MUNCIE, Ind. — On Feb. 23, the largest crowd of Francis Kiapway’s Ball State career packed into Worthen Arena. In the tunnel, former Ball State teammate Kaleb Mallory waited to walk him out for Senior Night, as Kiapway was to be recognized before his final home game. His family was back home in Canada.
That night, Kiapway – third in program history with 207 career 3-pointers – did not leave the bench except to pat his teammates on the back. Head coach James Whitford wrestled with the best way to handle this – a player who had started 85 games in four years, but was mired in a shooting slump and had fallen out of the rotation.