As the Creighton men’s and women’s basketball teams continue to get ready for the season, a lot is going on at practice. Let’s take a look…
Ryan Nembhard has the screen and roll on point in the preseason (Juszyk / WBR)
Notes and Quotes From the Creighton Men’s Basketball Practice
- The Jays worked on some of the smaller details on Tuesday coming out of Monday’s practice and Saturday’s closed scrimmage at Iowa State. It’s always a tell that the season is nearing when free throw block outs and strong, purposeful rip-through moves are emphasized. Clean fundamentals in practice lead to clean performances on game day.
- Creighton went live first with a transition-focused drill and then a 20-minute scrimmage between the blue team and white team with referees officiating the whole session. For those who love offense and are bullish on this team’s talent and collective skill set, Tuesday afternoon was like an early Christmas.
- Sophomore guard John Christofilis lit up practically every projected starter. He hit a fall-away three in the right corner over Arthur Kaluma, a three in the left corner over Trey Alexander, a three on the left wing over Baylor Scheierman, a dribble side-step three on the right wing after using a shot fake to get Ryan Kalkbrenner to fly by him in transition, and then punctuated it with a deep catch and shoot three from the right wing on a simple little dribble hand-off.
- Sophomore point guard Ryan Nembhard and junior center Ryan Kalkrenner are a lethal ball screen tandem. Nembhard finished with both his right and left hand at times when Kalkbrenner was tagged. When he wasn’t, the lob was easy money, and when his point guard didn’t get the roll, the big man was there with the soft touch on the tip in to clean it up.
- Sophomore combo guard Trey Alexander got some live reps at the “one” during the 20-minute scrimmage. He produced a left corner three for Mason Miller, finished a right-hand drive off the glass, and got an assist on a defensive rebound and kick ahead to Arthur Kaluma for a right wing 3-pointer.
- Junior point guard Shereef Mitchell was dynamic in keeping the white team in the game the whole time against the projected starters. He manufactured a pair of layups out of ball screen actions with an active, efficient dribble. He produced a kick-out three for Jasen Green, a flip-back three for Zander Yates, and jumped a DHO on the defensive end that immediately resulted in a turnover even though he didn’t end up with the steal. His most impressive moves of the session came on a left-hand drive into a runner off the glass and a step-back elbow jumper after getting the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year Kalkbrenner switched onto him on the perimeter.
- Freshman guard Ben Shtolzberg put on a fun show against the blue team in the 20-minute scrimmage and in an end-game scenario to finish practice. His shot creation is advanced for a true freshman, and he put an exclamation point on the day by beating the buzzer for the win with a banked in three off the dribble from the left wing over two defenders. He was fearless as a playmaker, but not in a reckless way that led to volatility in the results.
Greg McDermott’s Thoughts on…
The closed scrimmage at Iowa State:
“Defensively we did some good things. I thought offensively. once we adjusted to their physicality, I thought we settled in pretty well. The unselfish nature with which I want us to play was on display. That was good to see. I’ve seen some of it in practice, and I was just hoping when we played somebody else it would also be there, and it was.”
How the team handled physicality:
“That’s why I was so pleased that Iowa State was the one on the schedule this year because obviously they play a very physical brand of defense. They try to take some things away that maybe other teams don’t take away. [Physicality] is always going to be a bit of a challenge for us because of the way we play in practice. Right now we have both teams playing fast and both teams trying to play in space; we’re not trying to take a lot of passes away. So you just have to adjust to that and be ready for it. We prepared for it going into Saturday, and I thought for the most part we handled it well.”
Trey Alexander’s preseason camp:
“I’ve been really pleased with him. He’s made incredible progress. He’s going to turn some heads I think this season. He can play both ends of the floor, but he’s got a pace about him. He never gets sped up, he’s shooting the basketball better, and he’s going left better than he was a year ago and finishing going both directions. And he’ll have to be a go-to defender for us. We’re going to ask a lot of him, but I think he’s capable of stepping up to that challenge.”
How Arthur Kaluma is coming along since getting cleared to return:
“He’s getting better every day. His conditioning is not there yet, but I thought yesterday’s practice was his best practice. I thought he slowed down and let things come to him. He’s just so anxious and excited to be back out there that he’s been in a bit of a hurry. As he gets in better condition and is able to stack some days on top of each other, I think he’ll be closer to his former self. But he was really good yesterday.”
Baylor Scheierman fitting in with his new teammates:
“I think he’s learned to just trust the offense and let it come to him rather than have him force it. He was really good on Saturday. He makes great decisions and plays with an intelligent pace. He’s able to use the shot fake, the pass fake, and the head fake to freeze the defense and then make the right read after that happens. He did that on several occasions [against Iowa State]. Like I’ve said before, he can score the basketball, but he is an elite, elite passer. Adding that to what we already had returning is quite a skill to add to this group.”
