Davion Mintz looking sharp on Saturday’s practice. (Spomer / WBR)
It is just a few days for the Creighton men’s basketball team before heading to Australia for their foreign trip. They are getting their last few practices in before the trip.
Notes:
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- The Jays were back on the court Saturday afternoon for a quick session centered around gap fundamentals, transition defense, and basic ball screen actions.
- Davion Mintz and Damien Jefferson were solid on the defensive end and with their decision-making in transition drills. Mintz, in particular, has looked sharp with his ability to set up his teammates in open floor situations. He also capped off the afternoon when he jumped an outlet pass and punctuated a pick-six with a one-handed flush after a lob to himself without breaking stride.
- Christian Bishop, Antwann Jones, and Shereef Mitchell stayed late to get up some extra shots. Bishop finished the extra session by going 10 for 12 from the left corner.
- Division III transfer Austin Hutcherson is in Omaha for an official visit this weekend. The 6-foot-6 guard from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, averaged 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and shot 39.2% from three last season as a sophomore. According to reports out of South Bend, Hutcherson has already visited Notre Dame, and plans to visit Marquette and Illinois before making a decision. If he chooses Creighton, he would be a sit one/play two guy sitting out along with Memphis transfer Antwann Jones, who is a sit one/play three Bluejay for the upcoming season.
Q&A with a Bluejay: Sophomore forward Christian Bishop
Christian Bishop came on strong at the end of the 2018-19 season. (Williams / WBR)
Q: Last summer your offseason work was cut short by the knee injury. Where are you at this point in your development for the upcoming season given that you haven’t missed any time?
A: Last year I was out for July and August, so everything was just about catching up, trying to get my knee better, and figuring out how to play with a bad knee. Now it’s just been straight skill work for me. Physically I’ve been making a lot of strides off the court, and when we’re out on the court I know the offense way better and it helps me make other guys better. It’s helped me increase my overall game.
Q: Was there a point last season where certain things started to click for you and make you more comfortable on the floor?
A: Last year the main thing for me was setting ball screens and running to the rim, but I had to figure out the right time to do it. Now that I know what to do it’s way easier. It’s become muscle memory — set a screen, and be ready to catch the ball and go dunk. It really is a simple game. They trust me and I trust them, and that helps everybody play better because of it.
Q: With Martin leaving and Jacob still sidelined there has been an opportunity to get more reps at the five this summer, how much has your skill set developed at that spot as a result?
A: Obviously not going to be the biggest guy out there — we have a really small team. I just have to play much quicker than the bigger guys, so I have to go 110% every time I go out for a ball screen so I can get a little bit of space. Post defense is the hardest part right now because you have to be relentless and battle every single time when you’re under the basket against bigger guys. I have to be a smart basketball player and not just an athlete.
Q: How much did your performance in the NIT last year help provide a springboard for you into the offseason?
A: Knowing that the coaches trusted me to be on the court for extended minutes helped me realize that I can do this. They did it for the first night against Loyola and they trusted me out there again against Memphis when Martin got in foul trouble. It was a big confidence boost. That was the major thing that helped me start getting ready for this season.
Bishop experimented shooting right-handed during the offseason (Spomer / WBR)
Q: You tinkered with the jump shot a little bit this offseason. What prompted you to experiment with the right hand and how did you settle back to shooting with the left?
A: I have a lot of touch with my right hand. My right hand is really good around the basket, and the coaches have seen me shoot with my right hand. I’ve been able to do it forever because when I was younger I used to shoot with two hands and I had to figure out what hand I shoot with. I eat with my left, I write with my left, so I just decided to go with my left. But I’ve always been good with my right hand. I can throw a football and baseball with my right, so we tried it out. I made some strides, but it just wasn’t comfortable so I went back to my left.
Q: How much work have you put in on all facets of your shot since you switched back?
A: I’ve been making strides. I need to practice on keeping the ball off my palm. I tend to do that when I shoot, so it doesn’t get as good of rotation. Also, my right hand is really strong and I used to shoot with it a little bit behind the ball and my shot was kind of a push. I’ve been able to keep it more to my left hand and it’s getting more consistent.
I try to get shots up every single day, whether it’s after practice or coming in late at night and just shoot with the gun or do form shooting. I usually do mid-range all the way around, threes all the way around, and instead of 10 makes at each I’ll do 20. I get a decent amount of shots up every day — at least 250. It’s about reps, reps, reps. That’s what the coaches have been stressing to me, because once you get the right amount of reps that’s when it’ll start falling. When you get used to that and you see it falling everybody is going to believe in you, and you’ll start to believe in yourself. It’s going to change my entire game. If big man have to come out and guard me I feel like it’s over at that point. I think I can be a really big threat if they have to come out and guard me at the 3-point line.
Q: How connected is this group given how long you’ve been together and how much you’ve all experienced together?
A: We’re with each other every single day. There aren’t too many people up here at school right now in the first place. It’s just us. We see each other every single day. We’re so close we’ll be out here arguing with each other sometimes. We’re like brothers. We’re a tight bonded team. Everybody does everything together.
I think we’re a closer team this year and last season will most definitely fuel us. We’re going to be able to play hard for each other since we actually like each other.
Q: The program has made some changes with strength and conditioning, how has your body reacted to it so far?
A: Nobody knew but last year my knees hurt every single day. I hurt walking and just moving at all, period. My body feels great right now, honestly. When your body feels good it’s easy to come out here and get better and get some work done. When your body isn’t feeling good it’s hard to push yourself through it and get out of your comfort zone. That’s what we talked about today, the need to step out of your comfort zone and face adversity and get better. Since our bodies are feeling good we can face adversity better and push through it when we get tired on the court.
Q: Australia is right around the corner now, what are you looking forward to most about the trip?
A: I’m so excited to go. I’m more excited to be with the guys and actually hang out in Australia than I am to play some basketball. Everybody talks about the Great Barrier Reef and how it’s the most beautiful thing ever, so I’m really excited about that. We’re going to do some snorkeling, and they’ve been talking about this giant bridge that is supposedly really scary. We’ll be harnessed up so I’m excited to do that to see some these dudes’ reactions. We’ve got some clowns on this team.
They’ve got the craziest animals in Australia, so we’ll see how that goes. People were trying to scare us in the group chat with pictures of giant spiders. I’m not too worried about it. Some of these guys aren’t ready. They’ll be wearing long sleeves and staying inside.