The Creighton basketball teams are coming to the end of their third week of preseason practice and closing in on finally getting to lace ’em up against someone other than their own scout teams. Both are scheduled to play their one and only closed scrimmages of the preseason next Saturday, October 21. The women will travel to Lawrence to play Kansas, while the men will host Iowa State in Omaha. Under third-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger, the Cyclones advanced to the Sweet 16 as an 11-seed in 2022 and earned a 6-seed last season. The Jayhawks advanced to the Round of 32 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and return four of its top five scorers from a squad that rolled through six teams — Western Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Washington, and Columbia — in 15 days to win the 2023 NIT last spring.
Creighton Women’s Basketball Practice Notes:
- Sophomore guards Kennedy Townsend and Kiani Lockett look like they have the potential to be the future leaders of the program. They don’t give an inch to any of the veterans. Night and day in their assertiveness and consistency from a competitive standpoint compared to where they were as freshmen.
- Speaking of Lockett, she and senior point guard Molly Mogensen have performed at a high level throughout fall camp thus far. They have nearly as many steals (32) as turnovers (35) between them and controlled live sessions and scrimmages against the guys’ practice squad.
- Senior forward Emma Ronsiek said she wanted to become more of a facilitator/initiator this season, and so far, she appears to be on track to meet that goal for herself. Along with converting at a 59% clip inside the arc through the first 12 practices, she’s also sporting a near 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- After seeing her playing time increase incrementally each of her first three seasons with the Bluejays, senior forward Mallory Brake could be in line for a big jump in 2023-24. As someone who is both willing and able make plays no one else on the team can with her length and anticipation skills, she is strong contender to be the most improved player on the team. She’s an intelligent playmaker out of the post, can guard up or down and affect the ball with her length, and she has a high motor that translates into a highly effective rebounder on both the offensive and defensive glass. For those wondering about how Creighton fills the role previously held by Carly Bachelor, Brake has potential to be the answer to that question.
5-on-5 Q&A with Creighton women’s basketball sophomore guard Kennedy Townsend
Q: How different does the day-to-day feel to you now compared to last season?
A: “I definitely just feel more comfortable all around. It’s helpful to know what you are expecting day in and day out, having the year of experience under your belt, and knowing that the hard stuff is kind of behind you. Now you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and stuff is clicking and making a lot more sense. You just have a lot more confidence knowing that you’ve been through it before and you know what’s happening. You feel more confident overall.”
Q: If things going according to plan in your own mind, how do you see yourself fitting in on this year’s team?
A: “I need to take a bigger defensive role. That’s what we are going to be missing a lot from [Rachael Saunders and Carly Bachelor], so it’s going to be a huge area that we need to fill. I want to make hustle plays and be a gritty player. I’ve always been kind of a scrappy, gritty player so I can bring that to our smooth offensive side of things. I want to mess things up defensively and be a pest, dive on the floor for loose balls, energy plays. That type of stuff.”
Q: When you think about this team and its potential, what excites you the most?
A: “I think we all have a sour taste in our mouth after what happened last year in the NCAA Tournament. That’s been helpful throughout the offseason. We’ve had some really competitive practices. Day in and day out we’ve been working super hard. We’re just trying to get back to that place so we can take it further like we know we could have and should have [last season].”
Q: You’re in the gym a lot at all hours of the day, where do those habits come from?
A: “I do have a social life, I promise. But I’ve always been kind of a gym rat. I was never uber-talented when I was younger. I grew up in a really small town and moved to Kansas City when I was in fifth grade, so I was a little behind in a lot of aspects — especially from a skill development standpoint. I had to work really hard to get to where I am right now, so that’s always been kind of engrained in me. That’s where a lot of my confidence comes from, too. Knowing that I put in a lot of work allows to me to trust that so that when I get on the court I can just play. I preach consistency and stacking days. Sometimes those workouts come at 11pm, sometimes they come a little earlier.”
Q: In describing the type of player you want to be for this team, you also described Rachael Saunders. What did you learn from her last season?
A: “Let me tell you, when you go against her every day in practice you learn really quickly what she puts forth and what she brings to the table. There was never a possession where you could question anything from an effort standpoint. She was such a great leader. After the year we write notes to the seniors and I that’s what I wrote in hers. She was such a great role model and leader. She’s a player I want to be like. She’s tougher than nails and that’s something that I not got away from when I first got here, but it was easy to get wrapped up in our offense and kind of shy away from that stuff. She did a really great job of helping get back to that place of competing and trying to win every drill. Don’t worry about you’re doing or what the coaches think to an extent. You’re just trying to be a dog out there. You talk about me being in the gym, but she was always in the gym too. I have so much respect for her and can’t thank her enough for what she did for me from a confidence standpoint last year. She did so much to help me through a lot of really tough times. Hopefully I can be a Rachael to somebody else.”
