It has been a bit since the last update. There certainly has been a lot going on recently and things are constantly in flux. That’s the nature of college basketball in late spring.
- Davion Mintz is a Kentucky Wildcat.
- Jalen Windham found a home with Ball State.
- Preferred Walk-On Sami Osmani committed to Creighton.
- Ty-Shon Alexander will remain in the NBA Draft.
- Damien Jefferson and Denzel Mahoney declared for the NBA Draft.
- Alex O’Connell, a Duke transfer, is a Creighton Bluejay.
- Modestas Kancleris committed to the Bluejays this week.
The Jays land O’Connell as a sit-one play-one wing. There will likely be plenty of shots in 2021-2022 when he becomes eligible. The current 2021-22 roster looks like this:
The backcourt looks solid on paper. However, there have already been rumblings that Marcus Zegarowksi will likely explore his pro options after the 2020-2021 season. If he were to leave a year early, this would leave Creighton with six open roster slots for 2021-2022 at this moment.
Kancleris has been on the Jays radar for a while now. Creighton hosted the talented Lithuanian in February before he ultimately decided to commit to Grand Canyon. Following the coaching change at GCU, Kancleris opened his recruitment back-up.
Kancleris, at 6 foot 8 inches, is a skilled, athletic player who projects as a wing-stretch forward. His size paired with his skill set make it easy to see why the Creighton staff feel he can succeed in Omaha, but it will likely be a year or two before he becomes an impact player.
Transfers!
The Jays have reached out to a number of sit-and-play transfers this off-season. They have reportedly been linked to and missed on Trey Wertz (Notre Dame), Trey Murphy (Virginia) Jamarius Burton (Texas Tech), Sam Sessoms (Penn State), Caleb Grill (UNLV), David DeJulius (Cincinnati), Malik Martin (URI), Tyrese Martin (UConn), Alan Griffin (Syracuse), Aaron Estrada (Oregon), Umoja Gibson (Oklahoma), Erik Stevenson (Washington), Landers Nolley (Memphis), Sean East (Bradley), Holland Woods (Arizona State), Luther Muhammad (Arizona State) and maybe most importantly DJ Carton (Marquette).
The point to take away from this list is NOT that Creighton has missed on these players, rather they’ve been actively assessing and navigating the portal.
Prior to O’Connell committing to Creighton, few outlets were reporting there was even interest.
The Creighton staff prefers to keep things quiet and I think the O’Connell commitment should put the fanbase at ease. The Jays have lots of spots to fill, yet they can and need to still be highly selective at this point.
Creighton still remains close with a few prospects we’ve mentioned in previous columns.
Jamal Bieniemy
One name I had been monitoring was Jamal Bieniemy of Oklahoma. I had heard rumblings that the former Creighton recruit might be entering the transfer portal. Bieniemy, a 6-3 combo guard who is able to play and defend multiple positions, started 30 games for the Sooners last season. He is long, multi-skilled and has a high basketball IQ. He had a reputation coming out of high school as a prolific shooter, but in his two years in Norman could never get his shot right.
Bieniemy is a player who makes a lot of sense for the Jays. Sit-one play two combo guard who would be able to play multiple positions in the back court and guard the wing at the Big East level.
The Jays are listed with UTEP, Louisiana Tech, UT-Arlington and New Mexico State as those showing interest. I like the fit here and think he can be a real impact player if he has a productive off-season.
Ray Salnave
The New York native has been a key piece for Monmouth for three seasons. He will graduate in the spring and be immediately eligible as a grad transfer for 2020-2021. He is a tough, strong two-guard with a flair for the dramatic. He is a 36% three point shooter, but his real talent lies when he can get into the lane and get to the foul line.
Salnave has heard from a wide variety of schools. I would imagine the Jays became more interested once Alexander’s intent to stay in the draft was confirmed. I am not sure what his role would look like on the 2020-2021 Jays but it is clear he would not be the 1st or 2nd or even 3rd option on offense.
Nike Sibande
The Miami (OH) guard is another sit-one play one. He had a tremendous freshman and sophomore campaigns averaging 15 & 16 ppg respectively. He hit on 35% (77-220) and 33% (76-231) from three his first two seasons. His numbers tailed off in 2019-2020 as he averaged 14 ppg shooting 32% (33-103) from three.
His highlights indicate his good off the bounce and dynamic once he enters the lane. It’s clear from his numbers he is capable of hitting from a high clip from three, but his strengths are getting into the lane and getting to the free throw line.
Kentucky, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Alabama, Xavier, Arkansas, DePaul, Fresno State amongst those listed thus far.
Ismael Massoud
Wake Forest stretch forward Ismael Massoud entered the transfer portal and should have no shortage of suitors. The Jays were very interested in the 6-8 shooter from New York out of high school. Massoud showed flashes all year. He’s a solid rebounder but his defining trait is his smooth stroke. There is a chance Massoud returns to Wake, but if he does decide to stay in the portal I expect lots of interest from most Big East schools.
Jalen Carey
The Jays remain linked with Syracuse transfer Jalen Carey. The speedy PG has not updated his initial list of interested programs which include Marquette, Alabama, Georgetown and Creighton. He is a sit-one play three due to his season ending thumb injury in 2019-2020.
DeAndre Williams
An enigmatic 6-9 forward from Houston has had a tremulous NCAA career. The 2016 high school recruit was ruled ineligible for two years after his involvement with the Sports Association of Texas for Christian Homeschoolers (SATCH). Williams spent 2017-2018 playing in Oklahoma at post-grad academy before signing with Evansville.
