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May 18, 2021 - 12:00 am
Man s Austin Ball is captain of the Class A all-state team after leading the Hillbillies with 20 points per game. Man captured the Class A championship. Photo by Eddie Ferrari By Tyler Jackson, The Register-Herald
Austin Ball wasn’t a name known in many corners of the state a year ago.
That’s not the case anymore.
A matchup nightmare, the 6-foot-7 forward lit the state on fire, guiding Man to a 13-2 record heading into the state tournament and, eventually, the Class A title game.
“He’s the one that I stay on every single day of practice,” Man head coach T.J. Blevins said. “I’m probably the hardest coach on kids. I’ve been at the college levels so I see what it takes for him to get there. So I point out everything that I can. We call him Groot and we go as he goes. At halftime of that championship game, we told him it was go time and his time to shine. We needed him to lead us and he responded.”