P’Allen Stinnett was one of the best players on the fifth-ranked prep school team in the nation when he was recruited by Creighton. A Rivals Top 100 player, he was the highest-ranked recruit to be brought to Omaha by Dana Altman in his 16 seasons, and arguably the most heralded recruit to come to the Hilltop since Benoit Benjamin in 1982. Upon enrolling at CU, Stinnett got off to a flying start, both figuratively and literally, scoring 23 points — all in the second half — in his Creighton debut against DePaul, leading a furious comeback from a 17-point deficit. It was the most points scored by a Creighton player in their debut since Cyril Baptiste in 1969, and the most in a single half in any game since Kyle Korver in 2002.
After that night, his career had its share of ups and downs, as he alternatively electrified people with his jaw-dropping athletic ability around the rim and frustrated them with his emotional outbursts and inconsistency. In January of this year, his career took another one of those downward turns when he was whistled for a technical foul in a nationally televised game against Missouri State.
Following that game, he was suspended indefinitely by Altman, and many Creighton fans soon began to wonder when Stinnett would return to the team. Those questions were answered on May 10, though not in the way many expected, as he was dismissed from the team by new coach Greg McDermott. Shortly thereafter, he transferred to Missouri Western University to complete his college career.
“I really felt comfortable with Coach Smith and I like being in the Midwest,” Stinnett said when asked why he picked the Griffons. “Also, a buddy of mine played here under Coach Smith and had a great experience, and he was one of the guys that got me to come here. There were a few other things on the table, but staying in the Midwest was important to me, as I feel very comfortable here. As I mentioned, I felt really comfortable here and I look forward to working with Coach Smith this season.”
The Griffons, who return just one player from last season’s roster, will have a melting pot of Division I transfers this year. Longtime coach Tom Smith, in his 23rd year as the head man on the Missouri Western bench, has won 503 games in his career, most in both school and MIAA history. He has a long track record of bringing in players in search of a second chance, and this year’s team is no different with Stinnett, former Memphis player James Harvey, and several JUCO players joining the squad as they try to form a winning team.
Although there will be a lot of new faces, both the team and Stinnett have clear goals coming into the season. “It is a whole new roster this year,” he noted. “We have 11 new guys on the team, and it will be a fresh start for a lot of people. I think this group would like to get back to the tournament.” When asked if he has any personal goals, he noted that “I guess I would just like to keep my numbers up and show that I can play.”
As the Griffons progress, they will look to make some noise in their conference — a conference that just happens to include the Mavericks of the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The thought of a “homecoming” in February has not keep P’Allen up at night, though. “I really haven’t put much thought into the trip,” he noted. “It will be fun for me, but I don’t know if that will be true for some people in Omaha.”
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While Stinnett embarks on the next stage of his life, many of us here in Omaha will always wonder what really happened on January 24th — both during and after the Missouri State game. It was a cold, windy winter evening in Omaha, and the late-arriving crowd trickled in slowly throughout the early minutes of the first half. As they arrived, they witnessed a normal MVC match-up, albeit one broadcasted nationally on ESPNU. The Bears were giving the Jays all they could handle, and despite an early MSU lead, the Jays used a 9-0 run late in the first half to take a 35-34 lead into halftime. Throughout the half, Stinnett and Missouri State junior guard Nafis Ricks exchanged words, including several animated verbal exchanges.
At the 12:25 mark in the second half, Stinnett stole the ball from Ricks and took it to the other end for a two-handed jam. On the way back up the court, the two again exchanged words, but this time referee Curtis Shaw decided he’d seen (and heard) enough. Shaw’s expression of displeasure with Stinnett’s actions was answered by Stinnett expressing his displeasure, in turn, to Shaw. At the end of the exchange, ESPNU’s cameras captured him clearly yelling a profanity in the direction of veteran official, waving his hand and walking away in a dismissive manner.
Curtis “Quick Draw” Shaw was having nothing of this display, and immediately issued a technical foul against the Jays guard. Stinnett was taken out of the game, and he rode the bench for a good six minutes. At the 6:24 mark of the second half, following a long discussion with the coaches, Stinnett returned to the game but only managed to contribute a foul and a missed three pointer. No one knew it at the time, but when he came off the court at the 3:35 mark, it would be the final time he would wear a Creighton uniform in a game.
