No more dancing.
On a night when the action on the court didn’t matter so much, the biggest revelation for the good folks in Section 123 of the Qwest Center was the elimination of the Dance Cam during the under-8:00 official timeout in the second half.
Seriously? You’re going to take away the Dance Cam? This better be some sort of cruel, exhibition-only joke. Alas, I don’t feel it is.
I don’t mean to get all Ren McCormack on you, but some of my favorite memories at the Phone Booth include the Dance Cam. Perfectly positioned in the second half, during some of Dana Altman’s teams’ greatest home comebacks, the Dance Cam timeout often served as one of the only timeout events at the Q that didn’t kill the crowd’s momentum.
And it was replaced with … another shooting game?! Really?! I’m sure I’m making a waaaaay bigger deal about this than I should, but so be it.
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Wait. What? There was a game last night, you say?
Missouri Western State made the drive from St. Joe’s to try and replicate what LeMoyne pulled off against Syracuse the night before. Instead, the Griffons lost to Creighton by 25 points, turning the ball over 22 times in the process. Ten of those came from steals by the Bluejays, as Dana Altman’s team displayed athleticism and anticipation on the press and stepped into some passing lanes in the half-court defense.
Much will be made (edit: has already been made) about the rebounding (or lack thereof) on behalf of the Bluejays last night against a smaller, inferior opponent. 44-28. FORTY FOUR rebounds for MWSU, with 19 of those on the offensive end — must explain the 22-10 advantage for the Griffons in second chance points. But why dwell on it? The rebounding issues have tainted almost every conversation I have about CU hoops going all the way back to the start of last season. It’s the focus of every post-game radio interview with Altman. It seeps into most articles about the Bluejays’ efforts and fortunes.
I’m going to stop writing about it, because it doesn’t look like it will change. There. I said it. Call me a non-believer. I’m going to stop worrying about it, because there are a lot of positive points to turn my attention to. Namely:
- The spacious confines, 15,000-plus fans, and sweet new Nike uniforms didn’t seem to faze JUCO newcomers Daryl Ashford and Wayne Runnels. Ashford (16 points on 6-7 FG) and Runnels (13 points on 6-8 FG) shot 80% from the floor. Runnels led the Bluejays with 6 boards. Ashford dished 5 assists from the wing and didn’t commit a turnover. Welcome, guys.
- Casey Harriman got the start and responded with 11 points (4-5 FG), 5 rebounds, and a flurry of activity on the defensive press in just 15 minutes of action. He displayed a quick release on the two 3-pointers he drilled, and his hustle was obvious.
- P’Allen Stinnett didn’t start, something he addressed here. But he made the most of his time when he hit the court. Stinnett scored 20 points in 20 minutes, dished 5 assists without committing a turnover, and made all 8 of his free-throws. The 20 points came from a mixture of sneaky-quick moves to the basket and traditional jump shots.
- The results were mixed for Creighton’s crop of freshmen. Josh Jones rushed some shots and posted plenty of zeros to match his uniform number: the only columns on the score sheet in which he registered numbers were minutes (12), fouls (3), and misses (3 from the field; 2 from 3-point range). Andrew Bock logged 11 minutes, during which he swiped 2 steals and had an assist during his time running the offense. And Ethan Wragge led the freshmen with 16 minutes, during which he launched 3 3-pointers (hitting one) and grabbed a couple of rebounds.
On a night when “They” took dancing away from the Qwest Center crowd, it was hard to imagine this Creighton team participating in the Big Dance come March. But that’s the case every exhibition game. Some of Altman’s best Creighton teams struggled in the games that didn’t count. And the players and coaches have about a week to work things out so they’ll be ready for the games that do matter.
Now, pour one out for the Dance Cam!