CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS - 2015-16 Blue Ribbon's Preview

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS:

BACKCOURT B 

FRONTCOURT A- 

BENCH/DEPTH B 

INTANGIBLES B 

LOCATION   Omaha, NE 

CONFERENCE   Big East (3. year)

LAST SEASON   14-19 (42.4%)

CONFERENCE RECORD    4-14 (t-9th) 

STARTERS RETURNING/LOST   1/4 (#41 Geoffrey Groselle, C/Sr.)

NICKNAME   Bluejays

COLORS   Blue & White 

HOMECOURT   CenturyLink Center, Omaha (17,390) 

COACH   Greg McDermott (UNI - Northern Iowa ’88)  - 6. year

RECORD AT SCHOOL   121-57 (5 years) 

CAREER RECORD   270-188 (14 years) 

ASSISTANTS 

Darian DeVries (UNI ’98) - Steve Lutz (Texas Lutheran ’95) - Preston Murphy (Rhode Island ’99) 

WINS (LAST 5 YRS)   23-29-28-27-14 

RPI (LAST 5 YEARS)   113-23-22-17-157 

2014-15 FINISH   Lost in Big East quarter finals (vs Georgetown). 

The 2014-15 season was one of what-might-have-been and what-could-be for the Creighton and coach Greg McDermott. 

The Bluejays started strong, with a home win over a ranked Oklahoma team in the third game, but a nine-game losing streak that started in late December and ended in late January dashed any postseason hopes. 

It wasn’t like Creighton was getting blown out; 10 of the Bluejays’ losses were decided by 5 or fewer points. And 4 of those defeats came against ranked opponents — the last a season-ending 60-55 loss to Georgetown in the Big East tournament. 

What was also frustrating, for coach Greg McDermott, was that the improvement the Bluejays showed in the closing weeks was evident by their record. They finished with 5 losses in their final 7 games, but those defeats came by a total of 13 points. 

McDermott appreciated how his team responded after the early struggles. 

“On one hand, it was rewarding, because I thought we were playing our best basketball in late February and March into the conference tournament,” McDermott said. “And like any coach, you hope your team can continue to get better, and our team did that. On the other hand, I believe we lost 9 games that we led in the last minute, and that’s difficult to swallow. I’ve never been through a season quite like that where sometimes you make your own luck, sometimes you don’t get the bounce of the ball. And that was certainly the case from last year. 

But to their credit, they stayed with it. They kept working, they kept believing in each other and the system we had in place, and as a result of that we were playing pretty good basketball at the end.” 

What was also frustrating was 2 of the best players on the Creighton roster were sitting out. Forward Cole Huff and point guard Maurice Watson, Jr., couldn’t play because of the NCAA transfer rules, but McDermott saw plenty of them during practice. 

“Well, it was a hard time in practice because we had a hard time handling them most days, which bodes well for the future but makes it di cult at the time,” McDermott said. “I’m proud of the fact that they accomplished what you would want them to accomplish during a season where they’re sitting out, and that’s really to work hard on their individual development. I’m comfortable that they’ve evolved, they both made good strides in that area.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Cole Huff and Maurice Watson, Jr. will play key roles as the Bluejays try to bounce back from an uncharacteristic season. Creighton has made the postseason in 17 of the last 18 years and won 10 or more conference games in 18 of the previous 19 seasons. Creighton is also one of 12 programs nationally to win at least 20 games 15 times in the last 17 campaigns.

HOT STHUFF
Cole Huff, a 6-8 junior forward who arrived from Nevada, ranked 12th in the Mountain West Conference in scoring in 2013-14 (12.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, .403 3PT), including a career-high 31 points against Fresno State. 

“He’s a stretch power forward that we like to use in our system,” McDermott said. “He was a very good shooter at Nevada in his two years there and has only continued to improve in that area. He’s an accomplished o ensive player, and he’s developed on the defensive end during the course of the last year.” 

Maurice Watson, Jr. (13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 7.1 apg, 2.1 spg in 2013-14) is a 5-10 junior guard who started both seasons he played at Boston University. 

“He’s a true point guard in every sense of the word,” McDermott said. “I think those types of players are becoming increasingly difficult to find in this day and age. He makes everyone on the floor better, and he can control the tempo of a game with his speed and decision-making. And he’s worked hard to improve his ability to shoot the 3-point shot. He has great leadership qualities, and he’s everything you can ask for in a point guard.” 

Those two will join a group of 5 key returning players and 6 newcomers whom coach Greg McDermott expects to provide plenty of competition for minutes. 

Three players—6-10 sophomore Toby Hegner (6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .360 3PT), 7-0 senior center Geoffrey Groselle (5.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and 6-2 senior guard James Milliken (9.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, .385 3PT) — combined to start 49 games last season. 

