Defense and Rebounding, Rebounding and Defense.
That was the refrain from Jays fans following Wednesday’s exhibition opener. While neither facet of the game was a strong suit (some would go further and say it was a massive weakness), I continue to urge caution. It was an exhibition game. These games are always sloppy and there’s just no sense in splitting hairs over them. In 2003 (the first year in the Qwest Center) the Jays needed OT before beating Nebraska-Omaha, lost to Global Sports, had some fans apocalyptic…and then they rattled off 12 straight wins once the games counted and were rated in the Top 25 until starting point guard Tyler McKinney’s eye injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
I distinctly remember some people on message boards freaking out in November of that year. “Jeez, without Korver, Bowden and House, this team stinks!” Jumping to conclusions based on exhibition games is dangerous.
What about 2006? Anthony Tolliver and Nate Funk’s senior season, a roller coaster ride that ended with a MVC title and an NCAA berth, started with an overtime win against EA Sports in exhibition play. The Jays gave up 76 points that night, and the old Bluejay Cafe was off-the-charts with rants of “this team can’t play defense!” By February, defense was not only a strength, it was their calling card, as they set a MVC Tournament record by allowing just 38 points to Indiana State in the quarterfinals.
What about 2002? Big Korver’s team trailed UNO a good portion of the game in their exhibition opener, with the Mavs holding a lead as late as the 3:00 minute mark in the second half. The game wasn’t on ice until two clutch free throws by Korver with ten seconds remaining gave the Jays a 75-72 win. And the Jays tied on the boards to a DII school that night, 35-35, if you’re curious. Seems to me there was a lot of wringing of hands after that game, but I think we all remember how that season ended up.
My point: Exhibition games are just that, exhibitions. Generally, they’re terrible predictors for how the season is actually going to go. I don’t think Syracuse is going to be terrible because LeMoyne beat them, or that UCLA stinks because they almost lost to Concordia on Wednesday.
Now, if the Jays get outrebounded by 16 at Dayton next Saturday, or allow Michigan to shoot 60% in the second half down in Orlando, that’s a different story, but I don’t think we can assume those things are certain to happen based on an exhibition game. I don’t think we can assume those things based on TWO exhibition games, either. Lets see what happens on Sunday, and then let them play a few games that “count” before drawing conclusions about this teams’ strengths and weaknesses.
One Big Paragraph with Lots O’Dots™: Another Division II MIAA school, the UNO Mavericks had a 17-11 mark (11-9 in the league) last year. Their two leading scorers from that team are both gone, as Michael Jenkins (17 PPG) graduated and Mitch Albers (15 PPG) is sitting out a year to play for Kenneth “Doc” Sadler in Lincoln … The Mavericks are picked to finish fifth in the MIAA by both the coaches and the media, which means prognosticators believe they’ll be one notch better than the Jays’ Wednesday night opponent, Missouri Western State … Coach Derrin Hansen is in his fifth year on the bench, taking over when Kevin McKenna came back to Creighton as an assistant. He led them to a school-record 25 wins two years ago … The Jays and Mavs have met 43 times in games that count, with Creighton winning an astonishing 40 of them. However, the last time they played in the regular season was 1995, a game the Jays won 73-71 … If I worked for ESPN and thus had the constant threat of electro-shock-treatment wired into my spine, I’d come up with a super-bombastic name to market this game like “The Battle For Omaha!” I do not work for ESPN, so therefore I will not do that. You can thank me later.
Amusing Side Note: Have you seen UNO’s new marketing slogan? Seems we’ve got two schools who both claim to be “Omaha’s Team.” Well, Creighton has squatters rights, seeing as they’ve been using that slogan long before UNO began plastering it on the podium backdrop at their press conferences, on the ice at Qwest Center, and in their TV, radio and outdoor campaigns. UNO is the state school with more alumni and probably feels like they’re entitled to that name over a smaller private school. So maybe we should settle this on the court. On second thought, I think this game does need a name. Winner gets to use the “Omaha’s Team” moniker. Loser has to stop using it.
“The Battle For Omaha!”
Oh man, that’s cheesy. But oddly appropriate. You bet.
The Last Time They Played: UNO and Creighton have played exhibition games six times since 2000, which seems to be way more than I’m remembering. I suppose that’s because the games have been fairly forgettable, save for the 2003 overtime game. I did not attend that one; believing it would be a laugher, I donated the tix to charity and listened on the radio. The last time they played according to the media guide was 2006, a game the Jays won 73-56. I do not recall any details of this game.
Gratuitous Linkage: Is Howard the Duck really as bad as we all remember it? I dunno, I have some pretty heinous memories of Howard the Duck, and I’m not sure I can be convinced its salvageable even as a “so bad its awesome” movie. Honestly, George Lucas should be happy its in his portfolio, because its likely the only thing keeping Star Wars Episode I from being the worst project he’s ever directed. So at least Howard the Duck has that going for it: “The Only George Lucas movie worse than The Phantom Menace!”
Official Gametime Snack: Its a Sunday afternoon, its NFL season, and that means one thing: Queso Dip. Of course, good luck finding Queso Dip at the arena. Nachos are a poor substitute, but hey, they’ll get the job done.
The Totally Random Song I’d Play Right Now if I was Still a Radio DJ: “The Moment of Truth” by Survivor. It makes no sense whatsoever, but this song popped into my head this morning, I’ve been humming it all day, its driving my coworkers nuts, and it turns out the video is the ultimate “literal” translation of a song’s lyrics. Good stuff.
True story to segue you into that song: Of course, that song is from the Karate Kid soundtrack, and it plays over the closing credits. During one of the dozens of times I’ve watched that flick, a friend of mine popped over and caught the last 10-15 minutes. Discovering to his surprise that its Survivor that sings that song, he exclaimed, “Holy cow, did that band have ANY songs that weren’t associated with a movie?” Actually, they did, but I won’t bore you by naming them. I did however start to bore him with that list on that day, but he stopped me to say, “No, I believe they have two songs: Eye of the Tiger and Not Eye of the Tiger. That’s it.” Hmm, perhaps he has a point…
Prediction: A bit better defense throughout in this one, and a better performance on the boards. Jays 86, UNO 61.
You bet.
