On March 8, 2014, Doug McDermott played his final home game as a Bluejay. Eleven years to the day, Ryan Kalkbrenner will take his final bow at home in a Creighton uniform, and how fitting is that? (Doug) McDermott and Kalkbrenner are easily the two most decorated Bluejays of the (Greg) McDermott Era, or arguably, of any era. Doug’s #3 hangs in the rafters, and Kalkbrenner’s #11 will undoubtedly be there soon.
“It’s been so much fun to be a part of,” Greg McDermott said after a win against Xavier last month. “His ears are wide open. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. He wants to grow. He’s continued to add things to his game. What he does defensively for us is incredible. And then what he does in the locker room? Our culture is what it is because he’s allowed us to hold on to it…it’s been an absolute honor to coach him. I’ve been blessed to coach some really good players. I had the opportunity to coach Doug and watch what he accomplished in his career. Now I’ve watched Ryan have a historic career as well. Oftentimes in coaching you don’t ever get to experience one of those, let alone two.”
Kalkbrenner currently sits at 2,325 career points, becoming just the fourth Bluejay with 2,000 or more (along with Rodney Buford, who scored 2,116, and Bob Harstad’s 2,110). He’s second on the all-time scoring list behind McDermott’s historic 3,150. He’s one of just three to have 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (2,325/1,098, to be exact), along with McDermott (3,150/1,088) and Harstad (2,110/1,126).
And like Doug before him, Kalkbrenner has rewritten huge chunks of the Bluejay record book. With one game to go in the Jays’ 21st season at the CHI Health Center, Kalkbrenner and McDermott rank first or second in every major statistical category for games played there.
Kalkbrenner owns the facility records for career field goal percentage (72.5%), offensive rebounds (201) and blocks (175). He ranks second in arena history in field goals made (444; McDermott has 563), field goal attempts (612; McDermott has 999), free throws made (199; McDermott has 313), free throws attempted (285; McDermott has 376), and rebounds (510; McDermott has 534).
And he’s done something not even Doug could manage to pull off: be part of a team that took CU to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Kalkbrenner has played in 11 NCAA Tournament games, more than anyone in Bluejay history; he’s been part of eight wins, which are also the most by any Bluejay. He’s literally rewritten the Bluejay record book for NCAA Tournament success. These are the records he already holds, with another NCAA Tournament berth around the corner where he can add to them:
Single-Game
- Points: 31 vs. NC State, 3/17/23
- Blocks: 5 vs. Oregon, 3/23/24
Single-Tournament
- Points: 80 in 2023
- Field Goals Made: 32 in 2023
- Blocks: 10 in 2024
Career
- Points: 154
- Field Goals Made: 60
- Blocked Shots: 18
- Games Played In: 11
- Wins Played In: 8
- Tournaments Played In: 4
Last March, he had a dominant two-way performance in their opening win over Akron, scoring 23 points with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Dominant two-way performance for Ryan Kalkbrenner in Creighton’s NCAA Tournament win over Akron. 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks for the 7-foot-2 center. pic.twitter.com/IpeSZe6BeQ
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 21, 2024
Then against Oregon, he had 19 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and a three-pointer against Oregon in the second round, becoming the first player to do all those things in an NCAA Tournament game since Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan vs. Saint Mary’s on March 14, 1997, per research by CU’s Rob Anderson. He also buried this three in overtime:
KALKBRENNER FROM DISTANCE ‼️#MarchMadness @BluejayMBB pic.twitter.com/RG7yoK9dde
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
“It’s hard to believe,” McDermott said after the Seton Hall game in Omaha. “And he’s so unassuming, you know, like he joked around with me the other day when I presented him the 2,000-point ball. He leaned over and whispered, ‘Did you see this coming when you recruited me?’ I’m like, ‘Did you?’ And he said, ‘Heck no.’ I’m like, ‘Well, that makes two of us.’”