After the game, a discussion took place — a discussion that until now had been kept between Altman and Stinnett. “Well, he (Dana) was upset about the technical foul. He said that due to the number of T’s that I had received, and the fact that teammates of mine were complaining about me getting preferential treatment, I was going to be suspended for two games.”
According to Stinnett, he was required to do a number of things during the suspension; one thing he mentioned specifically was that he was supposed to attend study hall regularly. After the two games were up, they were scheduled to meet and review his status. They did, though Altman opted not to reinstate him right away. Once a week, “we met, and (each time) he asked if I was doing what I was supposed to. I would say yes, he would check on it, and he would say ‘see me in a week.'”
This routine went on for a while, even though according to Stinnett, he was always under the impression that the suspension would only be for two games. When friends, the media, or anyone else who wanted to know would ask either Dana or P’Allen about the situation, the answer from both parties was always the same: “This is between Dana and P’Allen.”
Well, that was true.
“I would ask assistant coaches if they knew what was going to happen,” Stinnett told WBR, “and they would say they had no idea and that it was between me and Dana. I felt like I did everything I was told, and I wanted to be back on the team.” The suspension stayed in the indefinite stage for over three months — through the end of the regular season, all of the MVC Tournament, and the postseason.
And then the news broke that Altman was leaving for Oregon.
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“It was a shock,” Stinnett told us about his feelings upon finding out Altman was departing. “I was actually with a buddy of mine at a softball tournament in South Dakota. He did not want to drive by himself, so I tagged along. I remember I was in line at the concession stand and my phone started blowing up with text messages. They were all asking me my reaction to Dana leaving, and that is how I found out!”
With Altman out at Creighton, Greg McDermott was hired away from Iowa State to replace him. One of the first questions the new coach faced was how he planned to deal with his mercurial — and still suspended — star player. Would Stinnett be reinstated and granted new life under a new coaching staff, or would he be left out?
According to P’Allen, some other factors may have come into play. “Well, not a lot of people know that I was actually recruited by Iowa State and was planning on playing there.” Indeed, he had committed to play for the Cyclones when Wayne Morgan was the coach; when Morgan was fired and McDermott was lured away from Northern Iowa, Stinnett backed out of his commitment and opted to come to Creighton instead. Does he believe this 2007 decision played a role in his inability to return to Creighton in 2010? To that question, Stinnett left little doubt of his opinion.
“Absolutely.”
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After the hiring of McDermott on April 27, Stinnett was just as curious as everyone else to know his status. “I tried to reach Coach McDermott a few times, but (each time) I was either unsuccessful or he told me he was too busy to talk at the time. Finally I met him in his office and I explained that my status was not very good, and then I explained the whole situation with Dana, as I was not sure how much he knew.”
“I explained to him that I would like to be reinstated and to finish my career at Creighton. As I talked, it seemed like he had already made his mind up. I don’t really want to go into what exactly was said (at that point), but he told me I would not be a part of the team.”
Faced with the end of his three-year career at Creighton, Stinnett took a few moments at the end of our conversation to look back at his time at Creighton. “I will never forget my three years in Omaha. The last season was not what I expected, but I have some great memories and friends that I made there,” he said.
Stinnett finished his career as one of just 33 members of the 1,000 point club, scoring 1,024 points and averaging 11.8 in 87 games. An honorable mention all-MVC player his freshman year, he also swept the MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year awards that season, and was a second-team all-MVC as a sophomore.
As he wrapped up our conversation, I asked him if had any final words to share with Jays fans. His answer sums up his career quite nicely. “When you’re up you’re up, and when you’re down you’re down.” For a player who will likely be remembered for having tremendous highs — his 23-point debut, the 22-point game in his first MVC game, leading the team in scoring in the win over Rhode Island in the 2008 NIT, the numerous earth-shattering dunks — but also a player with tremendous lows, a more fitting closing remark we could not think of.
