From the time Creighton started playing men’s basketball (1916-1917) through the 1959-1960 season, the Bluejays called the Vinardi Center home. CU went 336-92 in 42 seasons in the on-campus gym, which now stands as home to the basketball practice facility.
After Tuesday’s announcement of the NCAA granting a sixth year to Grant Gibbs, the media got a chance to talk to both Gibbs and Coach Greg McDermott. Here’s transcripts of those interviews.
Q: Thoughts on the big day?
Grant Gibbs: I’m excited. I’m a little surprised, but it’s a great opportunity. I’m excited to come back. A lot of people helped me out with this and I’m very appreciative.
Q: How surprised were you?
GG: You know, initially when we sent stuff in I thought it was a real long shot, but as time has dragged on they told me that’s a good thing, and I kind of had a feeling we were going to be able to give it a go. A little surprised still, but I thought there was a shot.
Q: How did you deal with being in limbo in the meantime?
GG: I’ve just been hopping into workouts with the guys during the summer, and kind of just crashing on people’s couches and stuff (laughs). Basically just trying to stay in good enough shape where I’d be in position to hop back onto the team.
Q: Are you saying you really haven’t had a place to live over the summer?
GG: Well, I didn’t really want to have to move all my stuff out of our apartment place if I was going to live there again. I’ve kind of been living on Ethan (Wragge’s) couch for the last however many months, so I get my own room now, which I’m pretty excited about. But that’s kind of what I had to do, because I didn’t want to move everything out until I got word — moving sucks, we all know that.
Q: How does this change where you’re at now? Will you have to step up your workouts?
GG: You know, I’ve pretty much been doing everything the team’s been doing, so I’m on par with them. Obviously, I had to do it on my own, which was a little different, but I think I’m in a decent spot conditioning wise.
Q: Did the NCAA tell you what the basis was for their ruling?
GG: Well, I had the medical redshirt my first year at Gonzaga, and then basically what we were arguing for was that the year I sat out here should have been a medical redshirt because I had surgery. That’s what they were reviewing. And it was hard to tell, because I don’t think anybody’s really applied and had that kind of situation.
Q: What classes are you going to take next year?
GG: I graduated, so I have to decide if I’m going to go the graduate school route. I think I can maybe just pick up another major, but I’ll let somebody else figure that out (laughs).
Q: What was your contingency plan if you hadn’t been granted a sixth year?
GG: I was going to try to play in Europe. That opportunity will be there next year, though, too, if I’m physically able to continue playing. But for a guy in my situation, coming back and playing one more year at Creighton, as much as that’s meant to me, is more important than those opportunities.
Q: How is your health?
GG: Feeling good. I definitely have one more year in me, I know that. I’ve been on the same schedule as last summer, in terms of being on the court. I’m feeling as good as I did last year.
Q: Obviously, this impacts the scholarship situation and might force Doug McDermott into walking on. How does that affect the team?
GG: He’s going to be carrying bags, and doing all that kind of stuff, so he’ll have to handle that. It’ll be a different situation for him (smiles). I think he’ll probably be the best walk-on in America, I don’t know. We’ll see.
Q: Have you talked to Doug since the decision?
GG: Yeah, I did. He texted me. His iMessage still works in Istanbul. Other than that, I really haven’t checked my phone that much. We just exchanged some inside jokes, and he said ‘Congrats’ and ‘We’re gettin’ the band back together!’ so we’re excited about that (laughs).
Q: What are you most excited about for next year?
GG: Oh, man. Obviously, all the aspects of being able to come back are exciting, but the Big East is a huge one. Being able to play in these new venues, and against this caliber of competition — I’m extremely excited for that part of it. But the other part of it is, I really only played two years. I played sparingly the one year I was at Gonzaga, so while I’ve been in college for a long time — that part of it is a little weird — to be able to play four years was something I wanted. That was the reason I wanted to pursue it. I wanted to be able to play a four-year career, and I’m lucky enough to be able to do that now.
Q: Do you feel like your return makes you the favorites in the new conference?
GG: Oh, I have no idea. We know things are going to be extremely tough with the caliber of teams we’ll be playing, and obviously all of the things that come with moving into a new conference, but I feel like we have a lot coming back and we’ll be able to be successful.
Q: A couple of months ago, people thought there would be no Doug McDermott and no Grant Gibbs as Creighton entered the Big East. Now both of you will be back. That has to help everyone around the program sleep easier, doesn’t it?
GG: Yeah, I’m sure it helps — obviously Doug more than me — but we’ve played together for two years now, developed good chemistry together and been successful. Him coming back was huge, and I’m more than happy to come back and do what I do to help us win games.
Q: So are you just going to recycle your Senior Day speech?
GG: (laughs) Somebody said that to me as we were walking up here. I should just say, “I pretty much said everything last year, so thanks again.” and drop the mic.
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Q: What was going through your mind when you heard the news?
