Creighton’s loss to Baylor might have ended the basketball season, but it marks the beginning of the most important off-season in Coach McDermott’s career.
While I do not subscribe to the notion that Doug McDermott alone brought Creighton to relevance, people on various message boards like the Underground and the Holy Land of Hoops believe Creighton and Coach McDermott would be nothing without the younger McBuckets. Now is Greg’s chance to show that he can be successful outside a mid-major without his son.
The main knock on the 2013-2014 Bluejays was their lack of athleticism at nearly every position. McDermott and his staff quickly identified a number of 2014 prospects and landed arguably two of the most high-potential players in recent Creighton history. With the 6’8” Leon Gilmore and 6’7” Ronnie Harrell already signed, the Jays instantly improve in the athleticism category. Both Gilmore and Harrell are versatile enough to play a number of positions, and both turned enough heads to be ranked on multiple top 100 lists. The question is, can Gilmore and Harrell quickly adjust to the culture, atmosphere and physicality of the college game enough to be productive players for the Jays in 2014?
Gilmore has the more college-ready body and will likely be asked to take on a bigger role this fall. While Harrell has the skills to Let It Fly, his wiry frame might cause him issues at first. With that said, there are not many 6’7” off-guards in the Big East that can match his length and shooting ability.
The addition of Gilmore and Harrell leaves Creighton with one open scholarship for the 2014-2015 season. Remember that while Creighton graduates four seniors, one of those gentlemen was a preferred walk-on and thus will not (nor never) be replaced.
With the final spot Creighton has been very selective.
Devonte Graham (photo courtesy of McClelland Miscellanea)
One player Creighton has been after for awhile now is Brewster Academy lead guard Devonte Graham. Graham is at the center of a NLI controversy, the gist of which is that the school he originally signed with, Appalachian State, is unwilling to release him. Graham is being chased by a number of high major programs including the Jays. Appalachian State believes a few of the programs currently after him were tampering with his recruitment. It is believed that NC State is a leader for his services if he gets his release, but watch out for the both Creighton and Providence to make a late push should Graham hit the open market.
Josh Cunningham (photo courtesy of Inside the Hall)
Another player Creighton coaches have become very familiar with is Josh Cunningham of Morgan Park in Chicago. Cunningham is a consensus top 100 player in the 2014 class that has narrowed his final list down to Bradley, Creighton, Indiana, South Carolina and Minnesota. The 6’6” combo player is a tough rebounder who gets buckets underneath the basket. Cunningham is evidence that the Jays are hitting Chicago hard looking for grinders to compliment the more skilled players already on the roster. Cunningham has loads of skill, but the staff likes his attention to both defense and crashing the boards, and think that he, like Gilmore and Harrell, could make an instant impact on the Jays next season.
Jackson Davis (photo courtesy of Lafayette Sports)
Creighton is also involved with one of the hottest names in the nation in ex-Rice commit Jackson Davis. The 6’8” forward is an outstanding student and burst into national attention following an outstanding senior season for Lafayette in Kentucky. Davis has outstanding hands for his size and possesses an improving shot from deep. Davis is also an excellent rebounder with a terrific basketball IQ. Davis has already used two of his five official visits (Rice and Columbia) leaving him with only three. The Davis family has already narrowed down his new list to Butler, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arizona State and Creighton, and the latter three schools will host official visits. Auburn and new coach Bruce Pearl are making a push, as is Florida, but look for Davis and his family to decide following these five visits. The Davis’ are looking for the right blend of basketball and higher education, which is good news for any Creighton fan. Speculation around the recruiting scene is that Vanderbilt is the team to beat, however if Davis holds out and makes his official visit to Creighton, I like our chances.
Last year Creighton landed two junior college players in Devin Brooks and James Milliken. Brooks became an impact player off the bench while Milliken was limited to the scout team during a red-shirt season. Reports out of practice were that Milliken has a great shot and could step right in to the fold at the shooting guard spot this fall, which is great news — he’s familiar with the system and with his teammates, which should help him hit the ground running when practice starts.
