Avery Dingman (#22 / G / 6-6 / 215 lbs / Sr.)
One of Avery Dingman’s best games as a Bluejay might also be one of the worst things he has done during his Creighton career. As a sophomore, in 23 minutes of action in a 71-54 home win against Tulsa, Dingman scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including hitting 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, and a career-high three steals in front of more than 15,000 fans. Since then he has scored in double figures just three times (49 games). It has called some to wonder what 6-foot-6 senior can bring offensively.
Check out a photo gallery featuring pictures of Avery Dingman throughout his Creighton career.
Seeing is believing, and those questions won’t be answered until Dingman can show it night in, night out. Despite not doing much scoring since that 21-point outburst against Tulsa, the senior forward has actually been pretty good shooting the ball in a role that didn’t always call for him to do so. Creighton fans surely remember that scary knee injury suffered by Grant Gibbs in last year’s road win at DePaul. What doesn’t get talked about enough is that Dingman helped carry the Bluejays to victory. The Jays trailed 28-27 when Gibbs left, and thanks in large part to the 16 points and five rebounds chipped in by Dingman, Creighton rolled to an 81-62 victory. Starting with that game, Dingman, a career 42.7% shooter from the field, has shot 51.8% overall and 78.3% from the free throw line. In that 15-game stretch he has also grabbed four or more rebounds on eight separate occasions.
Prior to suffering a pretty severe ankle sprain, Dingman was penciled in as a starter on the perimeter and his three-point shot appeared to be back more to the days of that 5-for-6 showing against Tulsa. When he returns to the floor he should have a big impact for the Bluejays, especially on the defensive end of the floor where they will often expect him to take on the opposing team’s best perimeter player. A role the Bluejays will need someone to step into after the graduation of Jahenns Manigat.
Creighton Career Stats (2011-14)
3.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 70-188 3FG (.372%)
Head Coach Greg McDermott on Dingman
“He was going to start at the three if he was healthy right now. He was playing good basketball. He’s our best perimeter defender. He was shooting the ball much better than he was a year ago, so he was a little bit more back to himself in that regard. Now it’s just a matter of getting him healthy and back on the floor.”
5-on-5 with Avery Dingman
Q: What has practice been like this year without Doug, Ethan, Grant, and Jahenns?
A: “We did a lot of the same things it’s just the personnel was so much different. It felt different. With different guys in different positions there was a different feel around here, but we did most of the same drills. We’re sticking to the same principles and doing things the same way as the last three years, so there’s not much difference besides the personnel.”
Q: Do you think it will be awhile before everyone finds their roles and who to go to in certain situations?
A: “Yeah, I think that is something that will work itself out. It’s hard to say how quick it will come. We’ve been playing really well together early on, so it might take a few games just to fully click. The exhibition went well I thought we did a lot of good things offensively. It’s just kind of hard to say, but I think a lot of things will work itself out as time goes.”
Q: How has the competition at various positions been throughout the preseason?
A: “Were missing a lot of points from Dougie, but we have a lot of guards. A lot of guys at the guard position that are playing well. We have three big guys that are playing well in Zach, Geoff, and Will, so there is a lot competition for spots in practice. But everyone seems to be pretty unselfish and we’ve been playing team ball.”
Q: Was it surprising to any of the returning players to find out you’d be running the same system as the last few seasons?
A: “We weren’t really sure what we were going to be doing offensively this year, but so far we’ve played pretty similar. We’ve had Toby and Ricky at the four quite a bit, so we’ve been able to stretch the floor a little bit. As far as the shooting goes, that’s just how Coach Mac is, if you have an open shot we’re going to take it. We shot a lot of threes in the exhibition game and we shot a good percentage, so we’re still going to play that way, swing the ball around, shoot the shots, and let it fly.”
Q: What were your initial thoughts on being picked ninth in the Big East preseason poll?
A: “It’s pretty disrespectful, but people just look at Doug being gone. They didn’t really look at our team much and who has been here and the dynamic. We saw it coming, ‘oh, these guys lost the national player of the year, they aren’t going to be very good.’ We can use it for motivation. We can try to prove people wrong this year and I think we will.”
Q: What do you think is the ceiling for this team and what are your goals?
A: “We’ve talked about and Coach Mac has made it clear that if we do the things right and step it up defensively this year, if we do a good job on the boards, and then obviously shoot a good percentage I think this team could be really good. He said this could be a special year and we really believe that. We really think that if we play the right way and play as a team we can really go pretty far this year.”