College basketball officially begins in two weeks. Friday, October 12, marks the start of team practices. In the days leading up to Creighton’s Bluejay Madness event, we’ll try to pose (and answer) some of the most pressing questions surrounding the 2012-2013 Creighton men’s basketball team.
Question #10: How well will Austin Chatman replace Antoine Young?
Like any Creighton fan, I was overjoyed that the Bluejays advanced (and won a game!) in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The drought between the last tournament appearance (2007) and last year’s event was excruciating. I was happiest for Antoine Young, Creighton’s senior point guard and the guy who stayed the course after Dana Altman left for Oregon. Sure, a few other Jays started their careers for Altman and stuck around after he headed to Eugene. But Young had committed to Altman and the Jays when he was, well, young — by verballing to CU after his freshman year of high school, Antoine was the youngest commit in program history.
Young experienced a bit of everything during his time on the Hilltop. The disappointment of not playing much until the second half of his freshman season, a year that ended with 29 wins and a share of the Missouri Valley Conference championship but with the Jays missing an at-large NCAA Tournament bid by the slimmest of margins. The high expectations for his team as a sophomore, a season plagued by disappointing early season results and poor team chemistry. The surprising departure of his coach and most of the coaching staff to Oregon after his second season. Adjusting to a new coach and a new style as a junior, all while carrying the team offensively while Doug McDermott started to establish himself as a true freshman. And leading a team to a MVC Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament as a senior, hitting countless big shots along the way and returning the Jays to the most meaningful postseason tournament.
Austin Chatman got plenty of minutes at the point against Houston Baptist (Mike Spomer/WBR)
But Young’s gone, playing pro hoops in Europe. He’s the only guy not returning from last year’s team, but he manned the majority of the minutes at arguably the most important position on the floor. So, in a season that sees CU poised for great things, head coach Greg McDermott will turn over the point guard duties to sophomore Austin Chatman.
Young averaged 30.6 minutes per game as a senior. Chatman, his understudy, played 11.8 minutes per game. Chatman’s freshman campaign included averages of 2.4 points and 1.9 assists per game, a 36.6% field goal percentage, a 37.5% three-point percentage, and a 75.8% mark from the free throw line.
The lightning quick protégé of NBA Olympian Deron Williams, Chatman frequently floored the gas pedal when he saw playing time. He averaged one turnover for every 10.1 minutes played. Comparatively, Young averaged one turnover for every 16.5 minutes played.
Context is important when comparing statistics, obviously; there’s no telling how Chatman would have fared running the team in pressure-packed situations last season, since Young handled those duties. Young also played more than twice as many minutes as Chatman, offering him plenty of opportunities to score and facilitate scoring chances for others.
Facilitate for others. That’s really what we’re talking about here, right? Sure, Antoine averaged 12.1 points per game and hit 43% of his shots from the floor. But Austin doesn’t need to average a dozen a game to successful take over the reins at point from his predecessor. The Bluejays have plenty of people who can score, and a number of guys who can convert inside the paint or outside the arc. Putting those guys in a position to succeed will ensure Chatman’s time at the point is a successful one.
Great distributor doesn’t sound nearly as great as great scorer, but Creighton already has one of the latter. It needs one of the former to partner alongside Grant Gibbs (who actually led the team with 20 more assists than Young in 2011-2012,) to keep things running much the same way it did last season, when the Jays had one of the most potent offenses in the nation.
The presence of the aforementioned Gibbs surely can’t hurt Chatman’s chances of successfully sliding into the role of effective point guard. But pressure for playing time by incoming freshman Andre Yates (barring a redshirt season for the freshman from Ohio) could also serve Chatman well.
Make no mistake, though: Chatman served a sort of apprenticeship under Young as a true freshman, and played well given his minutes and the stakes. Improvements to strength and decision making could position Chatman for a solid sophomore campaign. He has plenty of pieces around him, and he has the talent to score when needed. How well Austin Chatman replaces Antoine Young at the point is one of the key questions I have ahead of this Creighton basketball season.