After going to a 24-team, one-venue field last summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of The Basketball Tournament have returned to normal for the summer of 2021. On Monday, they announced a full field of 64 teams that will participate in four regionals to determine the eight teams that will head to Dayton, Ohio to compete for a $1 million dollar winner-take-all prize.
For the first time in the eight years of the event, a team of Creighton men’s basketball alums has been selected to participate. The squad of (primarily) former Jays hoopers, dubbed the Omaha Blue Crew, drew the #10 seed in the Wichita Regional. They will take on Purple & Black (Kansas State alumni) at 3:00 p.m. CT at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas on Friday, July 16. That game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Should the Blue Crew advance, a date with the No. 2 seed Aftershocks (yes, that’s Wichita State alumni) potentially awaits them in the second round. And that just so happens to be the only game in the Wichita Regional currently assigned as an ESPN telecast. Are the tourney organizers banking on a Jays/Shockers reunion just as many bracketologists have over the years ever since Creighton left their conference rival in the wind when they joined the Big East in 2013? Ah, storylines.
The active roster features ex-Jays Jahenns Manigat, Austin Chatman, Justin Carter, Martin Krampelj, James Milliken and Wayne Runnels along with Deverell Biggs (Nebraska, Texas Southern), Nick McGlynn (Drake), and Admon Gilder (Texas A&M, Gonzaga).
- Manigat was a three-year captain and four-year starter for Creighton from 2010 to 2014. He scored an even 900 points in his career, dished out 298 assists, and his 206 3-pointers currently ranks ninth all-time in program history. He averaged 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and had a 16-7 record in postseason play (including conference tournament games) during his college career.
- Chatman was a three-year starter at point guard and appeared in 139 games for the Bluejays from 2011 to 2015. He scored 1,013 career points and his 493 assists puts him fifth all-time in the history of the program behind only Ryan Sears, Ralph Bobik, Antoine Young, and Grant Gibbs. He averaged 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and had a 12-5 record in postseason play.
- Carter started 65 of the 66 games he appeared in as a Bluejay from 2008 to 2010. Despite being listed at 6-foot-4, he often played out of position and holds a special place in the hearts of blue collar Jays fans for his ability to punch up in weight — most notably in a 15-rebound performance in the 2009 NIT against a Kentucky team that featured two eventual NBA big men in Patrick Patterson and Josh Harrellson. He averaged 9.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and went 4-4 in postseason play as a Bluejay.
- Krampelj overcame torn ACLs to both his right and left knee in his time at Creighton to earn Honorable Mention All-Big East as a junior. He started the last 54 games he appeared in, and put up 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocks in going 2-2 in his lone season as a major contributor in the postseason.
- Runnels is the only player on this roster who can say they played during both the Dana Altman and Greg McDermott eras at Creighton. Like Carter, he played bigger than his 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame. Battling Kenny Lawson Jr., Gregory Echenique, and Doug McDermott every day in practice likely made the games seem like a walk in the park in that regard. He started 19 of the 34 games he appeared in as a junior before McDermott and Echenique arrived his final year in Omaha.
- Biggs was named Nebraska High School Athlete of the Year by both the Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star in 2010. He was a two-time All-State honoree in hoops and helped Omaha Central win three Class A state titles in high school. He was named a First Team NJCAA All-American at Seward County Community College before moving up to Division 1 and spending time at Nebraska and Texas Southern to finish up his college career. In his final season in 2014-15, he helped the Tigers earn a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals in a 93-72 loss to an Arizona team that ended up in the Elite Eight.
- McGlynn started the final 83 of the 127 games he appeared during his four-year run at Drake. He played for four different head coaches in college, the last of which, Darian DeVries, came over from Creighton prior to the 2018-19 season. The 6-foot-8, 244-pound forward averaged 13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocked shots per game over his final two seasons, including a three-game run in the MVC Tournament and CIT to close out his junior year where he put up 18.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks on 53.8% shooting.
- Gilder was a major contributor for three seasons at Texas A&M before graduating and transferring to Gonzaga for his final year of college eligibility in 2019-20. He started 58 games as a sophomore and junior, averaging 13.0 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 steals during those two years. He helped the Aggies advance to the Sweet 16 as both a freshman in 2016 and a junior in 2018. He averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in those six NCAA Tournament games.
Former Omaha Central and Creighton basketball player Josh Jones is the general manager and coach. Former student manager Michael Vandevoort, currently a reporter for the new 247 Creighton recruiting site, is an assistant GM to Jones.
The Purple & Black roster includes former K-State players Carter Diarra and Kamau Stokes. That backcourt duo combined for 18 points and six assists in a 69-59 win when the Bluejays and Wildcats met up in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. Martin Krampelj was on that roster for Creighton, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury back in January and could only watch from the sidelines as that game played out.