‘He’s Mr. Consistent’: SEMO point guard BJ Ward’s leap to early superstardom

SEMO sophomore point guard BJ Ward in the home opener against Crowley's Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Ward has become the anchor of the Redhawks lineup, leading the team in points (50) and 3-pointers (10) through the first three games.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

Work ethic is important to BJ Ward. To have put in countless hours in the offseason. To have bounced back from an underwhelming freshman campaign. To have made his own mark.

Ward is off to one heck of a start.

The St. Louis native turned in his most complete game of the new season in Southeast Missouri State’s 93-38 win over Crowley’s Ridge on Wednesday night, Nov. 13, at the Show Me Center. The 6-foot point guard stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and one steal against the Pioneers to earn his first-career double-double.

“Just getting in the gym, basically,” Ward said of his noticeable turnaround this year. “I mean, my guys have been finding me all year, so just getting in the gym has been the biggest thing, and it’s honestly helped me out a lot.”

Ward has a permanent green light for SEMO. Through the first two weeks, the sophomore has 10 3s, which currently ranks 12th in the nation, and is draining 62.5% of his 3-point attempts. In fact, outside of Ward, SEMO is just 19-of-67 (28%) from shooting beyond the arc.

Not bad for a 19-year-old who only made two starts and shot 11 of 68 from long range as a freshman last season.

“It was just all work over the summer,” Ward said. “My coaches told me that after last year's last game when we played Southern Indiana. They told me I’ve just got to get back to work. Ever since then, I've been in the gym every day. So far, the work has been showing.”

SEMO sophomore BJ Ward fires away a 3-pointer against Crowley's Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 13. (Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com)

There's always been a lot of internal optimism about Ward and what he could bring to the table as a Redhawk. He has scored in double figures in each of the first three games, which was last done at SEMO by two-time all-conference guard Phillip Russell back in 2022. The most impressive thing about Ward is his consistency. There's not a possession on either end where he's not fully invested or not trying to make a play for his team.

“He's Mr. Consistent,” head coach Brad Korn said. “I think the thing of it is he's played so high up to this point that even if he drops off a little bit, it's still going to be at a high level because he's been so consistent. But I think he's got the ability to really grow in some leadership aspects here just because he knows the game, he's put in the work and now he's got the confidence. Now he can demand it from his team.”

A touted high school recruit out of Chaminade College Prep, Ward was ranked among the top 10 point guards in the state of Missouri as a senior and helped lead the Red Devils to back-to-back Final Four appearances at the Class 6 state tournament.

A Redhawk at heart, Ward said that Korn and the SEMO coaching staff began showing interest in him as early as his sophomore year.

“I think it was my sophomore year when I came on my first unofficial visit,” Ward said. “It just felt like a family from the beginning. The coaches were good, and even though some coaches left, the new coaches came and it still felt like a family.”

Ward was taught early on that his “second home away from home” was the gym. His work ethic continued to rise, as he said he wanted to do whatever it took to be successful at the next level.

Korn said he sensed that right away when he recruited him and also fell in love with how complete of a player Ward was on the court. The rest was history.

“I think really what caught my eye about him is when you watch him play, you're just like, ‘Oh, man, he just does a little bit of everything,’” Korn said. “If you could build a player that you'd want to play, he kind of plays that way. He's really, really smart and he knows the game. He’s fast, he's shooting the ball really well. I can talk to BJ almost like how head coaches talk to their quarterbacks in football and talk to him through a mic and be like, ‘Hey BJ, let's go 45 razor flip 22,’ and he can be like, ‘All right,’ and go do it. So, he's got a really good basketball IQ. I just noticed the way that he plays and moves, he makes the right play almost all the time.”

SEMO point guard BJ Ward eyes up an open teammate for a throw-in pass against Crowley's Ridge on Wednesday, Nov. 13. (Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com)

Ward’s freshman season had its ups and downs. While he made some splashes and had a trio of double-digit scoring games, the St. Louis product was nowhere near where he wanted to be in terms of performance.

“He took accountability when he messed up,” Korn said. “If it wasn't going right, he didn't point fingers, he didn't blame, he didn't sulk, he didn’t become a bad human being. He just stuck with it and he’s persevered. In today's age, you don't see that very often. So, he’s got some humility to him. He really went to work in the offseason and that's what you, as a coach, love to see, because I can't want it more than the kid wants it. And so, he wanted to change that narrative of the way that he played that freshman year. He's like, ‘I’m not going to do that again.’”

And so the focus now switches to an impending sophomore season and how Ward continues to mature as a player and leader. How much more vocal he can become. How well he must keep playing to help direct the Redhawks to a winning season and potential conference title.

“My guys need me and we need each other this year,” Ward said. “I just feel more comfortable out there. The last few games our guys have been finding me and I’m finding them.”

So far, so good.