In terms of this year’s crop of junior college players, Creighton has been after the wide-bodied Willie Atwood of Connor State College. Atwood is 6’8” and reminds me of the type of powerful forward Wichita State has been so successful in recruiting in recent years. He is a double-double machine in JC, and could likely replicate those numbers in D1 if he’s in he right system. Creighton has been out to see Atwood a number of times, yet so have many other schools who might have Atwood higher on their priority list. Look for the Jays to get more heavily involved if Jackson Davis or Josh Cunningham sign elsewhere.
Creighton has also reportedly been after South Plains College guard Roderick Lawrence. At 6’4” Lawrence is a power guard who gets into the lane and finishes at the rim. Lawrence is not the most prolific shooter, hitting at a 29% and 33% clip from three-point range over the last two seasons, but was the key figure for SPC averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds this season.
A few other names to watch are local talents Tre’Shawn Thurman of Omaha Central and Khyri Thomas of Omaha Benson. Both are legitimate D1 players, yet both are very raw on both ends of the floor. Thurman has interest from a number of schools in the Missouri Valley while Thomas is talking with mostly Summit League squads. Both could be diamonds in the rough, but given the fact that Creighton needs players that can step right in and play, it looks rather unlikely that either would don the Bluejay uniform. Do not be surprised, however, if both opt to go the junior college route and we are back here in 2016 talking about them as CU targets.
Ikenna Okwarabizie (photo courtesy of Sioux City Journal)
Iowa big Ikenna Okwarabizie is also receiving interest from Creighton. He played only half of a season with Sioux City East because of transfer rules, yet dominated the court upon his return. There are multiple connections linking Okwarabizie and Creighton so don’t be surprised to see the big man visiting Creighton soon.
Rumors of transfers heading to the Hilltop have been evident throughout the season. When one time Creighton target Luke Fischer decided to transfer from Indiana the Jays were near the top of his list, despite the fact the Jays were out of scholarships. Buzz Williams and Marquette didn’t have that problem, and they scooped up the mid-season transfer. Williams recently left Marquette. of course, but Fischer is unable to transfer again without a year penalty and is not allowed to transfer within the conference so let me put any dreams of Fischer to Creighton to bed now. Also newly on the transfer market is Texas Tech’s 6’7” combo wing Jordan Tolbert. Tolbert was highly sought after by this staff in 2011 and could be a target moving forward. Creighton will be active in the transfer market this spring. Look for the Jays to be after a few big time names if they do decide to leave their school.
* SPECULATION ALERT *
The last name I will hang out there is Niagara 5th year senior Antoine Mason. Only Doug McDermott was a more prolific scorer in the 2013-2014 season than Mason (25.6 ppg), who is the son of former Knicks hard-man Anthony Mason. Mason hails from Queens, New York and faces the decision to stay at Niagara for his Senior season or transfer immediately to another D1 program. He has stated in the past that he would like to prove himself in a big conference near home, and by my records there aren’t many conferences bigger, nor closer, to Queens than the Big East. Creighton can offer the 6’3” scoring guard lots of looks and plenty of touches in his Senior campaign. Mason is also toying with testing the NBA waters, with a few pundits saying has an outside shot of being drafted. Mason could really benefit playing alongside Chatman next year in McDermott’s offense, and would get plenty of limelight playing every night on Fox Sports 1. I want to reiterate that Mason HAS NOT yet decided he is transferring but if he does he will be a name most college programs will go after, with the the Jays being one.
* END SPECULATION ALERT *
With spring AAU right around the corner, our next recruiting feature will lay out the blueprint for Creighton’s must have’s and top priorities for the 2015 class.
Want more? Talk about Graham, Cunningham, Davis and the rest of the Creighton targets at the Bluejay Underground Recruiting section.