Recaps
Creighton 106, Bahamas All Stars 82
Creighton 94, Commonwealth Giants 82
Creighton 91, Mailboat Cybots 68
Creighton 104, Real Deal Shockers 53
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By all accounts, the Creighton men’s basketball team’s trip to the Bahamas was a successful one. The Bluejays went 4-0 against various competition in the Caribbean, winning by an average of 27.5 points per game and scoring nearly 99 points per contest. Even without center Gregory Echenique, the Jays prevailed on the glass; CU finished the four games plus-23 in average rebounding margin.
Like any devout Creighton hoops fan, I wish I’d have been in the Bahamas catching the action with my own two eyes. But I felt like I was there because of the exceptional job done by the men’s hoops staff of chronicling the excursion via blog posts, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, and up-to-date stats.
But the Bahamas trip ends today, with the team headed back to Omaha. The role of student-athlete awaits them at the gate, seemingly, as action stirs on Creighton’s campus ahead of kids moving into the dorms. So while the Bluejays celebrate what surely was one of the best experiences of their lives, all we at WBR can do is dive into the stat sheet.
(Of course, take these stats with one giant grain of Caribbean sand; only the video can show the level of competition Creighton faced during the team’s trip.)
Winning Eleven
The eleven scholarship players who made the trip to the Bahamas each started at least one game during the exhibition tour. All eleven Jays logged double-digit minutes per game, giving the coaches the chance to watch everyone work together in various lineups and situations.
Aside from the victories and some impressive individual performances, these types of exhibition trips are about getting familiar with teammates and gaining some experience two months before the majority of other college hoops programs can start official practices.
Greg McDermott and his staff were able to get Antoine Young and Austin Chatman on the floor together, as well as Doug McDermott and Artino.
With the talk this offseason about Creighton’s depth and the desire to play a more up-tempo game, it was no doubt beneficial for the Bluejays to partake in an organized event featuring that type of play.
The Summer of McDermott Did not Disappoint
It has been a busy summer for Doug McDermott. The Valley Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and member of the league’s All-MVC team parlayed a successful first collegiate season into a trip with the USA U19 team. The squad went 7-2 during the U19 World Championships, finishing fifth. McDermott was third on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and landed on the radar of college basketball writers nationwide.
McDermott had an exceptional Bahamas trip. He led the Jays in scoring with 24.3 ppg, more than twice the next best per-game average (Artino’s 10.3 ppg). He made 66% of his shots while sticking mostly to shooting within the arc (1-6 from 3-point range). He knocked down 88% of his team-high 16 free throw attempts. And he finished second in rebounding among Bluejays (9.8 rpg). All in just 21 minutes per game.
While Echenique’s Away, the Freshmen Will Play
Junior Gregory Echenique continues his quest to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, spending most of his summer playing with the Venezuela National Team. With Echenique out of the post, freshmen Artino and Geoffrey Groselle helped man the paint in the Bahamas.
Artino finished the four games with a double-double average, having scored 10.3 points and snagged 11.0 rebounds per game in 21 minutes of action per contest. He led the Jays with 18 offensive caroms. He also committed a team-high 13 turnovers.
Groselle logged 17 minutes per game and led the team with 10 blocked shots. He finished with 5.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Other Newcomers Make First Impressions
Besides Artino and Groselle, four more Bluejays made their first official appearances in Creighton jerseys during the trip.
Freshman Avery Dingman led CU to its fourth victory by scoring 24 points; he averaged 9.0 points per game during the exhibitions. Dingman was recruited as a shooter and he didn’t disappoint, leading the team with 7 made 3-pointers.
Transfer Grant Gibbs posted 12 points in the team’s first game in the Bahamas; he finished with 8.0 ppg for the trip. He also dished 17 assists to just 3 turnovers during the four games.
Freshman guard Austin Chatman led the team with 30 assists in the four games, to just 10 turnovers. He dished 11 dimes in the first game and 9 in the second, giving obsessive Jays fans just enough hope to think the coaches won’t be forced to play Antoine Young nearly the entire 40 minutes each and every game this upcoming season.
Fellow frosh Nevin Johnson steadily contributed 6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He went to the free throw line for 15 attempts, second only to McDermott’s 16.
Familiar Faces Do What They Do
Antoine Young was fourth in scoring (8.5 ppg). Jahenns Manigat was second on the team in 3-point makes (6). Josh Jones got hot and hit shots at a 50% clip. And Ethan Wragge even got some playing time (2 games; 14.0 mpg), coming off various injuries and a medical redshirt season. The walk-ons played, too: Derek Sebastian scored 3.8 ppg in four contests, while Matthew Dorwart averaged 1.5 rebounds over four games. Ross Ferrarini scored 2.7 ppg in three games, while Taylor Stormberg didn’t tally a bucket in his three games.
