From every pre-practice scrum to every post-game interview, the phrase that has been articulated the most for the Creighton men’s basketball team has been “process.” Winning and losing never stopped mattering, but the results took a back seat to growth both individually and as a team. As the calendar turned to March, the most meaningful month of the college basketball season, it became more evident that the results were now in the driver’s seat. That was never more true than last Saturday night. While Villanova’s players and coaches were covered in confetti on the court at Madison Square Garden, Creighton’s players were in the locker room were wiping away tears.
“We all wanted to win so bad,” senior guard Alex O’Connell said. “We spent the whole time there. We won two in a row. We were that close to being champions. That’s what hurt the most. Also, for me, I kind of wanted to win that for Coach Mac because of how good he’s been to us all season and the way he’s handled our team and the adversity we’ve been through. It hurt a lot because we wanted to win for ourselves, but we also wanted to win it for Coach Mac.”
Alex O’Connell and the Bluejays are playing for each other (Williams / WBR)
Lost in the excitement surrounding the potential of sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner and the five new freshman that made up Creighton’s highest-ranked recruiting class ever was the final chapter that Alex O’Connell was trying to write to close out his college basketball career. He transferred out of Duke after averaging around 13 minutes per game over three years in a reserve role and came to Creighton with just one year of eligibility remaining. His desire to play a more prominent role for a winning program led him to Omaha, but the 2021-22 season was always going to be one and done for him. It was his last chance to prove himself. After starting all 33 games, averaging career-bests in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounding (5.3 rpg), facilitating (2.1 apg), and playing a major two-way role for a team that has reached the grandest stage in the sport, he can say with confidence that he accomplished that goal.
“I definitely feel a lot different about the end of my college career,” O’Connell said. “I’m just happier or more positive about it versus what it would have been if I had stayed where I was at. It probably would have gone even more downhill if I had stayed. Coming to Creighton flipped things for me. It made things more positive, and it gave me a chance to really show what kind of player I could be.
“The opportunity to play a major role for a team and be a leader brought that out of me. It’s given me more of an opportunity to show who I am and what I can be. Playing for a coach like Coach Mac and his staff you come ready every day. You want to practice harder for those guys. You want to play hard every game for those guys, because they put in all the work behind the scenes for us. When you actually have a coach that you really want to play for, and you want to win for, and you want to empty the tank for, you give it all for that coach. You love that guy, and he loves you right back. “
O’Connell has had a new spark playing basketball since coming to Creighton (Juszyk / WBR)
O’Connell invested a lot in this season before he even knew how the roster would look. It’s the main reason why Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott admitted that while he was caught off guard at first to see how emotional the locker room was after the Big East Tournament championship game, he probably shouldn’t have been.
“I don’t know if pleasantly surprised is the right way to say it, but the emotion in that locker room after the loss to Villanova was incredible,” McDermott said. “As a coach, I probably wasn’t quite ready for what I encountered when I got in that locker room. The guys were well aware that we had been in that championship game three times and weren’t able to kick the door down, so I think they really wanted it for our program and for our fans, you know, to be the first team to win a Big East Tournament title.
“It was extremely emotional, but as I’ve said many times this season, this group really cares. So, in hindsight, I should not have been surprised by what I saw, because I really experienced it all season long. You saw it when [Arthur Kaluma] got hurt, you saw it when [Ryan] Kalkbrenner got hurt at UConn, and when [Ryan Nembhard] went down. The genuine concern and care for their teammates, this group is pretty special in that regard. I’m really confident that they’re not just satisfied to be here. I want them to enjoy the experience, I want them to look around, I want them to smell the roses, because there are 250-260-some teams across the country that would love to be here, and they’re not here. We’re one of the fortunate ones. So you have to enjoy the experience, and it’s my job as the coach to make sure they do that. But they’re not satisfied just to be here and play this game. We’re here to try to advance.”
O’Connell, maybe more than any of his teammates, bears the weight of that sentiment going into Thursday night’s first round NCAA Tournament matchup in Fort Worth, Texas against 8-seed San Diego State. He hasn’t forgotten how the loss to Villanova felt. He doesn’t want to either, but as soon as he saw Creighton’s name flash on the screen it was time to hit the reset button because he understands the reality that his college basketball career may be down to its final 40 minutes.
“It fuels me,” O’Connell said. “It motivates me knowing that these could be my last 40 minutes of college basketball. If there is one thing to do it’s to make the most of it. Leave it all out there and empty the tank. Regardless of the outcome.
“We want to play pissed off. We want to go in there and remember what happened against Villanova, but not sulk about it or be upset about it still. We want to remember that feeling that we had of anger after the final buzzer went off and use that to fuel us to continue our season as long as we can.”