Frank Ward (basketball)  Frank Ward was an American basketball player who is best known for playing on the dominant teams of Montana State in the late 1920s. Ward, a center, played for coach G. Ott Romney, a man credited with implementing the fast break style of play in basketball. Montana State won three conference championships during Ward's tenure, and in 1928–29 they finished the season with a 35–2 record. They were declared national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation. Ward was a two-time NCAA All-American, including a consensus selection in 1930.