You never know what the future holds with basketball recruits, but there were signs. Maybe not signs of THIS — who could predict ALL OF THIS? — but definitely signs of a potential star. When Kalkbrenner visited CU in June of 2019, he was a four-star prospect out of Missouri drawing interest from almost every major Midwest program. Illinois and Kansas State had already offered before he visited CU; Purdue, Missouri, Cincinnati, Ohio State and others soon would. Then-assistant Paul Lusk led the recruitment, and sold Kalkbrenner on how the Jays’ system fit with his skill set.
He spent that summer playing for Chicago’s Mac Irvin Fire on Nike’s AAU circuit, averaging 7.7 points and 8.9 rebounds in 13 games. He shot 56.1% from the floor, and was 25-of-30 at the foul line. And the defensive instincts and skill were already present: he led all eligible players in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League with 4.3 blocks per game, was named the top defensive player during Nike’s Atlanta session in April, and had a 10-block game in May. Later, he won the EYBL’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
From a final three of Purdue, Stanford and CU, he picked the Jays in September.
It’s weird now to see him wearing #32, isn’t it? But at the time, #11 was spoken for by another great, Marcus Zegarowski. So Kalkbrenner donned that number not just on his visit, but during his first season on the Hilltop, too, despite also being #11 in high school at St. Louis’ Trinity Catholic.
Kalkbrenner’s first collegiate bucket came against North Dakota State on November 29, 2020, and showed a lot of the hallmarks of what was to come: he caught the ball in the post, spun around a defender and used a soft touch at the rim to make a layup.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁!
Congratulations, @RyanKalkbrenner!#GoJays pic.twitter.com/Fzoi3NBNYT
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) November 29, 2020
He came off the bench in all 31 games that year, backing up Christian Bishop. But even in a limited role — he averaged 13.6 minutes and 5.9 points per game — his defensive prowess was already evident. His 38 blocks led the team, and he became the first Bluejay freshman since Benoit Benjamin to have a block in each of his first three games.
When Bishop transferred after that season despite two more years of eligibility, it opened the door for Kalkbrenner. And the rest is history.
As a sophomore, he ranked in the top-five nationally with 134 offensive rebounds and his 89 blocked shots were the most by a Bluejay in 37 seasons. He would be named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in addition to being an Honorable Mention All-Big East selection.
Two more Big East Defensive Player the Year awards followed. While those awards remain a lightning rod on social media among fans of other Big East teams, it’s voted on by the league’s coaches, and they haven’t been shy about heaping praise on him.
“Kalkbrenner’s awesome,” Marquette’s Shaka Smart said last month in Omaha. “I’ll be sending him a graduation present when he finally leaves.”
Sean Miller of Xavier gushed about him too, saying he’s tired of game-planning for and playing against him. After their loss to the Jays in Omaha back in January, he compared Kalkbrenner’s defense to the impact a great point guard has on a team’s offense. “He is quite a player, four-time, probably, Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He’s just so smart. It’s not just his blocks, it’s him patrolling the lane, and sometimes he switches. His mobility is just incredible.”
Providence’s Kim English noted after their game in Omaha this year that the Friars’ Jayden Pierre missed multiple shots in the paint that he would normally make, and declined to even attempt several others.
“I think that’s just the presence of Ryan down there,” English said. “His size is kind of — you think about in 2009 when UConn had (Hasheem) Thabeet, it’s similar to that. It’s not always the shots he blocks, sometimes it’s the shots he changes. I was watching one of their games – maybe Villanova – and a kid shot the ball almost over the backboard. That’s not a blocked shot. Ryan doesn’t get credit for that in the stat sheet. He actually did have six [blocks] tonight, so he had six but he altered a ton. He’s different. We haven’t played a center of that caliber in a while.”
It’s not just Creighton’s record book that Kalkbrenner has imprinted his name on. He owns the career record for field goal percentage in Big East play (min. 5 FG/game) among multi-year players at 63.9%, as well as with 544 career field goals made, 97 games played and 2,895 minutes played. He seems destined to set the record for most blocks in Big East play, too, as he currently sits at 246 — one behind Patrick Ewing’s 247.
Kalkbrenner ranks fourth all-time in both career points (1,373) and rebounds (659) in Big East games. And while he’s the 11th man with 1,000+ points and 500+ rebounds in Big East action over a career, he’s the only man in history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds AND 200 blocked shots in Big East play during a career.
