Before they play their final home games in a Bluejay uniform on Saturday, White & Blue Review showcases some of their highlights and recaps their careers.
Gregory Echenique came to Creighton midway through what ultimately became Dana Altman’s final season on the Hilltop, a high-profile transfer from Rutgers. Echenique never played a minute for the staff who lured him to Omaha, but has flourished into a defensive nightmare in the post under Greg McDermott’s staff. He’s also a fan favorite for lots of reasons: his goggles, pink shoes, monstrous dunks and frightening blocked shots.
He became the first Creighton player ever to be named MVC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, blocking 57 shots. Echenique finished second in the MVC in offensive rebounds per game, blocked shots per game and in field goal percentage, fifth in rebounds per game and eighth in defensive rebounds per game. As a senior, he’s built on that success, blocking 46 shots, grabbing 6.6 rebounds per game, and increasing his field goal percentage to 65%, up from 60% as a junior, and against UAB, he became the first Creighton player since Benoit Benjamin in 1985 with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in a game.
Echenique is one of two active players nationally (with Mike Muscala) with at least 1,200 points, 900 rebounds and 250 career blocked shots. With one more block, he’ll set the record for most blocks in CenturyLink Center history, and will likely finish his career with the third most blocks in CU history, trailing only Benoit Benjamin and Chad Gallagher.
Grant Gibbs made the decision to transfer to Creighton during Greg McDermott’s first summer as head coach at Creighton. Plagued by injuries during his time at Gonzaga, Gibbs has battled balky knees during his two seasons in a Bluejay uniform, but has been a fixture in the starting lineup from Day One, and was voted a team captain before playing a single game. His penchant for passing the ball in off an opponent’s back, then scooping it up for an easy score, is legendary, as is his ability to get under an opponent’s skin and draw a technical foul.
His junior year, he started all 35 games, and showed off his gifted passing ability with a spectacular 2.41 assist/turnover ratio that ranked 27th nationally. Gibbs led the MVC with 176 assists, and was second in the MVC in assists per game and in assist/turnover ratio en route to finishing second in the MVC Newcomer of the Year voting. He scored in double-figures 11 times (all victories), including a career-high 20 points in the MVC Tournament final vs. Illinois State (March 4).
As a senior, Gibbs is well on his way to leading the MVC in assists for a second-straight season, something that hasn’t been done since Illinois State’s Jamar Smiley topped The Valley in three straight campaigns from 1995-98. Gibbs 174 assists are seventh-most in Creighton single-season history, and he’s the first man in program history with multiple seasons of 170 assists or more.
Josh Jones will go down as one of the most unforgettable players in Creighton history, but not for gaudy statistics or his place in the record book. His effort, positive energy, and uncanny knack for making plays and hitting clutch shots in key moments are legendary.
When he announced his career was over in December, WBR’s Creighton Otter wrote a lengthy feature on Jones’ career, so rather than rehash it here, I’ll just link to it and send you there.
These three make up one of the greatest Senior classes in recent memory, and if they can lead their team to victory Saturday, they’ll add a regular season conference title to their resume: During the years these three players have been on the roster, the Jays have gone 93-45 while appearing in the postseason every season while claiming the 2008-09 MVC regular-season title and 2012 MVC Tournament title, and winning the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2002.