2014-15 Blue Ribbon's Preview - CREIGHTON

Standing (l-r):

0 Leon Gilmore III, 4 Ronnie Harrell, 13 Cole Huff, 32 Toby Hegner, 41 Geoffrey Groselle, 31 Will Artino, 50 Mogboluwaga Oginni, 15 Rick Kreklow, 40 Zach Hanson.

Sitting (l-r): 

11 Tyler Clement, 23 James Milliken, 22 Avery Dingman, 1 Austin Chatman, 21 Isaiah Zierden, 10 Mo Watson Jr., 5 Devin Brooks, 2 Gabriel Connealy.

FOUR THE AGES
It was arguably one of the greatest senior classes in Creighton history. 

The quartet of Doug McDermott, Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat and Ethan Wragge put together an impressive run in its four seasons. The 29 wins three years ago set a single-season school record. The 57 combined wins from 2011-12 and 2012-13 set a two-year record. The 84 wins over the past three seasons and 107 wins in the previous four years also are program highs. 

The four players combined for 5,964 points, 2,250 rebounds and 1,062 assists. Doug McDermott finished with 3,150 points, fifth-best in NCAA history, and he swept the nation’s player of the year awards last season. 

But the four are gone, and Greg McDermott, Doug’s father and Creighton’s coach, now has to find a way to sustain the Bluejays’ recent run. 

“It will be an adjustment for me because they’ve been here since I arrived,” McDermott said. “But that happens in college basketball. Now we have to become a different team.” 

The four seniors were all starters, so the Bluejays’ lineup will have a drastically different look. But guard Austin Chatman, the lone returning starter, and six key returning players all have the experience of being with a winning program, and McDermott thinks that will be a key. 

“These guys have experience,” he said. “These are guys who have been [to the postseason] and been successful. They’ve been there and done that, just in different roles. Now they have new roles they have to fill.” 

CHAT-THE-MAN

Austin Chatman (8.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.4 APG) will be the focus of the Bluejays’ rebuilding. The 6-0 (1,82) senior started all 35 games and led the team in assists last season. 

Chatman has started 71 consecutive games and ranks 10th in school history with 372 career assists, third-best for a Creighton player after his junior year. 

Chatman was especially good down the stretch last season. He scored in double figures in six of Creighton’s final seven games, and he was chosen to the Big East all-tournament team. A 0.389 3-point shooter (35 of 90) last season, Chatman can easily take on a greater scoring role, and more, according to his coach. 

“I think he’s ready to take on that challenge of being a leader,” McDermott said. “He’s played in three NCAA tournaments. He knows what it takes to be successful, and what it takes to get there. “He’s going to be surrounded by inexperience. But they’ll follow his lead, and that’s a good player to have.” 

Chatman suffered a thumb injury in late July that required surgery to fix. He was expected to be back by late September. “We’re going to need him healthy when we get ready to start practice,” McDermott said. “We’re going to need his leadership out there, especially with the inexperience we have.”

Three other seniors also will be stepping into new roles. 

Devin Brooks, a 6-2 (1,87) guard, will be expected to be more of a scorer. Brooks (6.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.8 APG) did a lot of things last season, including board—he grabbed 124 rebounds, including 43 offensive, and was fourth on the team with 95 assists. 

Like Chatman, Brooks was also at his best in the closing games of the season. He had five assists without a turnover in the Big East semifinal against Xavier, and in the NCAA tournament handed out four assists in 14 minutes against Baylor. 

“Devin can get to the basket, and he’s going to have to do more of that this season,” McDermott said. “He can be a more complete player.” 

DING-THE OTHER-MAN

Avery Dingman, a 6-6 (1,97) senior, started seven games last season. Dingman (3.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG) is a 37% career 3-point shooter, and he also can provide rebounding help. 

Dingman played a key role in a January win over DePaul, with a season-high 16 points and five rebounds. He moved into the starting lineup after that game because of an injury to Gibbs, and started the next seven games. Dingman scored 10 points in 18 minutes in the Big East tournament championship game against Providence. 

“Avery has been reliable for us, and you need guys like that,” McDermott said. “Again, he’s a player who is probably going to step into a different role for us.” 

STATE OF THE ARTINO

Will Artino (5.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG), a 6-11 (2,09) senior center, has shot 65.1% from the field in his career. Artino started the first seven games of last season before Wragge took over. 

He’ll be pushed by Geoffrey Groselle for playing time at center. Groselle (1.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg) is Creighton’s first 7-footer since 1991. Groselle, a junior, played in just 15 games last season as he recovered from Achilles surgery, and he has played just 32 games in his career. Groselle sat out his first season, then barely played as a redshirt freshman. 

“He is healthy for the first time in his career, and you can tell that in the way he played this summer,” McDermott said. 

Isaiah Zierden (3.2 ppg), a 6-2 (1,87) sophomore guard, is a strong 3-point shooter who was 16 of 49 from behind the arc before a dislocated right kneecap in a March 1 loss to Xavier ended his season. 

“He was playing his best basketball when he went down,” McDermott said. 

