Ultra-positive FIU men’s basketball coach persevering through tragedy and heartbreak

His mother died of uterine cancer.

His father suffered a massive heart attack.

All within the past six months.

That’s what Jeremy Ballard – FIU’s ultra-positive men’s basketball coach -- has been dealing with this season.

But Ballard hasn’t been alone in this painful journey. Aside from terrific support on the part of his family, FIU administrators and his assistant coaches, Ballard’s players have also been there for him.

In fact, soon after Ballard lost his mother, Rita, on August 22, he got scores of text messages and phone calls.

One text in particular encapsulated the messages Ballard received from his players:

“Coach, no matter what, we’ve got your back,” read a text from FIU guard Javaunte Hawkins. “Don’t forget, we’re your family, too.”

It was a beautiful sentiment, but it didn’t change the fact that Rita Ballard was gone far too soon at age 67.

“It’s been devastating,” Ballard said of the loss of his mom. “It tore my heart to pieces. It leveled our whole family, and we’re still trying to put the pieces back together.”

The coach’s father, John Ballard, who turns 73 in March, suffered his heart attack last spring. Since then, he has battled organ failure and other health issues, and he has been in and out of hospitals.

At one point, Rita was on one floor of her Atlanta hospital, and John was on another in the same building. While Rita was getting chemotherapy treatments, John was in the intensive care unit – essentially in a coma for six weeks.

Prior to her death, Rita was the proud grandmother of five children, including Khalif “Bam-Bam” Ballard, the nine-year-old son of Jeremy.

“Even though it wasn’t enough, at least I got 41 years with my mom -- a lot of people don’t get that,” Ballard said. “She ran her race and won her race. She accomplished everything she was sent here to do.”

Ballard will never forget where he was when he heard about his mother’s cancer diagnosis. He was scouting for players at the national junior-college championships in Hutchinson, Kansas.

After that, Rita went through five rounds of chemotherapy.

“She was a warrior,” Ballard said. “She had a hysterectomy, which removed a large portion of the tumors. But the cancer struck again, and her body couldn’t fight it off any longer.”

Meanwhile, despite losing his beloved wife and going through a grave illness, John Ballard is still an “eternal optimist”, according to his son.

“Dad watches every one of our games,” Ballard said. “He sends me inspirational texts before and after every game.”

Coach Ballard has also had the support of his highly successful younger sisters: Mia Ballard-Hunt, who is a psychiatrist for Atlanta’s public schools; and Megan Ballard, an ear-nose-throat surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

As for basketball, once FIU started its season on Nov. 7, Ballard was somehow able to focus on the court even while dealing with the biggest crisis of his life.

“I’m so fortunate to be a part of a profession that I’m so passionate about and that requires every ounce of my energy and spirit,” Ballard said.

“It’s all-consuming in the most beautiful way. It allows me to get lost in what I love and with the people I love. It’s been life-saving.”

Still, Ballard said that “heavy feeling” he is still processing is always present.

“There are times when the emotion overwhelms me,” he said. “Any person close to me has certainly witnessed that.

“My players have seen me cry many times. I’ve cried more in the past few months than I have in the past 20 years.”

Some of that emotion came pouring out the week of January 2, when FIU scored two consecutive upsets, beating Charlotte, 62-60, and defeating UAB, 90-87, in overtime.

In the locker-room following those wins, Ballard’s players embraced him as he sobbed.

“His tragic time – we all felt it,” said Denver Jones, FIU’s leading scorer. “We all just wanted to be there for him. We know this is bigger than basketball.

“Every day, (Ballard) tells us he loves us. He calls us family. We all look up to him. We look to him for guidance on and off the court.

“By continuing to coach us, it just shows how strong he is as a person and as a man.”