Back to the Ball State Cardinals Newsfeed

'I just haven’t stopped smiling': Payton Sparks to IU makes for a full-circle journey

Special for IndyStar

In the interest of making sure it was the right decision, Payton Sparks didn’t commit to Indiana on his unofficial visit Monday. He wanted to sleep on it.

The Ball State transfer and Winchester grad grew up an IU fan. He remembers watching IU beat No. 1 Michigan in 2013. He remembers being in his living room to watch Christian Watford hit the famous shot to beat Kentucky. By his own recollection, he just sat there, shocked after, "like wow, they really just beat the No.