Toby Hegner, thrust into the lineup as a freshman, tied Milliken for the team lead with 45 3-pointers. Groselle led the Bluejays with 18 blocks and .649 shooting from the floor. 

“Toby is so young, but he has a lot of room for improvement,” McDermott said. “But Geoff, in particular, this is his fifth year in our program. He’s battled through numerous injuries in his career, and played the way we all thought he was capable of playing in the last four weeks of the season last year. I think he’s been able to take some momentum from good things that transpired during the course of last season, and build on what I am hopeful will be a great senior year. 

“Hopefully [Milliken] can build on a great finish to the season. He played well in the conference tournament and is a very good 3-point shooter. He really developed his ability to get the ball to the basket and get to the foul line, and those will certainly be areas we’ll be counting on this season.” 

Isaiah Zierden (9.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), a 6-2 junior guard, missed the final 13 games of 2014-15 with a knee injury after starting seven of the first 20 games. McDermott expects Zierden to be ready for live workouts in September. 

Zach Hanson (3.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .547 FG) is a 6-9 junior forward who played in 30 games, starting eight. He shot 54.7 percent from the field.

Tyler Clement, a 6-1 sophomore, played in 26 games off the bench as a freshman. Clement (0.7 ppg, 0.5 rpg) made 5 field goals, 4 of them 3-pointers. 

The incoming batch of newcomers consists of 4 true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and a junior-college transfer.

The redshirt is Ronnie Harrell, a 6-7 freshman forward who averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in his senior season at East High School in Denver but sat out last season. 

“Ronnie’s put on 25 pounds in a little over a year since he’s been here,” McDermott said. “He’s a big wing with guard-like skills that has really improved his ability to shoot the 3-point shot, and is really an improving player defensively as well. I would expect him to compete for serious minutes this year.” 

Malik Albert is a 6-1 junior guard out of Mott Community College in Michigan. Albert ranked eighth in the NJCAA in scoring (24.4 ppg) last season, reaching double digits in all 31 games. Albert (4.5 apg, 3.9 rpg) will provide depth at both guard spots. 

“He was a very good scorer and he’s a tremendous athlete,” McDermott said of Albert, who piled up 1,248 points in two seasons at Mott. “He’s shown good strides in the early practices.” 

Among the four true freshmen, Justin Patton, Marlon Stewart and Khyri Thomas figure to push for the most playing time.

Thomas, a 6-3 guard and former all-state standout at Omaha’s Benson High, signed with his hometown school after spending last year in prep school at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. He looked especially impressive during the summer session.

“He has been outstanding,” McDermott said. “His length and athletic ability, his anticipation skills, will allow him to be one of the better defenders on our team from day one. His work ethic has been outstanding, and he’s gotten better every single day.”

Stewart, a 6-1 guard, led North Scott High to the Iowa Feb. Class 4A state title.

“I’m hopeful he can be someone we can use at both guard spots,” McDermott said. “He has a Big East-ready body [210 pounds], with his strength and his size. Very good 3-point shooter, and he’s proven to me that his decisions with the basketball are pretty consistent as well. Now it’s just a matter of being able to hook it up every day at this level, which is an adjustment for every freshman.”

Another Omaha product, Patton is a 6-11 center who came close to averaging a double-double (14.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg) at Omaha North High. Patton provides size inside, but he needs to gain strength.

“Justin Patton has a bright future, it’s just how quickly can we get his body ready for the physical demands of playing in the Big East,” McDermott said. “But from a size and length and skill standpoint, it’s all there. It’s just a matter of developing that body.”

Martin Krampelj, a 6-9 forward from Slovenia, last played at Impact Academy in Florida. He also needs some early work to get ready for this level, but with a 6-11 wingspan, he has some tools. 

“He has shown some signs of what he can be down the road,” McDermott said. “He’s long, he’s athletic, he can shoot the 3. We have to Americanize his game somewhat, because he hasn’t spent a lot of time in the United States. But he’s been working hard, he’s been here this summer, and he’s in the gym every day.”

Creighton’s rebuilding started with a trip to Italy in August, a journey that McDermott said was important, especially for the extra practice time. 

“Because you have so many new faces, this trip couldn’t have taken place at a better time,” he said. 

That trip started what McDermott hopes will be a series of scrappy practice battles. 

“There will be [competition], and that’s healthy for any team,” McDermott said. “There are a lot of guys who feel like they can impact the team. That’s great for any team.” 

That’s a good start to get the program back to a height that it has grown accustomed to over a long period of time.

“I think the motivation has come from the fact that we were so close [last season],” McDermott said. “Coaches talk all the time about what a difference a possession can make, and we lived that last year. I think our guys have a good grasp on how efficient you have to be, and how ready you have to be to play each and every possession.” 

John Bohnenkamp