[dropcap]Creighton[/dropcap] finished 14-19, but it’s not a stretch to think it would have been much worse if not for Rick Kreklow. He was recruited three times by CU, once before he picked Mizzou out of high school, again before transferring to Cal, and a third time when he opted to use his fifth-year transfer option to move on. He picked Creighton last summer over other suitors offering scholarships, and by the time the season ended he was a team leader both on and off the court. He endeared himself to Bluejay fans with his hard-nosed play and clutch shooting, and endeared himself to coaches for his leadership and never-ending supply of positivity.
“I can’t say enough about Ricky Kreklow. Man…I’m really proud of him. The positive energy he’s brought to our program is so huge. Things happen for a reason in your life, and why he ended up in our lap as a walk-on really doesn’t make any sense. He’s kind of saved us. Because not just his teammates, but everybody around the program, me included, have learned a lot from him because of his positive outlook on life and how he looks at everyday as an opportunity regardless of what happened yesterday. We get so caught up in our jobs and what we’re doing, and we can look at our record, but Ricky’s taught me that that’s not a good idea. Let’s get ready for today. He’s really been a blessing for this team and it’s good to see him play the best basketball of his career at a time when he’s doing so many things to really inject positive energy into our program.” -Greg McDermott on 1620AM Postgame Show, 2/14/2015
Kreklow’s talent was never a question throughout a career that saw him play for Missouri, California, and finally Creighton, but a series of injuries derailed him time after time. This year, he stayed healthy for an entire season for the first time since his freshman year at Missouri, and as a result he turned in his finest season as a collegian. He established career highs in points per game (7.5), rebounds (3.1), shooting percentage (42.9%), three-point shooting (38.1%), and minutes played (24.5), while starting 19 games including the final 12 games of the year.
If you’d laid out a best-case scenario for Kreklow’s senior year, you’d have been hard-pressed to come up with a better one from a personal standpoint.
Season in Review:
In the season opener against Central Arkansas, Kreklow scored 18 points, scoring in a variety of ways — he was 5-10 from the floor, 2-5 from three-point range, and 6-8 at the line — while grabbing six boards. It was the most points he’d scored in his career up to that point, and he’d scored in double-figures just six times prior to that. He struggled in the games that followed, as he tried to learn two positions thanks to an early-season injury to Avery Dingman, and wouldn’t score in double figures again until January. But he’d have other big games and moments before then.
The biggest came on the road at Nebraska, when he scored nine points thanks to a trio of three pointers, two of them coming at crucial moments. The first came as part of a 10-0 run that erased a first-half Husker lead; the second helped them overcome the final Husker lead of the game. When Big East play rolled around, he found his stride. From January 10 to February 14, he averaged 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds a game in the best stretch of basketball of his career. He’d scored in double figures seven times total before that (including the opener vs Central Arkansas), and scored in double figures eight times in that five-week span alone.
The final three games of that span were something else. In an overtime win at Xavier, he scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting from three point range, adding three rebounds and three assists. That weekend at St. John’s, he had his first (and only) career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, including six offensive boards. Finally, against Marquette at the CLink, he had the finest overall game of his career. That afternoon, he scored 19 points, made 6-7 from three-point range, grabbed seven rebounds, played 39 minutes…and made the play of the year.
#BIGEASTWay Play of the Year? “FOXSports1: Rick Kreklow with the hustle & then the 3-ball for @BluejayMBB http://t.co/DiIfbuCiXn”
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) February 14, 2015
Four of his three-pointers came in the first eight minutes of the game, five of them came in the first half, and by halftime he’d scored 15 of his team’s 37 points. But it was the Superman Dive that had everyone talking after the game. Here’s how we described that play the next day:
“With 3:49 to go in the first half, Ricky “Ricardo” Kreklow had already made four three-pointers, and after rebounding an errant shot by Marquette, he passed it to Devin Brooks. Kreklow sprinted to the other end and flashed open as he neared the hoop, but Brooks’ pass sailed wide. No matter. Kreklow dove Superman-style, arms outstretched in front of him, body totally parallel to the court, and knocked it back inbounds to Austin Chatman…and then slid about three feet on his stomach towards the student section. He got up, ran back into the corner, and was wide open in front of the Marquette bench. Chatman got him the ball, and Kreklow quickly rose up and drained a three before Marquette’s players — or anyone in the building, really — knew what was happening. In about five seconds the play went from a nondescript turnover to a miraculous save to a dagger of a three-pointer. It pushed Creighton’s lead out to 34-25, and earned a standing ovation from a near-capacity crowd not only celebrating an unbelievable play, but appreciating that even in a down year, CU’s players continue to hustle, play hard, and sacrifice their bodies to make plays.”
If he wasn’t already a fan-favorite before that game, his performance in the win over Marquette cemented it. His shooting even spawned the “Kreklometer” on Twitter, playing off his propensity for going back and forth between being called Rick and Ricky.
Let’s check the Kreklow meter: pic.twitter.com/K8Tlbf3m8R — Garret Mueller (@mue11er) February 14, 2015
He’s now Richard because the meter went 360 degrees around. RT @mue11er: Let’s check the Kreklow meter: pic.twitter.com/ot7fQEmi8O — Danny O’Byrne (@dannyobyrne) February 14, 2015
BAH GAWD IT’S BROKEN IN HALF. #Ricardo pic.twitter.com/sMCdHnQd7s — Garret Mueller (@mue11er) February 14, 2015
Next Year:
Oh, if only there was a next year. Just as he was figuring out Creighton’s system and finding a rhythm as a Bluejay, his short one-year career on the Hilltop came to a close. Finally healthy, finally playing like he was always capable of, he saved his best season for last, and despite playing in just 32 games, he left Jays fans with plenty to remember him by. What he could have done in a second Bluejay season will forever remain a hypothetical question, sadly.