Davion Mintz looking to be the defensive stopper the Bluejays are looking for after the loss of Khyri Thomas (Spomer / WBR)
At the start of practice the day after an 83-70 loss at Oklahoma, Creighton defensive coordinator Paul Lusk singled out junior point guard Davion Mintz for all of the little things he did defensively against the Sooners that when added all together make a big difference — tracing the ball to make entry passes difficult, closing out hard to take away space, keeping a hand up on shooters, staying in a stance on drivers.
That all sounds pretty basic on the surface, and for Mintz, executing all of it is as much about mindset as it is about measurables.
“There is nothing special about it,” the Charlotte, North Carolina native said. “It’s just about the fundamentals — lateral quickness, pride, knowing that you can’t let that guy get around you. Of course you’ve got to be athletic, strong, or whatever, but it’s all about knowing that you can’t let this guy get past you. Just sit down and take pride.”
That last box wasn’t always something the third-year starter at point guard was looking to check off. After all, it’s easier to produce a highlight of three-pointers and slam dunks than it is of closeouts and box-outs.
“It’s not who he is and who he was,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said of Mintz evolving his mindset defensively. “He scored a ton of points in high school and obviously he can score [at this level]. But we needed somebody to do it and as we kept moving along and tried different guys in different situations we kind of feel like it’s him.
“When we watched film of the Oklahoma game we pointed it out several times. His engagement defensively, his defensive stance, being disruptive on the basketball where a pass that maybe could take place didn’t take place because of his trace of the ball and how that helps a teammate — he’s buying into it.”
His motivation for embracing that side of the ball in his third year as a Bluejay was simple.
“I realized that’s what we need to win,” Mintz said. “As a true competitor, if you’re asked to rebound that’s what you do, but [defense] was what the team needed, so at that point I realized I gotta do what I gotta do to win.”
Over the last two years, Khyri Thomas compiled a long list of studs that turned into duds when they went up against him on his way to winning back-to-back Big East defensive player of the year awards before foregoing his senior season to play in the NBA. Mintz isn’t as long or as stong as the former Benson Bunny, but he’s already held some of Creighton’s toughest opposing perimeter players to below average performances.
When Guarded By Davion Mintz
- Oklahoma’s Christian James (17.9 ppg): 4 points, 3 turnovers, 0 assists
- Nebraska’s Glynn Watson, Jr. (13.4 ppg, 4.1 apg): 0 points, 1 assist
- Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins (10.5 ppg, 7.7 apg): 2 points, 3 assists
- Ohio State’s C.J. Jackson (12.3 ppg, 3.7 apg): 6 points, 4 turnovers, 2 assists
Mintz goes up for the layup against Gonzaga (Spomer / WBR)
All of those players celebrated wins over Creighton this season, but it wasn’t an easy night for them individually when they were guarded by Greg McDermott’s veteran floor general. Combined, those four shot just 36.4 percent from the field, including 20.0 percent from beyond the arc when they decided to look for their own offense against that match-up.
“I’m trying to get that label as a defender,” Mintz said. “I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to get my teammates to know that they can rely on me defensively and I’ll be there, and I want the other team to know that their best player is going to get shut down that game. That’s the type of pride that I’m taking defensively for this team. I’m just trying to keep excelling every game at that.”
With Big East play coming up on the other side of the Christmas break, McDermott says the strides his starting point guard are making on defense will make it hard to take him off the floor — even when true freshman Marcus Zegarowski comes in off the bench — given that the Jays are currently sitting at 255th in the country in effective field goal percentage and 121st overall in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.
“We may have to play him at the two some, and play him with Marcus to keep him on the floor defensively,” McDermott said. “He’s doing good things and he’s buying into that. Hopefully some of his teammates will follow his lead.”