Defending Class A champion Man will have a different look next year.
All-state forward Austin Ball announced his decision to reclassify to the class of 2023 late Thursday night and transfer to The Miller School of Albermarle in Charlottesville, Va.
The 6-foot-7 forward announced the decision via his Twitter account, thanking his coaches at Man for their support along the way.
— Austin Ball (@austin_ball2) June 25, 2021
Ball is coming off a campaign in which he averaged 19.5 points per game, led Man to its first state championship in basketball, was named to the Class A all-tournament team and was named the Class A first-team all-state captain. He was slated to be a senior this coming season before the decision to reclassify.
Given the nickname Groot by his coaches and teammates due to his build, the lanky wing has drawn a lot of interest lately, securing offers from Marshall, Radford and Stetson.
Despite the loss of Ball, the Hillbillies will return several integral pieces of their title team including second-team all-stater Caleb Blevins and Jackson Tackett.
Contact Tyler Jackson at tylerjackson@lootpress.com, call him at 304-731-5542 and follow on Twitter @tjack94