Early in the Jays’ alumni game Saturday afternoon, all-time-great Ryan Sears effortlessly knocked down a couple of three-pointers from the elbow, followed by his teammate, Nate Funk, drilling one from the corner. Soon thereafter, the jokes about the current Jays’ inability to make outside shots started flowing.
Not from the fans. From the Ex-Jays.
It was at once hilarious and harsh.
“You look like you could still play!”
“I don’t think I’d make the team this year. I can actually hit shots from outside!”
And then, as if to prove a point, Jim Maher — who played from 1955-58 — drained a three-point set shot, before immediately subbing out so his balky knees wouldn’t be a liability on defense. Oh boy, now the jokes really flowed out. After going 6-33 from long range against Nebraska, and shooting a frosty 31.7% from the arc for the season, the ribbing and the jokes were certainly deserved. Its one thing when we as fans make cracks about the current group of Jays’ struggles to make shots, but when a collection of All-Time-Jays makes those cracks, you take notice.
The crowd loved the shooting exhibition; they loved the on-court banter even more. When Maher came back in the game for an offensive possession later in the first half, his teammates ran the exact same play to get him an open look as they had earlier. And once again, Maher drained the set-shot from behind the arc as the crowd roared and both benches smiled broadly. He would make three-of-four from behind the arc for the day. Not bad for a guy who played during the Eisenhower Administration.
Something else the current group has lacked is consistent play on the interior, and the alums didn’t let that go unnoticed either. Livan Pyfrom and Brody Deren patrolled the glass every bit as ferociously as they did during their collegiate careers, and threw down a few monster dunks over cowering defenders. Even Manny Gakou, the slow-footed but lovable backup to Anthony Tolliver for two years, got in on the act. Early in the second half, Bob Harstad, whose #30 jersey was retired Saturday night, fed the ball to Gakou on a fast break for what should have been an easy alley-oop slam. But Gakou first failed to catch the ball, then after corralling it from the ground, missed the dunk before collapsing to the ground in explosive laughter, an emotion shared both by his teammates and the fans in attendance. Later in the day, he would take over the game for a three-minute stretch not with humor but with solid post play, grabbing rebounds — and scoring baskets — on four consecutive possessions, single-handedly bringing his team back to take the lead.
The display in the paint and behind the arc by the former Jays may have come in a laid-back exhibition refereed by Len Gordy and AD Bruce Rasmussen, but seeing the former greats do their thing was a tangible reminder of what the current group has lacked so far this season.
It was a snowy, blustery day outside — OK, it was actually pretty much a straight-up blizzard — and following the game, Harstad took to the microphone to thank the fans who made it out for attending. Current players Grant Gibbs and Gregory Echenique did likewise, and then the alums posed for photos with the fans who’d braved the wintery conditions to watch the exhibition.
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During the morning shoot-around, Greg McDermott asked Harstad to talk to the team. There’s no better role model, no better player to draw inspiration from, no better player to take advice from than Bob Harstad. His statistics are impressive — one of just four players in MVC history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, along with Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Xavier McDaniel — but his work ethic, non-stop hustle and desire are even moreso.
Whether it was coincidence or inspiration, we’ll never know, but the Jays played some of their best basketball of the season on Saturday night against a team with a ton of young talent. Kenny Lawson scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, commandeering boards like Paul Silas and setting a Qwest Center record in the process. Ethan Wragge scored 22, and made three-pointers on five of six possessions midway through the second half, making three straight, dishing an assist off a double-team to wide-open Kaleb Korver for a three, then making two more of his own.
Last year, Harstad was in town for the Nebraska game — another game that took place in wintery conditions, leading him to remark that the Farmers Almanac should use his trips to Omaha as a barometer for predicting winter storms — and stopped by shoot-around to talk with the team. The result was Kenny Lawson having one of his best games of the year, scoring 25 points and securing 10 rebounds. It would be foolhardy to give credit to Harstad for motivating Lawson in both games, but the superstitious side of me wonders if the Jays shouldn’t bring #30 into town on the weekend of the Wichita State game later this year just in case…
It was a monstrous performance from Kenny, without a doubt. Granted, the post players he was doing work against were primarily freshmen and primarily 50-60 pounds lighter, so he should have dominated them — but it was still nice to see him actually do it. What struck me was not the numbers, but the manner in which he went about getting those numbers. He demanded the ball in the paint, and when he got it, he was quick and decisive with taking it to the rim. He got himself in good position for rebounds, and then went up ferociously and snatched them. And he did it for the entire game, playing 34 minutes.
Since the sweet live stats app does not work on my stupid phone, I had no clue how many rebounds he had until WBR’s Patrick Marshall tweeted, wondering when the last time a Creighton player had 30 points and 20 rebounds, which would have made me jump out of my seat if I hadn’t already been standing. As it was, he finished two shy of that ridiculous mark, but his 18 were the most in a game since — how great is this — Bob Harstad in 1989. Turns out he had a double-double in the second half alone, with 14 points and 11 boards after halftime, which to me is more impressive than his overall numbers because the second half is when he’s played his poorest ball this year, and on Saturday night, he continued (or, actually, built on) his dominance in the first half. Pretty good stuff.
Wragge, too, was setting records. His six three-pointers tied him for the Qwest Center record with three names near and dear to Bluejay hearts: Kellen Miliner, Johnny Mathies and Booker Woodfox. His deadly accuracy from three-point range was a sight to behold, and as he poured in shot after shot, the guy sitting behind me muttered, “Dana would have pulled him out after the first two.” No comment.
Wragge getting his shooting touch back is more important, long-term, to the Jays success than Lawson’s monstrous game. Between he and Gregory Echenique, the paint should be taken care of. Someone needs to hit the open perimeter shots that will result from their bulk, and until Wragge showed his shot is back, I wasn’t sure who would be able to do that. Everyone knows he’s capable, after the freshman season he had, so having him back to terrorizing defenses with his long-range shots is a heartwarming sight.
If the Jays can get anything remotely close to the play they received from Lawson and Wragge on Saturday night the rest of the season, it won’t be long before the jokes at the alumni game are replaced by excitement. Excitement for what this team can still accomplish. Excitement for what the inside-out game can do to defenses. And excitement for seeing them bring back awesome memories some day at a future alumni game.
You bet.
