It was nice to get back to my normal seats in the Qwes…I mean CenturyLink Center. Sunday was my first time back to the Omaha Downdown Convention Center and Arena since the old Qwest Center signs were taken down and the transformation from blue to green took place. But it was nice to see that basketball is back for another season for the Creighton Bluejays.
It was obvious that today’s game was an exhibition. The video board operators were still working out some kinks with the entrance and tipoff videos and it always spoils the moment of entry when the opposing team decides to hit the courts before the Bluejays do–hence no dimming of the lights during the entrance. But you also saw fans arriving late, which isn’t anything new, but a few minutes before tipoff, there were only about a couple of dozen of students in the student section. However, fans and students did eventually arrive and basketball was back in motion.
Exhibition games are great for evaluation. I appreciate that Creighton still plays at least one exhibition game for the home crowd to see some of these players before the regular season starts. I can only imagine what Marquette and Colorado fans wonder about their teams as they used both of their exhibitions slots to play closed door scrimmages. Great for the coaching staffs, but for the fans, it just means they will use the start of the regular season to do their own evaluations. So, from our standpoint we can start forming our opinions now and look forward to Friday night’s opener against North Carolina A&T.
Until then, here is a breakdown of each player and what we saw today in the 81-42 victory.
Doug McDermott–A few weeks ago, someone asked the Omaha World Herald’s Steve Pivovar who he thought was Creighton’s most improved player in the offseason. To everyone’s surprise, he said McDermott. McDermott had a record setting season as a freshman and we all know he would improve, but improved the most? Well, I believe him. McDermott played calm, full of confidence and knew when he needed to score. He played 22 minutes, but it sure seemed like it was longer as well as playing with a lot of different combinations throughout. He led the way with 19 points and 6 rebounds. A typical McDermott game and a lot more to look forward with even more minutes.
Gregory Echenique–Echenique suffered a mild concussion earlier in the week, but you would have never known it. In even more limited minutes (12) than McDermott, Echenique came on late in the first half to help Creighton with a couple of baskets in a 12-2 run. He then came out in the second half with the Bluejays first two baskets, including a powerful jam on a fast break, and quietly scored 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Antoine Young–Last season, Young was Creighton’s ironman playing more minutes than any other Bluejay. This season with the addition of Austin Chatman, this should help give him a break sometimes. Today, Young struggled a big only going 1-of-4 from the field and dishing one assist to two turnovers. However, that was probably expected with a majority of new guys on the court this season and getting used to the different combinations and tendencies from some of them. Add in Jahenns Manigat and Grant Gibbs to help distribute the ball at the shooting guard positions, then it takes a little more pressure off of Antoine as well. But it is still his team to run.
Grant Gibbs–It was nice to see Gibbs on the court in a Bluejay uniform. The only time I have really ever watched him was in Summer League where he had some nice games. I was impressed with his passing and taking shots when needed in that environment. It has translated really well into what I saw on the court today. He was always looking for his teammates and took a couple of open shots. But it was good that he only played 16 minutes because the Bluejays will need him for a lot of games this season to be a leader.
Jahenns Manigat–Jahenns looks like a totally different player than when he set foot on the court for the first time last season. He was flying all over the place and showed why he is in the starting lineup. Manigat was perfect from the field and free throw line, including a couple from downtown, to finish with 10 points. In addition he also had four assists and two steals. One stat to think about from Creighton Sports Information Director Rob Anderson–In 21:45 with Jahenns Manigat on the floor, Creighton outscored Rockhurst, 60-22.
Austin Chatman-Chatman had a few jitters at first, but once he settled down, he had some really great flashes on the court when I could keep up with where he was. He is really fast. Sometimes that got him in trouble, but other times he was able to get the defense on their heels and he either kicked it out to the open guy or had a nice layup. With 6 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and an assist to turnover ratio of 2:1, it was a nice debut for Chatman. Seeing him on the court at the same time with Antoine Young for a few minutes was entertaining and could create some matchup problems for opponents.
Avery Dingman–Anyone who might have thought Dingman might redshirt may have a hard time still thinking that. Dingman was able to get into open spots and then shot after shot. He finished going 4-of-6 from the field including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Dingman only played 11 minutes, but they were pretty effective, but I didn’t pay attention to his defense.
Ethan Wragge–I was really happy to see Wragge back on the court. Yes, I am a big fan of the three-pointer. I put up three-point signs on the railing in front of me to keep track of them. What I didn’t expect to see today was Wragge scoring his first points under the basket. It wasn’t an easy shot. But he did hit a couple of triples in the second half in only 14 minutes. I would be interested to see Wragge and McDermott on the court at the same time.
Will Artino–I admit am a bit of an Artino fan. After seeing him show off his skills at summer league the past couple of summers, I was excited to see him in a real college basketball game. He did great down low for the Bluejays in the Bahamas and could be a very versatile player this season. Artino can run the floor with the best of them and had a nice dunk on a fast break. He had 6 points and 4 blocks in just 15 minutes of play.
Josh Jones–I like Jones attitude and he always tries his hardest. But I wonder where he is at in the rotation with only 11 minutes of play Sunday–about the same amount as the freshmen and walkons. Over the past couple of seasons, Jones has started off slow before turning things on around January. I hope he is able to get things started a little sooner this season. He will definitely be needed. At the same time, I’ m sure the coaching staff has a plan for him too.
Geoff Groselle & Nevin Johnson–Both of these guys have a lot of potential. It may be weird to say, but there is a possibility Groselle could redshirt. With Echenique entrenched in the middle and Artino coming off a redshirt season, things may get crowded down low with McDermott and Wragge covering things at the power forward position. But you never know, the Jays would only be an injury away where things could change. As for Johnson, there is a bit of depth at his position with Gibbs, Jones, Dingman, and Manigat fighting for minutes. Nevin only played 10 minutes today, but it has been reported that he has taken a lot of strides since the beginning of team practice. If that progress continues, he could get some minutes for his defense.
The Walk-ons–Creighton is getting to a point where they get to boast that they have more walk-on players than most programs at this level. The roster now has six walk-on players. They all had an opportunity to get some playing time. As for Alex Olson and Mogbuluwaga Oginni, Sunday was probably the only time you will see them this season as they are going to redshirt. However NCAA rules allow first year players to play in exhibition games. Olson scored a point at the free throw line while Oginni had a nice in-traffic dunk that got the CenturyLink Center louder than it was throughout the game. Matt Dorwart was the only one not to get into the game as he was nursing an injury with his knee that he suffered about a week or two ago.
In the end, it was just fun to see basketball again. Who knows if these evaluations will mean anything in the long run. But at least we have a little better idea of what to expect on Friday and Sunday this next week to see what the season could hold for the Bluejays. Things are just getting started and anything can happen.