Ward’s increased playing time leads to improvement 

Sophomore forward Hason Ward dunks against La Salle. Photo by Megan Lee

Noah Fleischman, Sports Editor

Sophomore forward Hason Ward didn’t start playing organized basketball until his sophomore year of high school. He didn’t play travel basketball growing up like others at the Division I level, so he’s had to work hard to improve his skill set. 

Ward’s work ethic has been on display this season, with his playing time doubling more than his first year. 

“I just think he’s starting to understand how hard he has to play all the time,” head coach Mike Rhoades said of Ward. “I think sometimes, when you start having success and success in games, you realize what you’re doing … is working.”

The St. Thomas, Barbados, native put up career-best numbers this season, including five blocks against Dayton on Jan. 23 and his first career double-double against La Salle on Jan. 30. 

“I can’t even explain it, it just started happening,” Ward said. “I just started playing harder. Everything just started to go better, so I continued to do it.”

Junior forward Vince Williams Jr. said Ward has been playing harder in practice this year than he did in his freshman year.

“What you work on at practice, it comes out in the game,” Williams said. “It’s him getting his own mindset to come out and play hard every game — sky’s the limit.”

Ward has appeared in all 16 games this season after making his first career start against La Salle on Saturday. He ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in blocks per game with 2.3, trailing George Mason’s AJ Wilson’s 2.6 blocks. 

Assistant coach Brent Scott said Ward has improved on his overall skills as he’s gained collegiate experience. 

“He knows he’s the first guy coming off the bench,” Scott said. “So, he can be ready mentally where sometimes, if you don’t know for sure, you might not be as mentally prepared.” 

Scott said Ward keeps the defense together by stepping up on the next player, sliding over to make a block and guarding anyone on the floor with his athleticism. 

“Even if it’s not my role to help in that situation, even if it wasn’t my help, I’d still try to get there to help,” Ward said.

Sophomore guard Bones Hyland said Ward acts like the glue on the defensive end, “keeping the team together.”

“When it falls apart, he’s right there to help us out,” Hyland said. 

Standing at 6 feet, 9 inches, Ward has become a popular target for lobs around the basket. The alley-oops bring the crowd at the Stuart C. Siegel Center to its feet. 

“Guys love playing with him because he can clean up their mistakes at times, but it’s also fun to throw to someone where you can throw it vertical,” Rhoades said. “Not everybody in college basketball can play vertical where he’s at.”

Ward said his goal this season was to improve creating offense on his own, instead of producing alley-oop dunks. He said he’s been working on his post moves to be able to generate his own offense. 

Rhoades said Ward’s athleticism allows him to move up and down the court well. 

“He doesn’t need the whole court to get to full speed,” Rhoades said. “He can get to full speed in two or three steps. He can get by guys if it’s a 50/50 ball up in the air. He has a better chance to go up and get it than anyone.”

Ward and the rest of the Rams will face Duquesne on the road on Sunday at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Network.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply