BY MATT CRAIG | Ball State Sports Link
Tuesday night was an important one for Ball State’s men’s basketball team, as they defeated Toledo 82-74 on the road to remain in the mix for a first-round bye in the Mid American Conference tournament.
But it would also turn out to be an important night individually for Ball State senior Ryan Weber, who caught a pass in transition during the second half and proceeded to put a chasing Toledo defender on a poster.
In basketball-speak, Weber “caught a body.”
.@RYWEB33: TAKING FLIGHT!!!
😱😱😱@BallStateMBB | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/ajYBO8MCYL
— Ball State Sports Link (@bsusportslink) March 1, 2017
Weber has undoubtedly improved his athleticism since transferring to Ball State before the 2014-2015 season, especially in the year he had to sit out due to NCAA transfer policies.
But even he didn’t think he had this in him.
During last week’s home matchup with Eastern Michigan, a game that Sports Link broadcasted for ESPN3, I had the chance to catch up with Weber in a segment called, “Coast to Coast.”
I threw a bunch of rapid-fire questions at him, including “would you rather dunk on somebody, or hit a game-winning three?”
He chose the game-winning three, but went on to add this quote: “I don’t even think I could dunk on someone.”
My response: “Well you never know.”
Well less than a week later, now we know.
The ultimate reward came when Ryan Weber and the rest of the Cardinal faithful woke up this morning to learn that the now-famous dunk had been selected as #5 on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays.
Social media went crazy, as it does, and I had to take the chance to remind Weber of the incredible coincidence. His response is classic.
@bsusportslink @BallStateMBB hahaha that is incredibly ironic. Next game ask me if I could go for 50 and get a bye to Cleveland
— Ryan Weber (@Ryweb33) March 1, 2017
If it turns out that I suddenly have prophetic powers, the ability to will these things into existence, then I fully accept the responsibility.
Hey Ryan, would you rather score 50 this Friday and get a bye to Cleveland or score 30 in the MAC Championship and go to the NCAA Tournament?
The Cardinals are in action in for their regular season finale on Friday night versus Northern Illinois, tip-off at 7 p.m. inside Worthen Arena or online at ESPN 3.
