2014-15 Outlook - Creighton Bluejays

by Creighton Bluejays Media Guide

A sense of excitement is in the air as Creighton Basketball opens the 2014-15 season. The Championship Center, a 42,000 foot facility that contains 2 practice courts, 12 basket standards, an athletic performance center, offices, a locker room and players lounge opened in June and gives the Bluejays top-notch facilities.

The new building is only fitting, because Greg McDermott will rely on some new faces in 2014-15 to plug the holes left by the winningest senior class in program history.

Grant Gibbs, Jahenns Manigat, Ethan Wragge and National Player of the Year Doug McDermott graduated with 107 wins, three straight years with an NCAA Tournament win, and 5,964 points, 2,250 rebounds and 1,062 assists under their belt.

The lone returning starter, senior point guard Austin Chatman, has started every game the past two seasons while piloting the Bluejays to a combined 55-16 record. Chatman will be asked to take on a more vocal role with a team full of men who will grow into bigger roles.

Chatman is joined by four other seniors, a quartet that includes big man Will Artino, swing men Avery Dingman and Rick Kreklow, and combo guard Devin Brooks.

Artino started Creighton’s first 7 games last year and shot 66.9 percent from the field for the year. He leads all active Bluejays with 268 career rebounds and 28 blocked shots.

Dingman started 7 games last January in place of an injured Gibbs and could emerge as one of the team’s top perimeter defenders. Dingman has also made 70 three-pointers in his career, shooting 37.2 percent from beyond the arc as a Bluejay.

Used exclusively off the bench last year, Brooks averaged 6.5 points per game and also proved to be a strong rebounder from his position in the backcourt. Brooks scored in double-figures eight times in his first year at CU, including a season-high 23 points against Arizona State.

CU’s final senior, Kreklow, enters his fifth year of college after earlier stints at both Missouri and California. He’s shown some outside shooting touch, when healthy, and has experience playing in the postseason.

Creighton’s junior class features a pair of big men inside, Geoffrey Groselle and Mogboluwaga Oginni, who played sparingly last year. A rare 7-footer, Groselle is finally healthy and figures to have his best season yet as a Bluejay.

The other two juniors were with the program last year, but did not play. 

James Milliken was a touted junior college recruit who was redshirted, during which time he excelled on the scout team. 

Gabriel Connealy was an all-state player in high school but spent his first couple years on campus as a team manager.

CU boasts just two sophomores, both who will be key contributors. 

Zach Hanson is a talented big man who spent much of his time last year going against McDermott in practice, while Isaiah Zierden is a tremendous shooter who can play either backcourt position. Zierden’s season was cut short by an injury to start March, but he’s since been given full clearance to play.

The Bluejays boast four freshmen, including redshirts Tyler Clement and Toby Hegner. 

Hegner is a skilled big man with outside range, while Clement manned the scout team point guard slot last year.

Ronnie Harrell and Leon Gilmore III are the team’s lone true freshmen. 

Harrell arrives as a heralded perimeter shooter with passing skills, while Gilmore can play several positions and gives the Jays some athleticism on the wing.

Two other members new to the team, juniors Mo Watson Jr. (former Boston) and Cole Huff (former Nevada), will redshirt after transferring in from Boston and Nevada, respectively.

The Bluejays’ second year in the BIG EAST will be a daunting task, as the league boasts one of the strongest recruiting hauls of any conference.

Creighton has been one of the nation’s most consistent teams over the past two decades, as this year’s squad will shoot for the club’s 18th straight postseason bid and 18th straight top-four conference finish.