[dropcap]After[/dropcap] a disappointing season in which Creighton missed the postseason for the first time in two decades and won just five games after the first of the year, there’s a sense of mystery in the air as the Jays get ready to take the court tonight for their lone exhibition game. They return just one regular starter — Toby Hegner — making this only the third time since 1986-87 that the Jays return one starter or less. Last year, they also returned just one starter, but the supporting cast was made up of players the fans and coaches were familiar with; just four newcomers joined the rotation for the exhibition opener.
This year? Not so much. There will be a whopping NINE players in uniform tonight that have never played a minute for the Bluejays in a game that counts. And of those nine, only redshirt freshman Ronnie Harrell — who played seven minutes in the exhibition win over Sioux Falls last year — has taken the court at all for the Jays. That’s insane. And the number grows to ten if you include Marcus Foster, the Kansas State transfer who will sit out this year (and can’t dress or play tonight).
With all those new faces, there’s a lot more anticipation for this game than you’d normally have before an exhibition. I mean, think of all of the unknowns:
How will Justin Patton, the true freshman phenom from Omaha North, look? It was widely expected that he would redshirt this year, as despite his high recruiting ranking and obvious talent he remains on the skinny side (6’11”, 215 pounds) especially by Big East center standards. However, he’s reportedly made that decision much harder than expected with his play during fall practice. This will be many fans’ first chance to see him in action, and the last chance for his coaches to get a look at him against an opponent before determining whether to recommend a redshirt for him or not.
Khyri Thomas, the freshman guard from Omaha Benson who played last year for Fork Union Military Academy, earned the nickname “Tazz” during the leadup to the Italian tour this summer for his seemingly endless motor and energy. He’s been praised for his defense, and his athleticism on that end of the floor make him a likely candidate to start tonight. If that happens, he’ll be the first true freshman to start an exhibition game since Latrell Wrightsell back in 1988 (Ryan Sears and Doug McDermott started the season opener as true freshmen, but neither started an exhibition game, and Toby Hegner’s exhibition start last year came as a redshirt freshman).
Ronnie Harrell redshirted last year, and played less than expected on the Italian trip due to injury. The Top 100 recruit enters the season competing for playing time with a series of players who have overshadowed him in the public eye, though behind closed doors in practice he’s shown flashes of why he was rated so highly. His first chance to show those flashes to Bluejay fans comes tonight.
Malik Albert, a JUCO transfer expected to provide a scoring punch off the bench at both guard spots, was the third-leading scorer on the Italian tour (12.7 points per game), played the most minutes of any Bluejay on the trip, and finished second on the team in field goals made, 3-point field goals made, and assists.
Cole Huff, a transfer from Nevada who started all 32 games for the Wolfpack as a sophomore and averaged a little over 12 points and 5 rebounds a game, has been hyped as a matchup nightmare — a 6’8″ forward with a deft touch from three-point range who also enjoys playing around the rim. Bluejay fans have had a year-and-a-half to hear tales of his ability to score (there were times last year where he was the best player on the team during practice, according to several reports), and he’s one of the players fans are most excited to watch tonight.
Martin Krampelj, “The Slovenian Assassin” as he’s been referred to on Twitter, is an athletic 6’9″ forward in the classic Euro mold — possessing both a nice mid-range jumper and a deft touch from three-point range. He’s by far the biggest mystery in recent memory, because for months after his signing so little information was available on him. No scouting reports from recruiting services, no highlight packages on YouTube, and only minimal stats from prior stops. His games during summer league drew big audiences because of that mystery, and he’s a player people will watch closely tonight. If his play in practice translates to game action, they’ll like what they see.
And then there’s Maurice Watson. A transfer from Boston U, Watson has never played a single minute for the Jays and is already a fan-favorite if not the most popular player on the team. And why not? He has more vocal swagger and confidence than any Bluejay in recent memory — he left little to the imagination about his expectations for himself or his team, or about his disagreement with the team’s ninth-place prediction, in his interviews at Big East media day and elsewhere — and the All-Conference-type talent to back it up. Spend five minutes talking to Watson, and if you’re not more fired up than you’ve ever been in your life, I don’t know what to tell you. Combine those motivational qualities with a point guard that averages 12.3 points, 6.3 assists and a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio for his career, and you’ve got a difference maker.
