As a junior at Kansas, he’s averaging 3.4 minutes.

So is the point guard who was a three-year starter at Hutchinson High and a starter during stops at both Cowley County Community College and HCC moping at the end of the Jayhawks’ bench, perhaps contemplating a transfer?

Umm, no.

“I’m loving it here,” said Ballard, a secondary education major who wants to teach and coach after he graduates. “I know I’m not going to get to play a lot, but I’m learning from one of the best coaches in the nation. That’s going to help me in the future.”

Playing for KU coach Roy Williams wasn’t a realistic goal for Ballard as a 5-foot-11, 160-pound high school senior.

“I wasn’t ready for Division I coming out of high school,” said Ballard, who grew an inch and gained 15 pounds during two grueling seasons in the Jayhawk Conference.

Not only was he not ready for Division I, Ballard wasn’t even recruited by his hometown junior college.

Ballard set a Hutchinson High record with 33 three-pointers and averaged 14.4 points per game during his senior season. He finished his prep career as the fifth all-time leading scorer in Salt Hawk history.

But HCC didn’t come calling.

“It wouldn’t have been fair to Brett,” HCC coach Tim Duryea said. “We had five returning sophomore guards.”

So Ballard went to Cowley County for a season and averaged 6.7 points and five assists a game in a starting role.

“There might not be another guy that’s averaged more minutes in the Jayhawk Conference,” Duryea said. “He’s got tremendous endurance.”

Ballard a three-time state cross country qualifier in high school needed that endurance when he transferred home. As a sophomore, he was as the lone point guard on an HCC team that used only eight players.

The Blue Dragons managed to post a 23-10 record and made a run to the Region 6 semifinals. It was during that tournament that Ballard and teammate Chris Zerbe caught the attention of KU assistant coach Joe Holladay. The Jayhawks needed practice players for the upcoming season, and the Jayhawk coaching staff liked the fact that HCC ran an offense similar to KU’s.

Both Zerbe and Ballard had scholarship offers to consider. Centenary a small Division I school wanted both players. Zerbe also had offers from Wichita State, Stephen F. Austin and Pittsburg State, while several small colleges pursued Ballard.

The chance to play for the Jayhawks even in limited roles as walk-ons was irresistible for the Kansas natives.

“It’s just kind of natural. My whole family loves KU,” said Ballard, whose aunt Jan Ballard played for the Kansas women in the 1970s. “I’ve been a KU fan my whole life. My dad and I came up to a lot of games.”

Brett’s father, Larry, coached middle school and sophomore basketball in Hutchinson for more than 20 years.

“I went to his practices and was always around the gym and around basketball,” Ballard said. “That did have an influence.”

In the end, Ballard’s desire to be a coach outweighed his desire for playing time.

“He’s smart enough to see what putting him in the KU program for two years could do for him after his playing career is over in terms of what he can learn and the connections he can make,” Duryea said. “He could have gone somewhere else and played more, and that would be good in the short term. But in the long run, he can see that this is a much better move. I think it was an easy choice.”

After working hard in the fall, roommates Zerbe and Ballard were given scholarships for the spring semester.

With swingmen Kenny Gregory and Luke Axtell sidelined by injuries and guard Mario Kinsey out with the flu, Ballard logged a season-high 13 minutes in last Saturday’s 92-69 victory over Tulsa. He had one assist, one steal and one block.

Ballard heard about it, though, when he missed all three of his shots.

“Everybody is mad at him in the locker room because everyday in practice he makes every shot he takes,” Williams said after the game. “Against the Blue Team, he drills them every single day. He didn’t make any today. He did a good job defensively for us.”

From high school to major college, Ballard’s coaches praise his defense and effort.

“He plays hard,” said Hutchinson High coach Phil Anderson, who attended Saturday’s game with Ballard’s father. “He’s willing to take a charge. He’s willing to get on the floor for loose balls. He helps out in the post. He’s not blessed with great speed, so he has to counter that with great effort. He’s going to stick his neck in there. Even though he’s not very big, he’s extremely tough. That’s one thing we loved about him, and he’s gotten even tougher.”

Still Ballard’s biggest contributions are likely to come in practice. Duryea said the qualities that make him a good player will some day make him a good coach.

“He’s tremendously smart,” Duryea said. “He’s a very quick learner. He’s very competitive. Those things will make him a great practice player. He goes out and works hard every day. He has a good head for the game.”

Though Gregory and Axtell are seniors, playing time could be just as hard to come by next year because the Jayhawks’ recruiting class is loaded with guards. But Ballard hopes to stick around even beyond next season.

“C.B. and Jerod are in great positions,” Ballard said of former KU players C.B. McGrath and Jerod Haase, who are Williams’ administrative assistants. “That’s something I’d like to do. I’d like to be here around KU basketball.”