When Creighton hoops returns to the CenturyLink Center court on Sunday afternoon, fans will be ready to see an opponent that might make things a little easier on the heart. After Doug McDermott went to the bench early in the first half on Wednesday night, the Jays needed to rally from a 10-point deficit in the second half but won 77-60. On Sunday the Presbyterian Blue Hose come to town.
You might be asking yourself what a Blue Hose is. Well here is an excerpt of the explanation from the Presbyterian College Athletics website:
The nickname “Blue Hose” began in the early 1900’s, when sportswriters referred to the Presbyterian College athletic teams as the “Blue Stockings” because of the blue socks they wore. Writers used the terms “stockings” and “hose” interchangeably over the years.
They often shortened “stockings” to “hose” in newspaper headlines.
But what about the team? Only a Division I team for a few years, the Blue Hose represent a school that has about 1,300 students, making it one of the smaller programs in all of college basketball.
Still, we were able to track down Nick Herman from the Laurens County Advertiser in nearby Laurens; he covers Presbyterian College basketball on a regular basis. Here is some information that could be useful to you for Sunday’s 2:05 p.m. tip.
White & Blue Review: Many fans may not know much about Presbyterian College. Can you tell us a little more about the Blue Hose and their move into Division I sports over the past few years?
Nick Herman: PC started moving to Division I in 2007, and is now in its first full season as a Division I program, meaning that it is eligible for the conference and NCAA tournament for the first time. It has been very difficult for them to play the top-flight programs across the country, at times, simply because they, while having some good players, do not have the same level of talent that other, more-established, programs have. To its credit, though, it has wins over BCS-level programs like Wake Forest, Auburn and, last season, at a national-ranked Cincinnati team.
WBR: How did Presbyterian get invited to partake in the Las Vegas Classic this season?
NH: This question I don’t know the answer to when it relates to this season. I know the team played in the tournament a few years ago.
WBR: What kind of fan base does the Blue Hose have and what kind of expectations are there for them this season in the Big South?
NH: PC has its loyal fan base, but the program has rarely been a major draw — certainly not like other programs in the state. It draws good crowds to games at home, and the support is strong, but it is still light in overall numbers, IMO.
As far as the expectations in the Big South, PC was picked last in its division (this is the first year the Big South has used divisions; PC is in the South Division). PC lost four of its best players to graduation last year (Al’Lonzo Coleman, Josh Johnson, Pierre Miller and Jay Reynolds), so finding guys to fill those spots has been tough.
WBR: How hard is it to recruit to Presbyterian based on the location and the other major programs around them?
NH: Very. If players have a chance to play at South Carolina or Clemson, especially, or even at a more established-program like Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, Furman, Wofford, etc., my feeling is they would end up going there. It’s not all about location, but I think it is based on the belief that, as the program is still going through the growing pains of being a Division I program, the likelihood of reaching the NCAA tournament is far slimmer than at those other programs that have either challenged for, or earned, automatic bids in recent years.
WBR: Which players do Creighton fans need to be aware of on the court come Sunday afternoon?
NH: There are three guys to watch out for. Khalid Mutakabbir (pronounced: Moo-tok-a-beer) is the leading senior on the team and will likely be the player Creighton focuses on when it comes to scoring. He was a preseason pick to the All-Big South team and averaged 13.7 points per game last year (he is the leading returning scorer from 2012). Josh Clyburn is a good player on the inside, and he scored 19 points against Clemson in the team’s opener Monday. Jordan Downing is seen as a potential key piece to the offense as well, as a transfer from Davidson, but he is off to a slow start (5 of 25 FGs in the first two games).
WBR: What style of play does Presbyterian do? Is it a high energy, up and down the court, or do they try to slow the game down?
NH: This team will play a slow-down game. The Blue Hose like to milk the shot clock more often than not on offense, while trying to play a tough-nosed defense. There will certainly be a lot of intensity shown by the guys, and the coach, but this team is not going to want to try and match Creighton in a high-scoring game.
WBR: Teams have tried a lot of defensive schemes to stop Doug McDermott. Will Presbyterian focus on stopping him or will they play straight up defense?
NH: I think PC may be more inclined to go straight up at the start of the game. I don’t know how good of a strategy that will be because they haven’t faced a true scorer like McDermott since they took on Liberty when Seth Curry, now at Duke, was a freshman. I think it would only go zone if McDermott gets off to a very hot start.
WBR: What is your final prediction? Is there any way the Blue Hose can pull the upset on Sunday afternoon?
NH: My prediction is I don’t see PC having enough offensive firepower to keep up with Creighton. If McDermott has a rough game, it could be closer into the early second half, but I think that is when Creighton would pull away. If McDermott gets off to a strong start, this game will be over by halftime.