A back injury early in 2020 derailed a promising season where he was averaging 15 ppg – 7 rpg. He is a capable shooter and is competent at putting the ball on the floor and driving to the rim. He is listed on the Evansville website as a Sophomore and will be a sit one play two player.
He has also declared for the NBA draft and is listed by some mock drafts as a late second round pick. One to watch.
What does this mean for 2021?
It seems evident that while the Jays have been very aggressive on the transfer market, they still have a clear eye toward 2021. They have been rather selective with the transfers they showed interest in, thus not jeopardizing where they sit with some of their top targets.
Creighton will be after a high-powered group of 2021 backcourt players similar to 2017 when they landed Alexander and Ballock. That pair was given minutes to gain experience right away, which ultimately paved the wave for the Bluejays’ success in 2019-2020, and beyond.
Topping the Jays wish-list are Hunter Sallis, Tamar Bates, Jalen Warley, Tucker DeVries. All four of these prospects will likely end up as Top 100 players in the class. Landing one is imperative for Creighton as it looks to build off the success it has had over these last two years. The Jays remain very close with Sallis as he knows the program inside and out. Bates has been up to Omaha multiple times on both official and unofficial visits. He has stated over the last month that Creighton has made him feel most at home. Warley, like the other three, continues to rocket up recruiting rankings. He will likely be a five-star player by the end of the summer. Expect blue-bloods to circle around him. However, the Jays did have him on hand to witness the Seton Hall Big East Conference victory in Omaha. Not much else can be said about DeVries who grew up within the program. The talented wing is seen by many as the top talent in Iowa at the moment. He has continually stated despite his ties to Drake his recruitment is open. Either way he’s likely heading to either Omaha or Des Moines. He would be an excellent fit on the wing.
2021 is another big year for the Jays who will need to score on an elite point guard. Zegarowski will at very least explore his options with the NBA Draft after 2021. The Jays have offered Tyrese Hunter, Khalil Brantley, TyTy Washington. Sallis and Warley are also combo guards who can play point.
Rounding out the 2021 players to watch are La Lumiere forward Jeremy Sochan, Memphis assistant coach Mike Miller’s son Mason, explosive Chicago wing Isaiah Barnes, developing forwards Duncan Powell, Jaylon Moses, KJ Adams, and John Poulakidas.
The Jays will also reach out to JC wing Josh Baker of Hutchinson CC, who shot 48% (75-154) from three as a freshman and last year averaged 13.7 ppg.
Around the Big East
- Transfers OUT: Khalif Battle (G)
- Jordan Tucker declares for NBA will keep eligibility
- Grad Transfer targets:
- Sit & Play targets: Koreem Ozier (G) [Final 6], Ishmael El-Amin (G),
- Reed declares for NBA draft
- Transfers IN: Courvoisier McCauley (G), Javon Freeman-Liberty (G)
- Transfers OUT: Devin Gage (G), Flynn Cameron (G), Jalen Coleman-Lands (Grad – G)
- Grad Transfer targets:
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: Jose Perez (G), Nike Sibande (G), Kevin Cross (F)
- 2020 Recruits:
- McClung declares for NBA Draft, will keep eligibility. Rumors swirling he could be on the way out
- Yurtseven will stay in NBA Draft
- Transfers IN: Jalen Harris (G) [Grad Transfer], Chudier Bile (G) [Grad Transfer]
- Grad Transfer targets: Ray Salnave (G)
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: Khalil Whitney (G), Jalen Carey (G), Jose Perez (G), DeAndre Williams (F)
- 2020 Recruits: Karim Mane
- Brendan Bailey declares for NBA Draft with expectations to return to school
- Transfers IN: DJ Carton (G)
- Grad Transfer targets: Ray Salnave (G)
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: Jalen Carey (G), Jose Perez (G),
- 2020 Recruits: Karim Mane (G)
- Friars have been active and already filled holes moving forward grabbing Syracuse combo guard Brycen Goodine and La Salle mobile big man Ed Cresswell. Both will sit out 2020-2021
- Transfers IN: Brycen Goodine (G), Ed Cresswell (F)
- Grad Transfer targets: None
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: None
- Some rumblings that Mamukelashvili is looking at professional options
- Transfer IN: Bryce Aiken (G) [Grad Transfer], Tray Jackson (F)
- Grad Transfer targets:
- Sit & Play Transfer targets:
- Rumors abound that Figueroa is looking at professional options
- Transfers OUT: Ian Steere (F), & Damien Sears (W)
- Transfers IN: Arnoldo Toro (Grad Transfer – F/C)
- Grad Transfer targets: None
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: None
- Saddiq Bey declares for NBA draft
- Robinson-Earl declares he will come back for his Sophomore season.
- Grad Transfer targets: None
- Sit & Play Transfer Targets:
- Naji Marshall declared for NBA Draft
- Transfers IN: Nate Johnson (Grad Transfer – G), Brayn Griffin (Grad Transfer – F)
- Grad Transfer targets: None
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: Allen Betrand (G), Nike Sibande (G)
- Transfers OUT: Alterique Gilbert
- Transfers IN: Tyrese Martin (F – sit one play two)
- Grad Transfer targets:
- Sit & Play Transfer targets: Ishmael El-Amin (G), Jalen Carey (G)
- 2020 Recruit: Adama Sanogo (F/C)