The Creighton Men’s basketball team hops on the plane on Tuesday morning to cross the pond and enjoy a foreign trip to Italy. There they will play some games, but more importantly continue to build the relationships between team members, especially for all the new faces that will head up the 2015-16 campaign.
Monday’s practice was the final one before heading to Italy. There are a lot of little storylines over the summer and they were observed by several in the media the past couple of weeks. WBR’s Matt DeMarinis along with a couple others were in attendance for the last practice. Here are some tweets sent out during practice that gives some insight into this year’s team as the Bluejays make final preparations for the trip to Italy.
The freshman that has made the most heads turn in these practices has been Khyri Thomas. After watching several days, WBR’s Matt DeMarinis came to a conclusion:
I think Big East coaches are really going to hate playing against Khyri Thomas.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) August 3, 2015
His maturity and responsibility to the team just enhances the on-court play. Read this exchange between head coach Greg McDermott and Thomas, otherwise known as “Taz” as observed from Jacob Padilla:
No rolling his eyes, no walking away. Don’t often see that kind of honesty in the face of criticism w/ most players, let alone a freshman.
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 3, 2015
The Omaha World Herald’s Steve Pivovar had to get in his words about Thomas as well:
Hate to beat a dead horse but Taz thomas continues to impress. Grabs defensive rebounds pushed up court and finishes with dunk in traffic
— Steve Pivovar (@PivOWH) July 28, 2015
DeMarinis had his own observations of Taz and fellow freshman Martin Krampelj.
Khyri Thomas & Martin Krampelj weren’t two of the best freshmen over the course of these 10 practices, they were two of the best players.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) August 3, 2015
Thomas is really starting to find his way quickly. From Bluejay Banter’s Heath Gunderson:
I really like what I saw out of Khyri Thomas today. Taz was constantly in the passing lanes, his length and athleticism are going to help.
— Heath Gunderson (@heathwgunderson) August 3, 2015
The focus of the practices has been on defense, but the Bluejays got to do something else today:
Creighton working on their zone buster offensive sets this morning; first practice during preseason where they haven’t started with defense.
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) August 3, 2015
In Addition:
One recurring theme from the 10 days of practice: teaching the guys what it means to really sprint. Trying to establish tempo.
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 3, 2015
With Cole at the 4, they’re running more of a 4-out look with cutters. With Martin, Toby or Justin at the 4, it’s high-post/short corner.
— Jacob Padilla (@JacobPadilla_) August 3, 2015
Photos from the day of practice:
Last practice for Creighton before they leave for Italy tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/nZD2BMWp6z
— Matt DeMarinis (@mjdemarinis) August 3, 2015
Coach McDermott is excited about the team:
10 great days of practice in the books for Italy prep. I really like the makeup of this team. Vets doing a terrific job of helping rookies!
— Coach McDermott (@cucoachmac) August 4, 2015
At the end of the day, here is video of Geoffrey Groselle on the upcoming trip.
VIDEO: Creighton @BluejayMBB center Geoffrey Groselle after the team’s last practice before Italy. http://t.co/TqbpK2rSho #ForzaJays — Rob Anderson (@_robanderson) August 3, 2015
Creighton will play their first game on August 7th at 1:00 p.m. central time. Stay tuned for more information as we follow the Bluejays and their trip overseas.