Greg McDermott: Well, it’s still kind of hard for me to believe, because I don’t know that I prepared myself for this possibility. So obviously we’re very excited and appreciative of the NCAA and appreciative of the work that Brandy Menaugh, our compliance coordinator has done in voicing our case. And I’m very appreciative of Coach Few at Gonzaga for his support of this, because without him I don’t think this happens.
Q: It sounds like they left you a voice mail with the news. What was your first thought when you heard it?
GMcD: Well, they left Brandy the voice mail, and she came to my office this morning — I was in a meeting with someone else — she knocked on the door and had a pretty big smile on her face. She was excited and she’s put a lot of effort into this, so it’s just so good to see that when you work hard on something, and you believe in something, that it’s granted. Everybody’s excited, obviously Grant’s excited, and I think his teammates probably feel the same.
Q: When we talked to Grant a few weeks ago, he thought there was maybe a 20% chance of this thing happening. It’s kind of a surprise for everybody; did you prepare for this scenario at all?
GMcD: I did not. Early in the process when we first submitted it, I probably didn’t think the chances were even that good. But the NCAA kept asking more questions, and I think as they asked more questions and gathered information, I started thinking in the back of my mind that maybe this has some teeth. I’m just thrilled, and as I said surprised, I mean, I didn’t even pencil him in on the roster anywhere because I didn’t think it was a possibility. But it was exciting news this morning without question.
Q: With Grant coming back, it presents a situation where Doug becomes a walk-on. That’s kind of weird to think about, isn’t it?
GMcD: Well, if we end up with 13 scholarship players on the first day of classes, then he’ll have to be a walk-on. But obviously things always change so until that time comes, we’ll hold off on that. I have the flexibility to do that, and to bring Grant back, it’s certainly worth that.
Q: Are there any question marks about who may or may not be here?
GMcD: No, I don’t think so, but things are crazy so I’m not going to speculate that nothing could possibly change because there’s always that chance. I think our roster will stay intact and if that’s the case then Doug will move off scholarship so Grant can move on scholarship.
Q: How has the summer gone so far?
GMcD: It’s been a good summer. There was a period of time in April where I didn’t know if Doug was coming back and there wasn’t even a thought about a possibility of Grant coming back. So to have them both back, and to return the type of experience that we return, with the guys in our program that really have worked and developed, is great. We’re excited about Avery (Dingman’s) progress, Isaiah (Zierden’s) made great strides, the two junior college players in the guard court are helping, and we’re excited about the three freshmen that have joined the fold. These guys have worked hard this summer, it’s been exciting to see. Having Grant in the locker room every day and on the court with his leadership skills will certainly help this transition into the Big East.
Q: We saw the video of you and Grant when he heard the news. How cool was that as a coach, and even just as a person, to be able to experience that with him?
GMcD: Well, that was cool. Grant’s got an interesting personality as you guys all know, and he’s kind of a jokester so I was going to try and pull something on him but I don’t think I could wipe the smile off my face long enough to pull it over on him. It was exciting news without question, and a fun way to spend a Tuesday morning.
Q: What was Coach Few’s role in all of this?
GMcD: It was very important. They had to submit a statement about the situation with Grant and the injury problems that he had while he was at Gonzaga. They supported Grant’s effort in trying to get a sixth year, so Coach Few was the first phone call I made once it was granted. We’re very appreciative of what they did, and they fact that they still had concern for a student-athlete that was no longer on their team.
Q: Other than the voice mail you got from the NCAA, did you hear from anybody else?
GMcD: No, that’s all done between the NCAA and our compliance office. I actually had no contact whatsoever with the NCAA during the entire process.
Q: What do you think was the deciding factor that swung the decision in your favor?
GMcD: Well, we basically argued that the second year he was at Gonzaga where he hurt his knee sometime after Christmas caused him to have knee problems the rest of the season. He had some surgery there before he made the decision to transfer. Then after he transferred, the knee was still giving him problems, so we tried to rehab it here, and ultimately decided to do major surgery in August. That was right before the year he needed to sit out because of the transfer. Because of that surgery, he wasn’t able to practice really all year long. So the NCAA just felt that whether he was at Gonzaga or whether he was at Creighton, he wasn’t going to be able to play that year because of the knee injury. I think you could argue that the injury had something to do with his transfer; he was frustrated with his inability to play at the level he wanted to play at. It’s just good to see the NCAA rule in favor of the student athlete, because we tend to only hear the stories where they don’t, as those make a lot of national attention. This is a feel-good story where they did right by the student-athlete.
Q: Grant’s return helps your chances of competing next year in the Big East. Have you given much thought to how you’ll fit him into your plans?
GMcD: Well, there’s no recruit that we could have went and recruited in the off-season that could bring to us what Grant does. With his knowledge of our system, and his understanding of what we do and how we like to do it, combined with his being part of big games and helping us win big games. To have that return, from a coaching staff perspective, is a great ace in the hole.
