Odds and ends following Creighton’s 93-46 win over Wayne State on Friday night…
Creighton’s Rotation Still a Work in Progress
The Bluejays played 12 players double-digit minutes against Wayne State, and 10 of the 14 players who saw time in the Missouri scrimmage scored a point. While it’s unquestionably a good problem to have, it’s hard to find consistent minutes for that many players.
“My biggest challenge is trying to figure out who is going to play and how much they’re going to play,” Coach Greg McDermott said after the game, “because of my seven years here there are certainly more guys that are ready to play (this year).”
One of the players who has been caught in the squeeze is walk-on Tyler Clement, who played in 31 of 35 games a year ago and was a mostly dependable, if unspectacular, backup to Maurice Watson at point guard. With freshman Davion Mintz penciled in as the primary backup this year, Clement’s role — at least initially — has been cut down.
Coach McDermott noted that while Clement has practiced well, “I haven’t used him in the rotation for either one of these games, because I’m trying to get the freshmen some minutes. We’ve got a lot of guys that have the ability to play. Now it’s can they get the trust level up, and the consistency in their decisions to be able to be put out there in a pressure situation.”
Of course, playing a deep bench against the likes of Wayne State or UMKC is one thing, but against better opponents, the rotation will certainly shorten and that trust level McDermott often speaks of will come into play. With a top-ten Wisconsin team headed to Omaha in just over a week, that will happen sooner rather than later.
“Trying to figure out the rotation is going to be a challenge, because we have several guys that can help us,” McDermott noted. “It might be a situation where we go with who is playing best that night. It’s obviously hard to play six guys on the front line. We’re going to have to trim that down probably, but I liked the contributions we got from the bench.”
Cole Huff’s Return
Cole Huff returned from offseason surgery to score eight points in 13 minutes, and somewhat surprisingly, started at forward. “We started Cole simply because it’s easier for Cole when he’s loose rather than trying to sit there and get going again,” McDermott noted after the game. “That was major surgery, and to get his timing and his footwork and his balance and everything back has been a bit of a struggle.”
When he was in the game, Huff’s sweet shooting stroke looked no worse for wear, as he was perfect both from three-point range (2-2) and the free throw line (2-2). When he’s not in the game, he wears heat pads on his knees to keep them warm. “When I know I’m going to get in soon I stretch and do some sliding, just try to stay on my feet and get my muscles firing. I’m not a fan of the bike, so it’s just slides and moving my feet quickly, and doing close out drill stuff to get my muscles going.”
Thankfully, he’s been pain-free with no swelling since returning to action last month. “I did a lot of stuff on the under-water treadmill with Ben [McNair] and the physical therapy, so when it transferred back on the court when I got cleared it wasn’t as stressful as I thought. There have been some frustrating times where I can’t get to spots quicker, but pain and swelling is not there.”
Zach Hanson and Martin Krampelj Also Back in Action
Center Zach Hanson, sidelined since mid-summer with a knee injury of his own, was initially not expected back until mid-November at the earliest. He was cleared to play in late October, and saw action in both the Mizzou scrimmage and against Wayne State. Friday night he logged 10 minutes, scoring six points thanks to going a perfect 4-4 from the line. He was clearly limited, though, and his coach indicated it might be the first of the year before he’s physically back at the level he once was.
“This is (his) rehab process,” McDermott said after the game. “Just to get him out there moving at game speed is great. Zach has not practiced much at all. He’s been on the shelf all summer.”
As for Martin Krampelj, he was back on the floor after missing most of last season — also with a knee injury. He scored 11 points in 16 minutes, and grabbed four offensive rebounds, but at least at the moment the bulk of his playing time will come at the center position, which is a tricky assignment for the 6’9″ forward.
“He’s long, he can get to the rim, he can block some shots, he’s a good rebounder,” McDermott said in his postgame interview on 1620AM. “We’re playing him a little out of position at the ‘5’ because Zach has been out and we’ve needed him there. He’s more of a natural ‘4’ but this year we’ll use him more at the ‘5’ and play a smaller lineup.”
Though he’s undersized for a traditional ‘5’, Krampelj does have the ability to stretch the defense by shooting from the perimeter, which could offset some of what he gives up defensively. “He’s shot the three well in practice, he made one tonight, and he’s done a good job,” continued McDermott on the postgame show. “This was really important for him to get out on the court. It’s been awhile.”
Justin Patton’s Debut
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Justin Patton took the floor for the first time in over a year — he scored seven points in six minutes of action in last year’s exhibition win over Upper Iowa — and after some early nerves put together a nice return.
Patton scored six points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out two assists in 14 minutes, but it’s another number that stuck out to him: four turnovers. “I’ll definitely hear that from the coaches — assist-to-turnover ratio has been my main problem,” Patton commented after the game. “I can pass for a big man, but turning the ball over is something that I need to work on.”
According to Patton, improving his decision-making process comes down to playing within himself and not over-thinking things. “I think of it like I have a librarian in my head, and my librarian doesn’t work sometimes, so I have to go in and think of a move. If I predetermine it, it’s going to be a turnover, so I just have to learn to take what the defense gives me.”
He admits he’s “nowhere near” as physical as he’d like to be, and that it’s been his focus in practice every day. “My job is to rebound and run the floor, and if I can focus on rebounding first that will be good for our team — if our big men in general focus on rebounding first and being the more physical team then we’ll be good going into March.”
That was a tough thing to gauge against Wayne State, because their lack of size meant Patton didn’t need to play low and get physical in the lane. “When we play bigger teams I have to learn how to stay low. I’m not the biggest post player there is, so I have to use all of my ability to be quicker than most post players. It’ll be about getting acclimated to these big men, especially in the Big East when we get to that point, and just being the tougher guy.”
“(Sitting out last year) I learned that it’s a real physical game, but even if I’m a small player I’m not ruled out, because if I have more heart than anyone on the other team then I’ll be a really good player. It’s just about using my strengths to my advantage. I’m quicker than any big man in the Big East, and that’s what I can hurt them with. I’ll get the other big men out of the game by running the floor and getting them tired.”
