Ed. Note: WBR’s Matt DeMarinis will file weekly practice reports for the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams this preseason, based on his observations from watching the teams in action. This first installment recaps the first full week of practice, as well as Bluejay Madness.
[dropcap]The[/dropcap] first week of October officially tipped off the 2014-15 season for the Creighton men’s and women’s basketball teams. With the brand new Championship Center open for business, both teams have a brand new home to use for their development. The men had a light week in their first week, as they took the weekend off before really kicking it into high gear in their second week. The women, on the other hand, practiced almost every day, including Saturday and Sunday. This is a report of some notable things that stood-out in the first handful of practice sessions culminating with each team being introduced to the Creighton Nation on Friday night at the annual Bluejay Madness event at D.J. Sokol Arena.
Brianna Rollerson had a big game offensively during the Blue-White Scrimmage at Bluejay Madness, scoring 14 points. (Photo by Adam Streur for WBR)
Ladies first …
The women’s team used the brand new court at D.J. Sokol Arena for their first practice. The team features some new faces with five freshman, including three from the state of Minnesota. There’s also some familiar faces that are finally back in uniform after missing significant time with knee injuries, and some new weapons from players looking to step up their game as the Bluejays try to replace six seniors, including three starters from last year’s team.
- Alexis Akin-Otiko debuted a new offensive weapon in the early practices — a 3-point shot. She has shown a good mid-range game in the past, but this year the senior out of Bellevue has stretched out her offense beyond the arc and looks both confident and proficient in taking that shot within the offense to help keep opposing defenses stretched out just as Sarah Nelson did for the previous four years.
- Marissa Janning is coming off a sophomore season that culminated with her being named the Big East Conference Player of the Year. With six seniors to replace, the biggest improvement she needs to make to her game is maybe the most difficult one — becoming a leader. Through the first week of practice she appeared to be answering that call. Often helping out the underclassmen, she sometimes interrupted her head coach’s instruction to provide a different voice without sacrificing the details. It was a welcome sight to Jim Flanery.
- Sydney Lamberty & Kylie Brown, both true freshman out of Minnesota, improved each day throughout the week. Starting with the very first practice Lamberty showed off her advanced offensive game. She stepped out and proved she can be a threat on the perimeter, but perhaps the most impressive part was her ability to get to the rim and finish inside. What Coach Flanery wanted to see out of his freshmen was better communication, especially on the defensive end. It’ll be a process learning to talk and to do so with conviction in a new system, but Flan isn’t keeping any secrets. If anyone wants to see the floor this year, they have to communicate. Towards the end of the week the coaches were pleased with Brown’s improvement.
- Taylor Johnson is coming off of a torn ACL’s in her left knee that sidelined her each of the last two seasons, and as practice began, it wasn’t known what the coaching staff could expect out of her. If Saturday afternoon’s post-Bluejay Madness practice was an indication, then fans are in for a surprise. During a 5-0n-5 scrimmage against guys she stood out in front of not only her current teammates and coaches, but also three of her future teammates from the 2015 recruiting class and their families as well. She hit a step back three-pointer, several threes from the corner, fought bigger players for rebounds and 50-50 balls, drove to the basket and finished when her defender closed out on her perimeter shot, and stepped in to take a few charges to top it off. Coach Flanery said it sounded like an actual game during practice due to the cheers Johnson drew throughout the session.
Injury Report: Freshman point guard Jade Owens is out two more weeks with a bone bruise.
***
Zach Hanson skies for a dunk during warmups at Bluejay Madness. (Photo by Adam Streur for WBR)
[dropcap]Now[/dropcap] for the men’s side of things. There are a lot of questions facing this team and a lot of playing time up for grabs after the departures of National Player of the Year and 3-time First-Team All-American Doug McDermott, as well as Ethan Wragge, Grant Gibbs, and Jahenns Manigat. Head coach Greg McDermott brought his team along slowly in the first week, but really turned things up in the week leading up to Bluejay Madness.
Each day began with a film session at the Championship Center, then the team began practice by drilling the things they just went over on film. Coach McDermott introduced new sets each day and by the end of the week the players were going through quite a bit of information. Obviously this meant that the returnees looked more comfortable running the sets because of their familiarity with the system.
Defensive drill work was a big emphasis throughout the week, and as was the case on the women’s side, Coach McDermott told his team that communication is the key and they won’t be a good defensive team unless the players understand that and practice accordingly.
At the beginning of the week, there was an introduction into how the players can expect the game to be officiated this season. Big East Supervisor of Officials John Cahill went through a thorough explanation of the “do’s” and “don’ts”, as well as why the changes are being made. Cahill explained that scoring went up five points per game last season, and therefore officials have been charged with further steering the game towards more improvements in scoring and how offensive players are guarded. Towards the end of his presentation he informed the players, specifically post players, that they will be frustrated initially this season as they adjust to how the game is called down low. Senior Associate Commissioner Stu Jackson was also in attendance for this practice.
The Bluejays concluded their week the day after Bluejay Madness by running two 20-minute scrimmages complete with officials, media timeouts, etc. They picked things back up again Sunday morning, and will begin two-a-days on Monday.
- Mo Watson, Jr. was steady during the week, but took flight the night of Bluejay Madness, giving the fans in attendance a glimpse of what they can expect a year from now. He took that to another level during the scrimmage on Saturday. It didn’t appear to matter who was guarding him, because he got where he wanted when he wanted to get there. By the midway point of the second 20-minute session he had become the sole focus of the defense. Each time down the floor all eyes were on him.
- Toby Hegner stood out at times during the week. He played well off the ball and in pick and pop situations, and knocked down his three-pointers at a solid rate when he got the chance. He also took a few charges on the defensive end which pleased his coaches.
- Devin Brooks & James Milliken both showed flashes of what looks to be a very athletic back court this season. With Brooks you take the spectacular with the bad. He will make plays, but mistakes will also happen when he pushes the envelope. The one area he has definitely improved is outside shooting. He looks comfortable and efficient on the perimeter. Milliken has been solid. He did a good job playing within the offense during the first week, but wasn’t shy about going into another gear when opportunities were presented.
- Avery Dingman contributed on both ends of the floor. He hit several corner threes in transition throughout the week and looked to be shooting with more confidence.
Injury Report: Senior point guard Austin Chatman is still sidelined as he recovers from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Sunday he lightly participated in some 5-on-0 offensive drills. He targeted Monday as the earliest date for his return, but said he isn’t 100% sure of that, and it will depend on how his knee responds. Until then he has done basketball-related conditioning workouts on the side court during practices.