Zach Hanson, a 6-9 (2,04), 245-pound sophomore, played in 24 games last season, shooting 68.4 percent from the field. Hanson (2.8 PPG, 1.1 RPG) is also bidding for more playing time, and could be poised for a breakout season. 

Hanson was one of the team’s more productive per-minute players. He played just 123 minutes, but scored 66 points, and in Big East play contributed 29 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes. 

“Zach had some great moments as a freshman, and that’s something he can build on,” McDermott said. 

4 NEW KIDS FROME THE BLOCK

McDermott will have four newcomers to work into the rotation, two of whom redshirted last season. 

Toby Hegner is a 6-9, 225-pound forward who sat out 2013-14 after scoring more than 1,200 points and grabbing 500 rebounds in his high school career in Berlin, Wisconsin. 

“Toby is one of those guys who can play outside, but also has the capability of stepping out and shooting that ball,” McDermott said. 

The other redshirt is James Milliken, a 6-2 junior out of Cowley County (Kan.) Community College. Milliken averaged 18.4 points his sophomore season, and finished his junior college career with 1,150 points. He drained 79 3-pointers during his sophomore season. 

“We decided to redshirt him last year, and I think it helped him,” McDermott said. “He can really shoot the ball. He was more of a shooter, not as good at doing things off the bounce. He’s become a better player at getting to the basket.” 

GONE WITH THE WING

McDermott added two wing players—6-7 (1,99) freshmen Leon Gilmore III and Ronnie Harrell. 

Leon Gilmore III averaged 17.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals in his senior season at Manvel (Tex.) High School. 

“Leon is a versatile player that can pass, handle and shoot the basketball,” McDermott said when Gilmore signed last November. “His length and athletic ability will allow us to play him at several positions. He competes on both ends of the floor and has tremendous potential.” 

Harrell is a similar player—a ball-handler who can attack the basket, but also has 3-point range, a Creighton staple. He comes from East High School in Denver. ESPN.com rated him a four-star recruit, the No. 71 player in the country and the No. 18 small forward. 

“Ronnie has a tremendous skill set with his ability to see the floor and handle the basketball,” McDermott said last fall. “He has deep range from the perimeter which will fit our system well.” 

Both freshmen acquitted themselves well in summer workouts. 

“Leon and Ronnie can do great things,” McDermott said. “They’ve come from successful programs, and they’ve been showing some good play this summer.”

TRANSFERS MONEY

Creighton also has two transfers, Cole Huff from Nevada and Maurice Watson, Jr., of Boston University, who will have to sit out this season. Each will have two years of eligibility remaining. 

Cole Huff averaged 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds as a sophomore last season. 

Maurice Watson was the starting point guard the last two seasons at Boston University, where he racked up 800 points, 410 assists and 125 steals in his first two seasons. Last season he averaged 7.1 assists, third in the nation, and 13.3 points. 

ELITE CR-EIGHT-ON

Creighton has become an élite program in recent seasons. The Bluejays are one of eight teams that have been in the postseason for 17 consecutive years, joining élite program like Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State. Creighton is also one of four schools with a postseason win in each of the last seven years. 

HOME SWEET HOME

The Bluejays also have been dominant at home, last year going undefeated. The 84 wins posted by Creighton in the last three seasons are the 10th most nationally. And during the McDermott era, the Bluejays have led the nation in field-goal percentage, 3-point field-goal percentage and assists. 

It has been an impressive run. 

But this is a different team. Some of the names from the past are gone, some of the names are still here, and some will take on new roles. 

RUN & GUN

The names may change, but the Bluejays aren’t going to change what they do. Creighton made 356 3-pointers last season, the most in school history. That total also led the nation, and was 11th-best in Division I. 

“We’re going to be a different team in that regard [of having new faces],” McDermott said. “We’re still going to shoot 3s, we’re still going to run, we’re still going to do the things that we’ve always done. That’s not going to change.” 

Still, McDermott knows it isn’t going to be easy. 

“I think we’ll be a better team in January and February,” he said. “I know it’s going to take time to see how this comes together. But I think we have a good team, it’s just going to be guys learning new roles.” 

John Bohnenkamp, Blue Ribbon Yearbook

Blue Ribbon Analysis: 

BACKCOURT B 

FRONTCOURT B 

BENCH/DEPTH B- 

INTANGIBLES B-

LOCATION:      Omaha, NE 

CONFERENCe: Big East
LAST SEASON:   27-8 (.771)

CONFERENCE RECORD: 14-4 (2nd)
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST: 1/4 

NICKNAME:    Bluejays
COLORS:          Blue & White
HOMECOURT: CenturyLink Center

COaCH: Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa ’88)

RECORD AT SCHOOL: 107-38 (4 years) 

CAREER RECORD:       387-233 (20 years) 

ASSISTANTS: 

Darian DeVries (Northern Iowa ’98), 

Steve Lutz (Texas Lutheran ’95) 

Patrick Sellers (Central Connecticut State ’91) 

WINs (last 5 years): 18-23-29-28-27

RPI (last 5 years):    106-113-23-22-17

2013-14 FINISH:     Lost in NCAA third round