This is the tenth of our “Meet the Jays” segments featuring the 2009-2010 Creighton Bluejays men’s basketball players. Join us as we profile a different scholarship player each day leading up to the season opener at Dayton on November 14.
P’Allen Stinnett seems like a different player to me entering the 2009-2010 season. Stinnett’s first two seasons at Creighton have included some fireworks from the emotional junior from Las Vegas, a fiery player who wears his feelings on his jersey. Stinnett is excited to prove to others that he has matured.
Stinnett, a preseason all-MVC pick for the second straight season, was second in scoring on last year’s team at almost 13 points per game. He also ranked fifth in the Valley in steals per game. Still, his statistics were virtually the same as a sophomore as they were his freshman campaign. One important aspect of Stinnett’s game he says he’s worked on can’t be found in the stat sheet — leadership.
“I see myself as a leader with my intensity. I make plays here and there, but this year I’m going to work on being more consistent and being that leader that I think I should be.”
Stinnett hasn’t worked just on his leadership, though. Just like the rest of the guys returning from last season’s team, the Kentucky loss left Stinnett ready to improve. He’s noticed a difference in his teammates and his preparations for this season.
“The end of the year disappointment really gets us antsy to get it going again this year and make a statement. We didn’t like the way we ended last year, of course. It’s really made us work harder this offseason. I know everyone says that a lot, that they work hard in the offseason, but I really feel this year, the guys really, really worked at it to not let that happen again [what happened last season].”
Stinnett fought through knee pain during the last third of last season, and he underwent knee and hernia surgery this summer. He says he’s worked hard to come back from those minor issues and continues to work on some different parts of his game.
“I’ve worked on being more of a complete player, not taking plays off and making simple plays. I kind of always try to make the play. This year, I am depending on my teammates a lot more, learning that simple, small things can lead up to the big play, like who needs to set a pick, who has to box out and get the rebound. I really think that just that will lead up to the big plays. All in all you have all five guys making plays that equal the big play.”
In the two exhibition games leading up to Saturday’s tilt with Dayton, Stinnett showed flashes of exactly the player he has been in the past and where he hopes to have improved for the present and future. He came off the bench against Missouri Western State to score 20 points and dish out 5 assists. Against UNO, he hit double figures in the scoring column but also hit the boards hard.
Stinnett can’t wait to get on the court to start the regular season. Last season’s performance against Kentucky was a huge confidence builder heading into this season.
“That was a real confidence booster not only for me, but our team as well. For us to compete as well as we did against them and just falling short, it just really let us know that we can play at a higher level. It really let us know that we can compete.”
Stinnett loves to have fun. “When is the first game? Let’s get it going.” He’ll get his chance to get the season started Saturday on the road against Dayton.