I have some thoughts.
First, he was a freshman during my senior year, and at that time they had open gyms where you could watch the team work out (usually after football games). The first thing I noticed about Ward was that he couldn't dribble a lick, which seemed to be a bit of a problem for a small forward. During those open gyms, Mo Taylor was by far the most impressive of the kids.
As a freshman, Fisher played Ward more down low than anywhere else, which was a mistake. He couldn't finish around the rim, and his skill set was knocking down the open three.
By his junior year (after the two knee surgeries), he finally started to play somewhat better. I remember a road game at Indiana where he scored like 15 points in the first 5 minutes, but then Fisher sat him for a long stretch when he picked up a technical foul (on a really suspect call - shocking that would happen at Indiana). Then, Fisher went to the retarded lineup of Taylor, Traylor *and* Baston as his front line, with Ward coming off the bench. If I recall, Ward did have a 15 point game in the NIT semi-finals that year.
As a senior, with Fisher gone (and Taylor gone - made the whole team way better), Ward finally started reaching his potential. Watch some highlights of the UM-Indiana game from early 1998 (on Youtube), and he looked like a pro in that game.
Ultimately, he came very close several times to making an NBA team, but never stuck.
My overall take is that he was overrated, the knee injuries certainly hurt him, Fisher completely misused him (during a period in which, IMO, he was just an awful basketball coach), and he was probably just good enough that without the knee injuries, he could have played a few years in the NBA. He did have a solid career in Europe, though, and by all accounts he's a great guy.
This post was edited on 3/9 1:20 PM by LosAngelesWolverine
First, he was a freshman during my senior year, and at that time they had open gyms where you could watch the team work out (usually after football games). The first thing I noticed about Ward was that he couldn't dribble a lick, which seemed to be a bit of a problem for a small forward. During those open gyms, Mo Taylor was by far the most impressive of the kids.
As a freshman, Fisher played Ward more down low than anywhere else, which was a mistake. He couldn't finish around the rim, and his skill set was knocking down the open three.
By his junior year (after the two knee surgeries), he finally started to play somewhat better. I remember a road game at Indiana where he scored like 15 points in the first 5 minutes, but then Fisher sat him for a long stretch when he picked up a technical foul (on a really suspect call - shocking that would happen at Indiana). Then, Fisher went to the retarded lineup of Taylor, Traylor *and* Baston as his front line, with Ward coming off the bench. If I recall, Ward did have a 15 point game in the NIT semi-finals that year.
As a senior, with Fisher gone (and Taylor gone - made the whole team way better), Ward finally started reaching his potential. Watch some highlights of the UM-Indiana game from early 1998 (on Youtube), and he looked like a pro in that game.
Ultimately, he came very close several times to making an NBA team, but never stuck.
My overall take is that he was overrated, the knee injuries certainly hurt him, Fisher completely misused him (during a period in which, IMO, he was just an awful basketball coach), and he was probably just good enough that without the knee injuries, he could have played a few years in the NBA. He did have a solid career in Europe, though, and by all accounts he's a great guy.
This post was edited on 3/9 1:20 PM by LosAngelesWolverine