“This is our fifth set of centers. We’ve cycled through from Josh Carlton matching up with Ryan, all the way through to where we are now – we’re literally on our fifth tandem of centers since he arrived,” UConn’s Dan Hurley said in January. “He’s just a rare player of his caliber. I couldn’t imagine coaching Donovan (Clingan) for five years or Adama (Sanogo). It’s incredible for Creighton and their program to have a guy that should have been a first round pick by now, and we shouldn’t still be dealing with him, but we are.”
He’s also a virtual lock to win his third straight title in blocks per league game, as he currently owns 13 more blocks than the next-closest player (Providence’s Oswin Erhumwunse). The only other players to lead the Big East in blocks in three straight years are Patrick Ewing (1981-85), Jason Lawson (1995-97), Emeka Okafor (2004-06) and Hasheem Thabeet (2007-09).
“Him, Dikembe Mutombo, Pat Ewing and Chris Mullen are all on the same (level),” Ed Cooley said in February after Georgetown lost to the Jays in Omaha. “It seems like he’s been here forever. Man. I will give him his graduation gift or his doctorate or triple doctorate, however long the hell he’s been here.”
“He represents the Big East and Creighton in a first-class manner in how he handles himself,” Cooley added. “Those guys are jewels if you’re able to coach someone like that … us coaches die for those types of players. Those guys don’t come every day.”
Case in point: Kalkbrenner owns 554 points (so far) this season, joining Doug McDermott (4), Rodney Buford (3), Bob Harstad (3) and Paul Silas (3) as the only Bluejay men in history with three seasons of 500 or more points. McDermott has been in the NBA for 11 years, Buford last played in 1999, Harstad graduated in 1991, and Silas wrapped up his career in 1964. These type of players truly don’t come every day.
Kalkbrenner also has 78 blocked shots this season, meaning he’s now responsible for four seasons of 69 swats or more in his career, while everyone else who’s ever suited up for the Bluejays has four total (three by Benoit Benjamin, one by Chad Gallagher). That’s not just rare at CU, it’s rare in the NCAA as a whole — Kalkbrenner is one of just 23 players in NCAA history with four such seasons of 69+ blocks.
Now, when it comes to counting stats, there is the little matter of Kalkbrenner using his extra COVID season to play five years; he’s piled up his numbers in more games than McDermott, Buford or Harstad did, and significantly more than Silas, who played at a time when freshmen had to redshirt. McDermott reached 2,000 points in 101 games, Buford needed 111 games, Harstad required 121 contests to reach 2,000 points, and Kalkbrenner did it in 148 games.
If you’re curious, Kalkbrenner reached 1,000 career points in his 91st career game on Feb. 25, 2023. McDermott got to 1,000 in 57 games, Buford needed 59 and Harstad reached that milestone in 73 games.
However, those three had outsized roles from the moment they suited up. McDermott started all 39 games as a freshman, Harstad started all 32 his first year, and while Buford came off the bench most of his freshman year, he averaged 26 minutes per game. Kalkbrenner did not, and 92.2% of his points, 90.2% of his rebounds, and 90.1% of his blocks have come over the other four years of his career.
But no matter how you look at it, Kalkbrenner is one of Creighton’s all-time greats. That’s not something he or his coach saw coming back in 2019, and while the humble-to-a-fault Kalkbrenner jokes now that he wasn’t even sure he could contribute at this level when he arrived on campus, the fact is he did more than just contribute. He’s among the four or five best to ever don the White and Blue. And when he takes his final curtain call Saturday night, it will be an emotional moment.
“It’s crazy, especially walking in as a freshman, I was like, ‘Man, I’d be lucky if I ever become a starter on this team,’” Kalkbrenner said earlier this year. “I had no idea the journey I’d be on, and it’s honestly been such a blessing. All the people that have been around this program to help me get to where I am, I couldn’t have done it without any of them. It’s crazy looking back on it, because I never would have thought I’d be able to do this going into my career.”