The first week of practice for the 2015-16 Creighton men’s basketball team is underway at the Championship Center. Fans’ first glimpse of the team in person will come next Saturday night, when the annual “Bluejay Madness” event is held, but until then, here’s a rundown of what’s happened this week, thanks to tweets from WBR’s Matt DeMarinis and others who have been present.
Saturday, October 3
A little pickup basketball before the start of the 1st official practice of the 2015-16 season. pic.twitter.com/9V5DepjL4I
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 3, 2015
Cole Huff @colehoops just hit a nice step-back jumper. — Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 3, 2015
Team huddle before the first practice of the 2015-16 season. pic.twitter.com/fuWMUzAmKD
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 3, 2015
First official practice of the season. Everybody ready? pic.twitter.com/1kkqxEoe2I — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Creighton starting things off with Huskie Shooting drill — always my favorite.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
A lot of rust getting knocked off in the drills today. The two-a-days are going to be brutal, especially for the newcomers. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Bluejays going 5-on-5 now. Khyri Thomas guarding Marcus Foster would be worth the price of admission if they charged for sort of thing.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Pretty clear that Justin Patton has spent a good amount of time in the weight room since the end of July. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Isaiah Zierden a full participant in practice and still has the best shot on the team. Good to see him healthy and back in the mix.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Creighton walking through their 3/4 court press. They tried it out in the summer. Improved length & athleticism makes it worth a look. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
One Bluejay missing in action today was Toby Hegner. He’s out with a sprained ankle, might be another week or so before he returns.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 3, 2015
Sunday, October 4
First session of two-a-days today for Coach Mac’s bunch. pic.twitter.com/fsfAfduBMr — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 4, 2015
The Jays stretching before the start of practice. The Big East Supervisor of Officials is in the house. pic.twitter.com/1U702crLKe
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 4, 2015
Bluejays working on picking up the pace after a stop or a made shot. Mac wants them getting down the floor quickly and into their sets. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 4, 2015
Mo Watson @mauricewatsonjr knifed through the defense yet again for a layup.
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 4, 2015
Martin Krampelj @MartinKrampelj with three consecutive made threes. — Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 4, 2015
Practice ends with a crash course on the new rules for the upcoming season. Some interesting ones. Some silly ones, too.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 4, 2015
The Jays’ @BluejayMBB second practice of the day is winding down. They will take Monday off and get after it again on Tuesday. — Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 4, 2015
Tuesday, October 6
Creighton getting ready for an afternoon session at the Championship Center. pic.twitter.com/8VTrR3fWps
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 6, 2015
Tuesday’s practice is about to get started. pic.twitter.com/xQv2Tg0ekY — Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 6, 2015
Back to watching practice grind. Bluejays focusing heavily on getting back to where they were defensively pre-Italy
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 6, 2015
Love the give and take of practice. Mac just admonished a player for not sprinting during a drill …. — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 6, 2015
“You look like you were out for a Sunday stroll. You have to be sprinting like you butt is on fire.”
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 6, 2015
Creighton forward Toby Hegner working his way back from an ankle injury. He’s moving better; still out another week. pic.twitter.com/IUXoieYcqY — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 6, 2015
Coach Mac ran the team through some offensive sets to start practice, but last hour and change has been focused on the defensive side.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 6, 2015
Mo Watson Jr just had two steals and two breakaway lay-ups in a span of about seven seconds in 5-on-5. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 6, 2015
If that’s what the “8th-best PG” in the Big East can do, I can’t wait to see the other seven.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 6, 2015
Maurice Watson’s skills at a point guard are such that he could find a open teammate in a pitch-black closet — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 6, 2015
I really liked what I saw from Maurice Watson today at practice. He has such a good feel for setting his teammates up. #Jays #PurePgVision
— Nick Bahe (@NickBahe) October 7, 2015
@PivOWH Ha! Just about the only thing maurice and I have in common is we both redshirted at Creighton. #HeIsBetter — Nick Bahe (@NickBahe) October 7, 2015
@cayleighgriffin @mauricewatsonjr PG spot is deep and talented in the Big East. Maurice is gonna surprise people.
— Nick Bahe (@NickBahe) October 7, 2015
@TomSeline tons of potential. Still don’t have a great feel for Marlon but Khyri, Justin and Martin have a chance to be damn good! — Nick Bahe (@NickBahe) October 7, 2015
Wednesday, October 7
Encouraging aspect of practice is that Isaiah Zierden has participated in every practice
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
One of big differences in Geoff groselle’s game from this time a year ago is his ability to finish. Thought he could then knows he can now — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Means nothing at this point but first group blue today is Watson groselle zierden huff and milliken. Harrell and krampelj in rotation
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Nothing like a guy taking a charge in drill to get everyone excited. Watson hits floor and everyone there to help him up — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Never a good sign when Mac tells a player: if you don’t start showing some toughness you’ve got no chance
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Isaiah zierden having one of those can’t-miss days at practice. — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Cole huff also red hot today
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Between them cole huff and Isaiah zierden are 16 of 17 from 3 point range in the parts of practice they chart — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
@POPPEN3s having some freshman struggles
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Dedication: jays have 5 a.m. Practice on Thursday. Managers plan to spend the night at championship center to have things ready — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
Of course accommodations in doug McDermott player lounge probably nicer than their dorm rooms
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
@DoubleGfor3 were not talking about the palatial estate you resided in. — Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) October 7, 2015
@PivOWH only 4 year resident of the esteemed Opus Hall in CU history
— Grant Gibbs (@DoubleGfor3) October 7, 2015
Thursday, October 8
I think Greg McDermott might have slightly misinterpreted the lyrics to “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” pic.twitter.com/NIECaCJ1Se — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Newcomers are finding out the hard way that Creighton is not preparing for an overseas vacation with these practices.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
[Obligatory Maurice Watson Jr. Is Very Good Tweet] — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Mo Watson @mauricewatsonjr is really intense and locked-in this morning.
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 8, 2015
Isaiah Zierden is in a Steph Curry-like zone right now. He was already back on defense before his last shot dropped through the net. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Marlon Stewart @Marthestarr1 just threw a nice pass over the top to Zach Hanson for a layup.
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 8, 2015
Martin Krampelj @MartinKrampelj with a pretty entry pass to Geoffrey Groselle for a layup. — Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 8, 2015
Toby Hegner @THeggs_32 getting some shots up. pic.twitter.com/rooFsctcaB
— Ralph Bistline (@RalphBistline) October 8, 2015
This would be more news-worthy if today were Oct. 8, 2016, but Creighton guard Marcus Foster’s injured knee will sideline him for 4-6 weeks. — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Good in that sense that it revealed a partial tear of his MCL and not a full tear; timetable is 4-6 weeks. https://t.co/aeRt3HBKbD
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Maurice Watson Jr.: “We have a lot of people doubting us … that is driving us and bringing us together as a team.” — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
If Mo Watson Jr. counts, him by a wide margin. If you’re talking new to the roster, then my answer is Khyri Thomas. https://t.co/bsRmMvGJfA
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Seems to be in a good place at this point. The Italy trip helped to mesh everything together during the off-season. https://t.co/B2fmTrMx3x — Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) October 8, 2015
Great workout this morning! https://t.co/qG2Zzmc0wc
— Coach McDermott (@cucoachmac) October 8, 2015
