We are profiling each member of the 2013-14 Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball team. Check in daily leading up to Creighton’s regular season opener against Alcorn State Nov. 8 for an introduction to this season’s Bluejays, from newcomers to seniors. Check out all the previews here.
Jahenns Manigat (#12 / G / 6-1 / 180 lbs / Sr.)
The time’s come to crack open a can of Canadian Red Bull for the final time. Senior Jahenns Manigat embarks on his last season on the Hilltop, one in which he’s started the last 86 games — and 87 of a possible 110 — since 2010-2011. It’s not because he’s the team’s best shooter or the go-to scorer. Manigat does all the little things — and more — on a team that’s won 57 games the past two years.
“Jahenns is as good of a team guy as I’ve ever had … The energy he brings to our program is infectious.”
That’s what Greg McDermott told the Omaha World-Herald in October. Creighton fans certainly feel the same way about Manigat’s enthusiasm and intensity. His floor-slapping, charge-taking ways routinely rouse capacity crowds at the CenturyLink Center to their collective feet. The word intangibles is often used in sports, and Manigat is an ideal example of what the immeasurable can provide to a team judged by metrics like wins and losses.
He committed to Creighton but wound up playing for a coach in McDermott who didn’t recruit him. Raw but focused on improving, by the end of his freshman season Manigat managed to crack the starting lineup. He earned All-Bench and All-Freshman accolades in the Missouri Valley Conference that season, during which he averaged 20.5 minutes per game and scored 5.4 points per contest.
Manigat started all 35 games his sophomore season (22.7 mpg), including Creighton’s first two NCAA Tournament games since 2007. In just his second season at CU, Manigat managed to become voted a captain. On the court, he improved greatly his three-point shooting, from 39% as a frosh to nearly 47%. He led the conference in three-point percentage in MVC games (49%) and could be counted on to make teams pay for added attention to Doug McDermott or Antoine Young. He chipped in 6.6 points per game for a team fast becoming one of the best offensive squads in the nation.
Last year, Manigat played nearly 28 minutes per game. His statistical output didn’t budge much compared with his sophomore year, but it was his continued communication and leadership that made him a fixture down the stretch in ballgames.
Oh, and his defense. He took the onus to become Creighton’s best on-ball defender on the wing, often drawing the short straw of trying to stop the opponent’s best perimeter scorer. Manigat did well in the role, as evidenced by forcing Cal’s All-American candidate Allen Crabbe into a 6-for-26 shooting night during Creighton’s December road win in Berkeley.
Manigat’s a capable offensive player, to be sure. He started slowly last season, scoring just 31 points in the team’s first nine games (3.4 ppg). But he doubled that average during the last two-thirds of the season, scoring 6.7 ppg in the team’s final 27 games.
One performance stood out in particular. In the MVC Tournament Championship (video here), Manigat scored a season-high 16 points against Wichita State. His last two points extended Creighton’s lead from one to three with 11 seconds left, forcing the Shockers to attempt an ill-fated three-pointer at the buzzer. The Bluejays claimed the second straight Arch Madness title, and Manigat’s layup was the game-changer — and a microcosm of his improvement at CU. His freshman year, in the MVC tourney quarterfinals, Manigat had a clear layup to all but ice Creighton’s win over Northern Iowa. He missed the bunny, forcing the Jays to sweat out a final Panthers possession.
Still, Manigat smiled. He always does. Hopefully Creighton fans can appreciate that during Manigat’s final season at CU.
Watch our interview with Manigat from Creighton’s Media Day: