So, how was your Thanksgiving weekend? If it was anything like mine, you ate a lot of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and enjoyed an assortment of pies. You visited with family, watched a little football, maybe did some Black Friday shopping, and ate some leftovers. In other words, you had a great time.
If you’re anything like me, you also planned three of your four days around watching Creighton basketball, only to be insulted on two of the days when the team failed to show the same level of commitment. You watched in horror as Creighton exposed itself to a national TV audience as a team that isn’t ready for prime time.
They’re talented, but they’re undisciplined, make too many silly mistakes, and don’t bring a consistent level of energy to each game. Further, they rarely play hard for an entire game. Those aren’t my words, by the way. Both the coaches and the AD used some form of those in describing what happened. Incidentally, these were traits of the previous two seasons, too, things that were excused by myself and others as “a young team finding its way.”
That young team is now upperclassmen, and they’re still making those mistakes. Worse, several of the new guys are outplaying them, leaving the coaches with a tough dilemma: do you play the best five guys, even if that means your veterans sit on the bench?
I think you’re seeing that dilemma play itself out with Dana Altman’s strange substitution patterns. That doesn’t excuse him for putting combinations on the floor that give the team no chance — I’m thinking specifically of the five guys who played at the end of the Iona game, none of which could create their own shot — because ultimately its his job to figure these things out. Its always been unpopular to criticize Dana Altman and his staff. But they deserve some heat after the showing in Orlando. Absolutely. They deserve to have tough questions asked of them.
If the team isn’t ready for prime time — and I’m not sure how anyone could say with a straight face that they are after the three games in Orlando — then when will they be? When will they show the improvement we’ve been patiently waiting for? Because this looks to me like more of the same.
“Creighton Basketball” used to mean something: playing hard for 40 minutes, outworking and outhustling the other team, playing unselfishly, paying attention to details, and executing better than the opposition. If their opponent won, it was because they were more talented and/or simply played better — NEVER because they played with more intensity or with more effort.
That’s what frustrates me personally. The last two years, and apparently, this year, “Creighton Basketball” means something else. Its unacceptable, frankly, and something needs to change.
***
In losses to Xavier, Michigan and earlier to Dayton, the Jays gave up 80 or more points to each. Based on what we’ve seen through six games, I’m confident in saying the team clearly believes they can win simply by outscoring the opponent, and that their offensive firepower allows them to be lazy on defense. That’s the trait of a team that stays home come March.
In the second half against Dayton, and for the entirety of the Michigan and Xavier games, the defense was slow getting back in transition. They showed either a blatant disregard or a flat-out inability to guard their man one-on-one. Good coaches have noticed that simple plays like pick-and-rolls, cross-over dribbles, and basic ball screens will burn Jays defenders all game long.
With these games nationally televised on ESPN, rest assured that every future opponent now has the book on beating Creighton: spread the floor, drive to the bucket, and either get an easy basket or kick it out to the three-point line for an open shot. And with Len Elmore using his telestrator to illustrate what I just wrote, its not exactly a secret to anyone else, either.
***
A Creighton team of the late-90s and early-00s that lost a game like they did to Michigan on Thursday would have come out and played their best game of the year in the next game. If one of those Jays teams lost a game like they did to Xavier on Friday, God help the next opponent, because they would have been in for a world of hurt. None of those Jays teams would have lost a game in the manner in which they did to Iona on Sunday. They might have lost to Iona, but not because they only attempted 13 shots in the second half, decided not to play defense, or got outhustled. It just wouldn’t have happened.
Over the last six seasons, Creighton has moved into a new arena, signed a contract with Nike for uniforms and marketing, improved their practice and training facilities, and enjoyed a modernized campus to recruit student-athletes to. Over this same time period, attendance has tripled from its’ game-by-game average over the previous six-year period.
Everywhere you look around the program, Creighton Basketball is better than it was six years ago. Everywhere, seemingly, except on the court. We keep waiting for that magical year, when they put it all together and make a deep run into March. After this weekend, that magical year has never seemed further away.
The guys have six days to prepare for Nebraska, in a game that suddenly looks like a fork in the road for the season. Lose that game — and Doc Sadler’s team just beat USC on the road this weekend — and all bets are off.
