Coach McDermott and the staff are always looking for a spark. Christian Bishop might give it to them (Spomer / WBR)
Christian Bishop’s nine minutes off the bench in Friday night’s 86-65 win over Green Bay may not have been a fluke, at least for now. The 6-foot-7 freshman post player mixed in reps with the scout team and regular rotation as the team finished up their preparation for Oklahoma at the Championship Center on Monday afternoon before boarding a private jet to Norman.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott sounded encouraged about what he saw from the newcomer in his first meaningful minutes of the season, as well as what he saw in the practices following the longer leash.
“He did some good things [against Green Bay],” McDermott said. “I think the emotion of it probably led to some fatigue that’s he got to get through; he’s got to play harder for longer periods of time. He’s done some good things in practice and that’s why he’s earned a few minutes.”
Prior to the extended minutes against Green Bay, Bishop had played a total of 10 minutes spanning out over three games this season. On Friday, he produced three points, one rebound, and one assist, but also committed three turnovers and picked up three fouls — two of which came on the offensive end of the floor. The good and the bad were all part of Bishop’s own critique of his performance.
“It was super exciting to finally show coach what I can do,” he said after the game. “Obviously I need to run a little bit harder, play a little bit harder and faster … it was just good to be out there.
“I could have played better defense, and I got a couple ticky-tack fouls with my back to the basket. Other than that I just need to grab a couple more rebounds, keep running the floor, and good things will happen.”
Doing “simple things well” has long been the mantra from the coaching staff, and the Lee’s Summit, Missouri native knows that’s the path to more playing time — even if the logjam at his position leads to moments of uncertainty with his current role.
“There is frustration, but that’s what drives me and makes me play harder in practice,” Bishop said. “It makes the guys in front of me better as well as making myself better so I can come after their minutes or whatever it may be. Everything is a competition. We all push each other to make each other better.”
Other Notes from Practice
Oklahoma looking tough–Tuesday night’s opponent Oklahoma hasn’t missed a beat with former superstar Trae Young off to the NBA. The Sooners are off to a 9-1 start with five of their wins coming against the currently sit in the top 100 on KenPom. They have five guys averaging at least nine points per game, led by 6-foot-4 senior guard Christian James and his 18.9 points per contest. As a team, they shoot at around 39 percent from the 3-point line with four different players at around or above the 40 percent mark. But it was the other side of the floor that had Greg McDermott’s attention as the team wrapped up practice on Monday.
“They are the best defensive team we’ve played,” the Creighton coach said. “Coach Kruger’s teams have always been, I’ve felt, elite offensively, but compared to the teams we played a few years back this team is at another level on the defensive end of the floor. They certainly pose some challenges for us on that end, and obviously they are scoring some points against a really good schedule. This is a very good basketball team.”
Mitch Ballock is shooting the ball well in the past few games (Spomer / WBR)
Ballock lighting it up from outside–Sophomore guard Mitch Ballock is a basketball net’s worst enemy right now. The 6-foot-4 lefty followed up his personal-best 7-for-10 performance from the beyond the arc at Nebraska by nailing five of his seven attempts from deep last Friday against Green Bay. Kyle Korver and Tad Ackerman are the only Creighton players to make at least five 3-pointers in three straight games over the last 30 years, and with his growing confidence in starting to hunt his own opening to let it fly, Ballock has a chance to join that duo against Oklahoma.
“He’s always been a great shooter, but he’s also been unselfish to a fault at times,” McDermott said. “If he gets his feet set we want him to shoot it, and I think he understands that’s important to our offense. Obviously he’s been at an elite level the last couple games.”
Zegarowski making an impact at the point. (Spomer / WBR)
- Zegarowski on point–Point guard Marcus Zegarowski earned the first honor of his career on Monday when the Big East named him their freshman of the week for his performance against the Phoenix on Friday. The Hamilton, Massachusetts native was 3-for-6 from the beyond the arc and finished with 13 points in 23 minutes off the bench to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Through 10 games so far this season, Zegarowski is shooting 47 percent from the field, 44.1 percent from three, and his second on the team behind only Mitch Ballock with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2.
