transition here has been really good. We’ve been starting to adapt to a lot of things Coach Taylor is trying to do. It’s been going really well. He’s been teaching us a lot of things.”

As a guard on his high school basketball team, Twyman scored over 1,250 points in his career. His team won a school-record 23 games en route to his first state championship in basketball as a senior, scoring 22 and 26 points, respectively, in the semifinal and championship game.

He also earned the All-Gazette Player of the Year Award, plus was the first player in 17 years to be named All-Met in both basketball and football by The Washington Post.

As a freshman, Twyman intends to keep to his winning ways at Ball State.

“We want a MAC Championship,” Twyman said. “At the beginning of the season, we wanted to get to the championship and win it. Even with the team we have now, we are confident. We’re small, but everyone can play and we have no weaknesses in our team. It’s going to be a good year.”

And with Coach Taylor at the helm, Twyman knows there is a lot to look forward to this season.

Twyman is also excited to see "The Nest", Ball State’s student section.

“I heard the student section here is crazy,” Twyman said. "When I came to visit, I saw a little bit of film. I can’t wait to experience The Nest during our first game against Butler.”

"Opening Night at Worthen Arena"

Ball State opens the 2007-08 season with one of Indiana college basketball's most heated rivalries -- Nov. 9 vs. Butler in Worthen Arena. The Cardinals and the Bulldogs will be meeting for the 99th time in the all-time series.

"Opening Night" festivities include free men's basketball schedule posters to the first 1,500 fans courtesy of C.S. Kern, the NBA halftime act The Extreme Team (formerly the Bud Light Daredevils) will entertain fans at halftime, while the Muncie Civic Theater cast of Annie will perform the National Anthem.

Plus, opening night will mark the debut of the brand new look of the No. 1 student section in the Mid-American Conference -- "The Nest". All BSU students in "The Nest" will get a free t-shirt and other gameday items to help create an electric atmosphere.