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Men's Basketball

Morning After: Bluejays 89, Northern State 61

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[Box Score]

Key Stats: Doug McDermott goes 11-14 at the free throw line en route to 26 points, as Northern State struggled to defend him with the new defensive rules in place this year, putting him on the line most of the night. As a team, Creighton goes 20-33 at the charity stripe, something that must be corrected before “real” games start. Northern State goes 8-17 from behind the arc in the first half, keeping them in the game, but goes 1-8 after the break. And, perhaps most importantly since it was an exhibition, every player in uniform saw the court.

Favorite Moment: With most of the crowd already heading to their cars, walk-on Mogboluwaga Oginni threw down a thunderous dunk in traffic at the 1:44 mark of the second half. It’s almost tradition at this point — Oginni seems to do this every year in an exhibition game — but the reaction is always the same. The starters and regular rotation guys jump up and go nuts on the bench, the fans that are still in the arena go crazy, and Coach Mac laughs about it in the postgame press conference.

500-ish Word Recap: Two players that CU fans didn’t expect to see in a Jays uniform again combined for the first seven points of the game — Grant Gibbs and Doug McDermott. It looked like Creighton was off and running with a 9-3 lead at the under-16 timeout, but then the Wolves ran off a 12-6 run to tie the game at 15. They were launching threes from all corners of the arena, including a couple from 35-feet out, and connecting. And when Spencer Pankonin nailed one from ten feet past the stripe with 3:42 to play in the half, it cut the Jays lead to 33-32 and there were some uneasy groans in the arena.

Coming out of the under-four timeout, Austin Chatman hit one of two free throws, and then the Jays hit three pointers on three of their next four possessions as part of a 10-0 run that put the Wolves away for good. That Ethan Wragge nailed one of them was no surprise; that redshirt freshman Isaiah Zierden hit the other two was great to see. If Zierden can give the Jays another sharpshooter from long range, that will be cause for heartburn for opposing coaches.

The flurry continued in the second half, as a 10-2 Creighton run out of the gate grew a 45-35 halftime lead into a 55-37 advantage. Doug McDermott scored eight of the ten points in that surge on an array of layups and jumpers, and even added two free throws for good measure. His night would soon be over, ceding the stage to CU’s newcomers.

One of those newcomers, Devin Brooks, made a great impression in his first appearance as a Bluejay. There’s always questions surrounding a junior college transfer before their first game. How will they adapt to filling a role instead of being the star? How will they adjust the first time they get yelled at in practice for missing an assignment? Because they spend two years playing what is essentially a “me first” game and are transitioning into playing a role in a team game, those questions are natural. As for Brooks specifically, his flashy style led some posters on the Bluejay Underground to worry he’d be a possession killer by either taking bad shots or simply too many of them.

Brooks quickly answered those questions with a team-high seven assists, using his flashy moves to get good looks for his teammates instead of for himself — the ridiculous 30-foot behind-the-back pass (with his off-hand!) to Doug McDermott for a wide open three was probably the best example — reserving his ability to get to the rim for when a possession bogs down. The ability to create his own shot by simply penetrating the lane and attacking the rim was something Antoine Young did a lot of two years ago, and it’s something the Bluejays sorely missed last year. If Brooks can improve defensively, and continue to create plays both for his teammates and for himself, he’ll be a key weapon in their arsenal this year.