That’s seven players who will play major roles on this year’s team that have yet to log a minute in a game. And there’s plenty of mystery surrounding the returning guys too — can Geoffrey Groselle build on his strong finish to the season and stay healthy enough to be a solid post force? Can Zach Hanson rebound from a sophomore slump to be the player many expected him to be last year? Can Toby Hegner improve upon what he did well as a freshman (shooting threes and rebounding) and get better at what he didn’t do so well (play defense)? How will James Milliken respond to not having to shoulder the burden of being the team’s only legit scoring option? Will Isaiah Zierden come back from a second knee injury in as many seasons to be the dangerous three-point shooter he was pre-injury?
With all of those questions, it’s no wonder this is such an anticipated exhibition game. Thankfully, we’ll start to get the answers to those questions tonight.
Quick Notes on the Peacocks:
- First off, “Peacocks” — that’s a top-notch mascot name right there. There needs to be more teams named Peacocks
- Upper Iowa played in front of a total of 17,350 fans last season, while 16,317 people attended last year’s exhibition game between Creighton and Sioux Falls, and a similar turnout is expected tonight
- Upper Iowa is 0-3 on the season after dropping three straight games in Anaheim last weekend against Division II teams
- Josh Weeber led the Peacocks with 22 points in a 74-71 loss to Alaska-Anchorage on Friday, Luke Lenhart recorded 18 points in a 90-75 setback against No. 15 Western Washington on Saturday, and Carson Parker tallied 18 points in a 77-75 loss to No. 11 California Baptist on Sunday
- The Peacocks are picked seventh in the 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference; for reference, last year’s exhibition opponent (Sioux Falls) was picked eighth in that same league and the Jays beat them 91-72
- Upper Iowa is coached by Brooks McKowen, the former Iowa Mr. Basketball who played for Greg McDermott at Northern Iowa.
Bluejay Bytes:
- Creighton is 40-6 since 1987 in fall exhibition games thanks to 14 straight victories. The only team since 1994 to beat Creighton in an exhibition setting has been Global Sports, which merged 12 years ago and later changed their name to EA Sports.
- Greg McDermott is 22-0 in exhibition games as a Division I head coach, including a 10-0 mark at UNI, a 7-0 record at Iowa State, and a 5-0 mark at Creighton. All but one of his triumphs has been by double-digits.
- Creighton returns just one regular starter (Toby Hegner) from last year’s team that finished 14-19. Creighton’s roster contains players who made 64 starts a year ago (28 by Hegner, 12 by James Milliken, 9 by Geoffrey Groselle, 8 by Zach Hanson and 7 by Isaiah Zierden), and a combined 64 career starts as Bluejays.
The Series:
Creighton and Upper Iowa have never met. Brooks McKowen played against the Jays eight times while at UNI, going 1-7 and dropping all four games at CenturyLink Center. In his career against CU, McKowen averaged 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three-point range and 83.9 percent at the line.
Gratuitous Linkage:
We’re now eight-deep in our 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Previews, featuring Q&A’s with each of the players. Some of those interviews — Mo Watson’s, in particular — should come with a warning like the one WBR’s Matt DeMarinis sent me after he conducted the interview:
“Reading his Q&A might cause a bit of excitement, so make sure when you read it that you’re in a place where that sort of thing can’t get you in trouble.”
Anecdotal evidence from people on the Bluejay Underground indicates this to be true.
This Date in Creighton Hoops History:
On November 6, 1990, Creighton won the first of two exhibition games prior to that title-winning season 89-82 over Athletes in Action. The game, played before 4,570 at the Civic, featured double-doubles from three players — Chad Gallagher had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Bob Harstad had 23 and 13, and Duan Cole contributed 16 points and 10 assists, while Darin Plautz just missed being the fourth with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Completely Random, Totally Rad Music Video of the Day:
The Bottom Line:
Fellow Big East squad St. John’s lost by 32 points to a DII team earlier this week. If that happens — hell, if Creighton loses by any number of points — I will eat my shirt and post video of it on Twitter.
Bluejays 85, Upper Iowa 62