Week one of preseason preparation is in the books at The Ruth and The Championship Center on Creighton’s campus, and as you’d expect — with 18 freshman and sophomores, plus three first-year transfers among the 27 players between them — Greg McDermott and Jim Flanery had a healthy amount of teaching moments on the practice floor.
Women’s Basketball
Some notable observations from the women’s side:
- Senior off guard Rachael Saunders is still working her way back from knee surgery last winter, but she filling the void with the qualities that make her the leader she is. During Friday’s practice she drew on the white board more than most coaches do in games as she helped true freshman Lexi Unruh grasp some of the structural details the team was implementing.
- Lauren Jensen, a sophomore wing who transferred in from Iowa last spring, had a solid opening week. She shot the ball really well from the 3-point line, especially from the corners, and looked smooth transitioning off the bounce and finishing at the rim. At 5-foot-10, she appears to have some intriguing positional versatility on both sides of the ball.
- Junior forward Carly Bachelor was one of the best players in the gym this week. That perimeter jumper she introduced late last season is looking like more of a reliable weapon. She’s still an all gas and no brakes until the whistle type of player, so it’s not surprising that her tool box is filling up — she had 15 points (on 6-of-10 shooting), five rebounds, and no turnovers in a scrimmage against their guys practice squad on Saturday morning.
- The standout from that first team scrimmage was sophomore forward Emma Ronsiek. She led her squad with 22 points, missing only one of her nine field goal attempts inside the arc and adding a 2-for-4 mark from 3-point range.
Men’s Basketball
The Bluejays start their first week of practice. (WBR / Matt DeMarinis)
Observations from Saturday morning on the men’s side:
- The pre-practice film sessions are heavy on what are commonly referred to as the “little things.” But those details matter, whether it’s spacing on offense or weakside block outs on defense. A young Creighton team in 2019 learned how much that stuff matters in five close losses in Big East play in January and February. It’s the reason that group won the conference title in 2020 and challenged for it again in an unbalanced 2021.
- There are some confident voices on this coaching staff. First year assistants Jalen Courtney-Williams and Ryan Miller seemed to have a purposeful intensity about them. The volume is “rah rah,” but their messages rarely lacked substance. Their enthusiasm is noticeable.
- Freshman Ryan Nembhard was in command of court with the ball in his hands on Saturday. His feel for the game is unique for someone his age. He doesn’t get sped up and when he delivers a pass it’s on time and on target.
- If they handed out daily awards for “Best Player in the Gym” it might have gone to McNeese State transfer KeyShawn Feazell. He played well off of both Nembhard and Shereef Mitchell for some finishes inside. He also knocked down three 3-pointers, which came as a surprise considering he’s a 20% shooter on 35 attempts in 95 career games between his time at Mississippi State and McNeese State. Later on, he faked a swing pass to create some space to hoist another one from the left wing. He missed that time, but he was clearly feeling himself after the hot start.
- Junior point guard Shereef Mitchell is a few weeks away from being 100%, but even in somewhat limited action he made some strong plays with the ball in his hands. And he’s as tenacious as ever on the defensive end of the floor despite the fact that one of his wheels still needs some maintenance.
- On the subject of defense, freshman guard Trey Alexander impressed with is ability to navigate ball screens. His length and quickness on the perimeter could be interesting once the game slows down for him.
- Northwest Missouri State transfer Ryan Hawkins is never at a loss for words. The fifth-year senior has a learning curve of his own in his first season at Creighton, but he appears determined to talk his way through the mistakes as the inevitably come. That’s an important part of the process, especially on the defensive end.