College basketball officially begins Friday, October 12. In the days surrounding Creighton’s Bluejay Madness event, we’ll try to pose (and answer) some of the most pressing questions surrounding the 2012-2013 Creighton men’s basketball team.
#10: How well will Austin Chatman replace Antoine Young?
#9: Can Creighton handle being the hunted?
#8: How will the minutes shake out?
#7: What will the newcomers bring to this team?
#6: What will Doug McDermott do for an encore?
#5: Will Creighton’s non-conference schedule be a liability come March?
#4: Are the Jays poised to put the best offensive team in program history on the court?
Last year’s Creighton Bluejays were among the most offensively successful teams in program history.
The Jays finished in the top ten nationally in a bevy of offensive statistics, including points per game (9th), field goal percentage (2nd), three-point shooting percentage (3rd), assists per game (2nd), and assist-to-turnover ratio (5th). Doug McDermott was 3rd nationally in scoring, as the sophomore average 22.9 points per game, and 7th in field goal percentage (60.1%).
Greg McDermott’s team set or tied school records for three-point shooting percentage (42.4%), road wins (10), neutral-court wins (5), and total wins (29). The team shot 50.4% from the field, the best mark since the 1984-1985 Jays hit 53.5% of their shots. CU made 975 field goals, the best mark since the 1963-1964 Jays made 1,024. Creighton’s 287 three-point makes were third-best all-time, trailing only the 2004-2005 Jays (293) and the 1999-2000 team (289). And Creighton’s 616 assists last season were the second-best total in school history, trailing only the 655 dimes that the 1989-1990 squad dished.
Grant Gibbs is Creighton’s key conduit on offense, facilitating much of Doug McDermott’s success (Mike Spomer/WBR)
It sounds like a broken record, but with only one key contributor from last year not returning, the 2012-2013 Bluejays have a chance to break more records. Coaches and players have talked relying on an improved defense to outscore opponents, instead of just hoping to get hot and stay hot on offense. But should the Bluejays need to, their offense is poised to carry the load again.
Sure, regression is possible. But with the majority of his key contributing players entering their third seasons under his tutelage, Greg McDermott can only assume his team has a clear understanding of how to execute his offense. Teams will try everything they can muster to stop Doug McDermott, but how is that any different than during the second half of his freshman year and all of last season? When he wasn’t resting up, McDermott spent his summer further refining his game. He spent considerable time improving his ball-handling skills and his outside shot.
Point guard Antoine Young graduated, but his incumbent replacement at the position, Austin Chatman, has a full season of experience in practice and game situations running Coach Mac’s offense. Plus he will share the backcourt with Grant Gibbs, a savvy playmaker who thinks pass first and facilitated so many of Creighton’s key offensive possessions last season.
Gregory Echenique is in remarkable shape after spending the summer playing for the Venezuelan National Team and transforming his body to further accommodate his participation in Creighton’s fast-tempo full-court offense. He gets more support in the frontcourt thanks to the addition of Geoffrey Groselle, who joins Will Artino and Ethan Wragge as key components in Creighton’s various offensive sets.
Sharpshooter Isaiah Zierden could avoid a redshirt and give the backcourt another outstanding offensive option from the perimeter. Experienced guards Josh Jones and Jahenns Manigat have proven capable of contributing points in bunches. Both are streaky shooters who, when warm, can hit from anywhere.
Understandably, an improved defense is the key talking point when considering Creighton’s potential this season. But there is no reason why the Bluejays can’t improve on their record-setting offense from last season.