Creighton Men’s Basketball Practice Notes:
- Creighton’s offensive efficiency went from 112th on KenPom in 2021-22 to 23rd in 2022-23. It might end up being a tier better this year based on how crisp it has looked with Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth and third-year combo guard Trey Alexander sharing playmaking duties. How that split ultimately shakes out this season remains an unknown, but right now that duo has combined for a better than 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio with Alexander shooting 57.1% inside the arc and Ashworth hitting at a jaw-dropping 50.0% clip beyond it.
- Senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner is shooting the ball well from 3-point range so far and continues to stay late after practice to get extra reps.
- Sophomore forward Mason Miller has a stranglehold on the vacant starting four spot at this point. He compliments that veteran group well with his ability to rebound and stretch the floor to open up lanes for drivers, divers, and cutters.
- If you weren’t familiar with the roster matrix it would be hard to tell if freshman Shane Thomas is a walk-on or on scholarship. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard out of Red Rock Academy in Las Vegas, NV is smart, steady and strong, and he’s, umm, not afraid to put someone on a poster:
5-on-5 Q&A with Creighton men’s basketball senior point guard Steven Ashworth
Q: What’s the biggest difference for you right now compared to this summer?
A: “The biggest thing for me is I’m really seeing and recognizing where other guys are very successful in their game and where I can contribute to their success, and also what spots in the offense or in transition are best for me to kind of insert myself. In the beginning this summer there was that balance in knowing that this isn’t a common team. There are a lot of very talented players, so it was about figuring out where I can be the best version of myself and help them be the best version of themselves.”
Q: When this offense is firing on all cylinders, when you can feel it clicking, when you can feel it flowing, what do you feel like is its ceiling?
A: “I think it really could be the most efficient offense in college basketball. With the consistency that we always get from Kalk inside. This offense really is built around high-quality threes and high-quality twos. Whether it’s Trey in the mid-range or Kalk in the post or any of the other guys getting to the layups or threes, it’s very efficient. When we are running and flowing, and I think a huge part of that efficiency comes from our defense when we are locked in on that side of the ball — it really helps us on this side get open looks and good looks in transition especially.”
Q: Are you feeling the effects right now of the Bahamas trip, not only the team bonding but the extra practice reps you all were able to get as well?
A: “Absolutely, in a very positive way. From my perspective, that was a huge part of why I committed here because I knew I would have time to hang out with those guys in a place like the Bahamas and having a lot of fun and playing games on the beach or wherever but at the same time getting those 10 practices in. We are 10 practices into the season right now, but really, we are like 20 because we have the ones that we were allotted from the summer trip. It’s a huge advantage and it’s allowed me to feel more comfortable transferring in and getting used to a new regime and a new offense and new defense.”
Q: As someone who has gone through what Josiah Dotzler is experiencing as a young, first-year point guard, what have you seen out of him in practice to this point?
A: “I’ve been there before and I can see it through his lens, and at another level my freshman year was a part of team that was good, but not this good. To be competing on that white squad against the blue team every day, it’s probably a bigger jump than I ever had to make, and he’s done a great job with it. He’s been really eager to learn. He asks questions a lot and is intentional about his learning. There are obviously some opportunities for him to grow and learn, but that’s the case with every freshman. I think that Josiah has a unique ability to get into the lane and blow by defenders — he has one of the fastest first steps that I’ve seen on a basketball court. There are going to be times where there are growing pains for him as a freshman, but he definitely has the potential to be a super special point guard. There is a reason why he was a Gatorade Player of the Year.”
Q: Along with being a veteran point guard, you also are a veteran of marriage. With some newly engaged guys on the roster, what’s your best advice for Ryan and Josiah?
A: “The best I could give is that there is no such thing as being too good of a listener. I’ve learned over the years — and I still have A LOT of room to grow when it comes to that — especially with my wife, she’s so thoughtful and kind, whereas I’m a little bit more of a get after it and type of person. Her perspective is super good for me in life and sometimes in basketball. When you pick the right one, you’re picking a partner and a soulmate that is going to be able to give you confidence, but also give you some constructive feedback, so just listen to it and become better.”