Quotables:

“I was completely nervous…there is no way to describe how nervous I was at the beginning of the game. But when I got on the court I let things happen and let things come to me…the speed in college athletics is so different.” -Toby Hegner on 1620AM postgame show

(On going 4-4 from the field) “It felt amazing. Like I said, things just came to me. I shot that first three, and you know, I hoped it would at least hit the rim but I was so glad it went in…because the first three I shot at Bluejay Madness was an airball (laughs). I was a little hesitant to shoot that one.” -Toby Hegner on 1620AM postgame show

(On his expectations for this year) “I’m just going to work my hardest, and compete every day I step on the floor. Whatever happens, happens. If that’s redshirting, then I’ll do my best so that if the time comes where I do need to play, I’ll be ready for it. You gotta do what’s best for the team.” -Toby Hegner on 1620AM postgame show

“I played my best, and did what I was expected to do. Coach allows me to play my game, and this system allows me to do what I’m best at. Creighton’s style fits me best, and that’s why I’m glad I’m here.” -Devin Brooks on 1620AM postgame show

(On his fancy passes) “I have to thank my mom for that, she taught me all of those moves. She was a coach and she was a player, and little by little she helped me add stuff to my game, like the fancy stuff, and it became a habit. Now I just try to do it at the right time.” -Devin Brooks on 1620AM postgame show

“Since the start of practice, I’ve improved on being a point guard. You have to be a pass-first guy at that position, a guy that makes his team better. Coming from (Iowa Western) where I kind of had to score, too, it’s kind of hard adjusting. I’ve been doing better at getting my teammates involved. I mean, I’ve got a two-time All-American playing with me so I have to get him the ball!” -Devin Brooks on 1620AM postgame show

“I liked what we did defensively in the second half, as opposed to the first half. My message to the players was, that’s what Northern State does — they make bombs. We showed them film of them making bombs last season. Our defense is usually predicated on taking away strengths, since we’re not out-athleticing somebody. In the first half, we let Northern State play to their strengths. We did a better job of running them off the three-point line in the second half and making them do things they didn’t want to.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM postgame show

“If you’re going to play an exhibition game, it’s nice to be tested a little. I thought Northern State played well, and I’m not sure we’ll play a team like them the rest of the year. I told Merf in the first half, it’s like playing Boise State. They’re not as talented as Boise, but it’s the same style — back cuts, slips, every time you make a mistake they take advantage. You go under a screen, they’re popping, they’re curling, they’re making every right read. Especially with their veteran players — you could tell there was a dropoff when the young guys came in as they tried to grasp what they were doing — their offense is really hard to defend because every time you make a mistake they kill you.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM postgame show

(On the new rules) “I think there’s one thing our fans learned tonight, and that’s that there won’t be many charges called. There were four or five plays where all of them were charges a year ago, and tonight, they were all blocks. Until we play team where all they do is drive it, I don’t know if we’ll really know exactly how it will have an impact on our game. And there are teams we’ll play like that, where they don’t shoot it great so they put the ball on the floor and drive, get inside and draw contact. It’ll be interesting to see how we adjust to that. I think it’s going to hurt some other teams more than it will hurt us. We’re not a physical team by nature defensively.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM postgame show

(On Devin Brooks) “He’s very capable of making plays for others. He’s got unbelievable vision, and he’s got enough size to go with that vision to where he can see some things maybe Austin can’t. I was pleased with Dev’s play tonight. I probably only played him eight or nine minutes against Iowa State, because I’ve been trying to send a message of ‘Here’s what you need to do to get on the floor for us.’ And he’s buying into that. He’s a great kid, he’s got a great heart. We’ve got to get him better on the defensive end, and clean up a few of the bad mistakes he makes. But if we can get a couple of good ones for every bad one, I can live with that because his good ones usually lead to easy baskets. We’ll try to get rid of that 30-foot left handed behind the back pass, even though it worked tonight, though (laughing).” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM postgame show

(On Zach Hanson) “I thought he was nervous to start. I don’t think he was himself during his first run, but then I thought he settled in. It’s just so different for him. He’s going to be a work in progress, but he had an unbelievable catch in traffic on a pass Devin threw, and he had a couple of seals where he caught it and scored. There were some good signs.” -Coach Greg McDermott on 1620AM postgame show

And Now, Here’s What You Had to Say (as always, if you want us to share your Tweet, be sure to use the hashtag #GoJays):

 

 

 

 

 

 

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