Creighton joining the Big East will undoubtedly open up new doors in terms of recruiting. Creighton’s shift to the new league will mean a focus in the geographic footprint of the conference, with Chicago being an important aspect of the Bluejays’ future success.
Historically, Creighton has recruited Chicago hard. When Greg McDermott was hired as Creighton’s head coach one of his first actions was to hire Steve Merfeld, a coach with excellent ties into the Chicago basketball scene. McDermott went on to hire Steve Lutz, a coach with outstanding relationships to a number of high profile Chicago programs.
Recently the Jays have had little success when it came to recruiting the Windy City for talent. Despite the Missouri Valley also having a footprint in Chicago, it seemed the Valley was not an attractive enough conference for many of the top players. The Bluejays move now puts them in line with some of the City’s finest.
Creighton sees an opportunity to capitalize in one of the nation’s hotbeds of basketball talent. Marquette has firmly planted roots in Chicago, a move that has brought them a great deal of success. DePaul, on the other hand, has not been able to sign the area’s top players until this year. This has led to multiple coaching changes, an unhappy alumni base, and a program drifting toward mediocrity.
For Creighton to be successful in this market it needs to continue and develop its relationships with some of the nation’s top AAU programs. The Illinois Wolves, Mac Irvin Fire, Chicago Meanstreets, Team NLP, SW Illinois Jets, and Illinois Celtic have all been receptive to Creighton this last year. Most of Creighton coaching staff have made the quick flight into Chicago for open gyms, practices, and high school and AAU games over the last year. Creighton’s Catholic mission could also appeal to a number of these players who play in Chicago’s fabled Catholic School League. St. Rita’s, St. Viator, De La Salle, Benet Academy, Marian, Nazareth, and St. Joseph’s have and continue to produce multiple college players a year.
Here is a look at a number of the players from the Windy City Creighton is targeting:
2013
Alvin Ellis – De La Salle – Chicago Meanstreets
2014
Victor Law – St. Rita – Illinois Wolves
Ore Arogundade – St. Viator – Illinois Wolves
::Arogundade Junior highlights::
Tyler Ulis – Marian Catholic – Chicago Meanstreets
Sean O’Mara – Benet Academy – IBA Muscle Milk Select
Paul Turner – St. Joseph’s – Indiana Elite
Tyquone Greer – Orr – Chicago Meanstreets
2015
Prentiss Nixon – Bolingbrook – Illinois Wolves
Jordan Ash – St. Joseph’s – Illinois Wolves
Aaron Jordan – Plainfield East – Illinois Celtic
Glynn Watson – St. Joseph’s – Illinois Wolves
Tyler Jackson – Nazareth Academy – Illinois Celtic
Myles Carter – St. Rita – Illinois Celtic
Matt Rafferty – Hinsdale Central – Chicago Lockdown
Joseph Toye – Whitney Young – Illinois Celtic