Morgan Maly has made an even bigger jump this season compared to last season (Juszyk / WBR)
Notes and Quotes From the Creighton Women’s Basketball Practice
- In advance of their upcoming exhibition games on Wednesday night against Missouri Western and Saturday afternoon against Truman State, the Jays put it on their guys’ practice squad a couple times over the past week or so. That’s been a recurring theme more during this preseason camp than any year prior.
- Junior forward Morgan Maly was terrific during the controlled scrimmages on Friday afternoon. She hauled in 10 rebounds during the live sessions and dotted up the whole floor on the offensive end. She scored off a back-door cut from the elbow, sealed a smaller defender and scored over her right shoulder immediately after the catch. She was clean with her footwork in the low block in executing a post-up that she turned into a turnaround jumper along the baseline. She nailed a left corner 3-pointer on one possession, then hit from the right corner on the very next trip down the floor. She also buried a straightaway three on a baseline out-of-bounds play and converted a second-chance stick back on an extra effort cut to the offensive glass from the right wing. It’s quite clear that she’s put in a lot of work rounding out her game and has become a pretty special scorer. There isn’t anywhere on the offensive end of the floor that she isn’t dangerous. Oh, and by the way, for context, she has shot 65.8% inside the arc and 46.5% beyond it in preseason camp during live sessions that are charted by the managers.
- Junior center Mallory Brake popped a bit during that same Friday session. She hit a couple threes, then got a steal that she turned into points on the other end with an offensive rebound and putback. She also had a tough closeout and forced a missed three with solid footwork, a good base, and disruptive hands. The guys’ team got off to a hot start offensively, but Brake’s contributions sparked a 21-6 run over the final 20 possessions of the scrimmage.
- Freshman point guard Kiani Lockett was cleared to go 5-on-5 in the half court. She continues to make steady progress and is trending to slot in as Molly Mogensen’s backup around the time Big East play gets underway.
Jim Flanery’s Thoughts on…
How the three freshmen are acclimating to this level:
“As you might expect, their heads spin more defensively than on offense. Kennedy is probably not ready to play a lot of backup point guard, we may try her there, but I think she can play off the ball. She shoots it well and she’s physical and tough. Brittany kind of all the way around defensively has a way to go, but she’s making progress. Offensively, she can shoot it and she’s big enough to finish around the basket. I think she has a good feel for the game on offense. And I think Kiani has looked good in the stuff that we’ve done. Hopefully if we can get her cleared and get a couple weeks of practice in, then hopefully by Thanksgiving or a little later she can help us, because we need to figure out a backup point guard … Kiani’s probably our best option, but we’re not going to have that for at least a month because she needs to practice probably at least two, two-and-half to three weeks before we’re going to throw her into a game and expect her to be good enough to help us. “
Molly Mogensen’s decision-making throughout camp:
“I think in the half court she’s done really well. I think she can still make a jump in transition. And we’re not as good of a transition team without Tatum … but I think she can make a jump. At the same time, in the half court she’s pretty solid. She plays well with Emma and Morgan, and it’s not just the number of assists, it’s the keeping her turnovers low.”
Mallory Brake’s steady improvement:
“She’s way more comfortable facing up. She’s made some threes in practice and we’re going to let her shoot. I talked to Ryan Kalkbrenner the other day and he said that Coach is going to let him shoot one per game. So maybe we should put that rule in for Mal and if she hits the first one, she gets to take a second one. But even facing up from 15 to 17 feet she’s gotten way better. She’s always been good at making layups, which sounds stupid to say, but it’s important if you have one or two layups a game and you make them both versus miss them both, that’s big. Defensively she can be a difference maker. Her consistency defensively will dictate her minutes to some degree, but she’s done a good job. I think her and [Jayme Horan] have both put themselves in a position where we are super deep. That’s why we were able to move [Carly Bachelor] to the wing more because those guys have really improved.”
Morgan Maly’s scoring efficiency at different levels:
“She looks even more comfortable from the mid-to-low post than she was a year ago. I thought she made a big jump last year, but I think she’s even better this year with her mentality, her footwork, and her willingness to post and take advantage of mismatches. She can miss shots in a row, but then 15 minutes later she’s made four in a row, and the good thing is it’s not all 3-pointers like it used to be. If you watched us practice two years ago and she made four shots, it was a good likelihood that three of them were threes … she’s just more capable and more confident.”