Subscribe to our Newsletter

Bluejay Bytes

Bluejay Bytes (5/7/13)

By
0
Share

Things are bustling on the Hilltop for the Creighton Bluejays. White & Blue Review presents “Bluejay Bytes” as a way to keep up on all things Creighton sports.

On the Hilltop

  • The Big East is now recognized as an actual conference. Another task to mark off the list.
  • The Big East TV partner, Fox Sports 1, is preparing to launch. That includes hiring a stable of reporters.
  • On the Bluejay Underground, someone posted an outline of the student experience changes from Father Lannon as Creighton moves to the Big East.
  • Bluejay Banter turned 4 years old on Monday. A big part of the show were interviews with Creighton Athletics staff members and a lot of talk about the move to the Big East. A lot of great information here. Take a listen.

Men’s Basketball

  • With the Bluejays signing James Milliken, that means Doug McDermott could be the most prolific walk-on ever.
  • Since McDermott is returning, everyone has him on their preseason All-American list.
  • An ESPN Insider story by Fran Fraschilla detailed how other returning college starts could improve. Here is what he had to say:

What he should work on: Play like a small forward

If McDermott can stay injury-free as a senior, there is a good chance he will end up among the top 10 scorers in NCAA history. His career offensive efficiency has been outstanding, shooting 82 percent from the foul line, 59 percent inside the arc and 46 percent from behind the arc. But there are ways he can get even better.

As effective as McDermott has been around the basket — last season nearly 65 percent of his shots were in the lane — he can be even harder to defend next year if he could play more like a small forward. It would mean spending time on his ballhandling creativity this summer. That would allow him to become more dangerous in isolation situations off the dribble, both from the perimeter and in face-up opportunities off post-ups.

McDermott moves well without the ball in cuts to the basket in part because the Bluejays’ set-play offense is designed to post him up. But with his ability to shoot the long ball, I’d spend time working on getting him open off screens in order to take advantage of his perimeter strengths.

McDermott will never be a small forward in Creighton’s offense, but there is nothing wrong with adding ways to be an even more effective offensive player. His fastball is already pretty good, but adding a changeup to his repertoire will make him even harder to guard next season.

 

 

Baseball

  • NET did a feature on Jake Peter for the Creighton/Nebraska game.
  • Alex Staehely received district Academic All-American honors.
  • General Admission ticket books are available for the College World Series. Ticket booklets can be purchased by stopping by Sokol Arena or any Creighton Federal Credit Union location. The cost of the general admission ticket book is $80.00 (a $30.00 savings) and each booklet contains 10 non-dated tickets.

Women’s Basketball

  • Marissa Janning and Carli Tritz aren’t shy to say they are ready for the Big East.

Softball

  • Creighton are your MVC regular season champions. The Bluejays are now MVC regular season champs in Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, and now Softball. What a way to finish the final journey through the MVC.
  • Creighton hosts the MVC Tournament at the CU Sports Complex this week. They open play on Friday at noon against UNI, Wichita State or Southern Illinois
  • Becca Changstrom received Academic All-American honors.
0
Share
Newsletter
Never Miss a Story

Sign up for WBR's email newsletter, and get the best
Bluejay coverage delivered to your inbox FREE.