From the time Creighton started playing men’s basketball (1916-1917) through the 1959-1960 season, the Bluejays called the Vinardi Center home. CU went 336-92 in 42 seasons in the on-campus gym, which now stands as home to the basketball practice facility.
Each week of the Creighton men’s basketball season, WBR will catch up with a Creighton coach to report about practice and the state of the program.
We poked our recorder into the huddled masses of media at Creighton’s practice Thursday. Here is some of what Greg McDermott, Antoine Young, and Grant Gibbs had to say about CU hoops.
Greg McDermott, on his expectations of going on the road to Illinois State:
“They are always big. We’ve found that out through five games. There’s been a lot of strange things that have happened. There have been a lot of games that have been much closer than what people probably anticipated. And there have been a lot of wins away from home. Illinois State is playing really good basketball. Their second half against Wichita [State] was about as good a half of basketball as anyone has played in our league to this point. Their front line is really intact from a year ago, and improved, and the addition of Nic Moore, the freshman point guard, and Tyler Brown, the off guard, have given them two very capable scorers that they didn’t have a year ago.”
McDermott, on how Northern Iowa defended his son and CU’s star sophomore Doug McDermott:
“We’ve seen a little bit of everything with how teams are defending Doug and Gregory [Echenique] inside. We just have to figure out as a coaching staff what they are trying to do and then put the guys in the best position possible to attack what they’re doing. You hope that when something like what Northern Iowa threw at us happens, a guy like Antoine [Young] is ready to go when they provide him opportunities. We’ve had different guys step up at different times of the year. Doug’s scored a lot of points, but the reality of it is that two of our four conference wins came when Doug scored 12 and 14 points. So, I think we’ve proven that we can beat people in other ways.”
McDermott, on what Illinois State has improved on from last year:
“I think their guard play is much better. And even when they struggled last year, defensively across the front line they’ve got length and athletic ability, they’ve got size with [Jackie] Carmichael at 6-9, [John] Wilkins at 6-9, and [Jon] Ekey at the small forward position at 6-7. That is as big a front line as there is in our conference. They provide a lot of challenges, but I think without a question their improved guard play is what has made the difference this year.”
McDermott, on the team’s chemistry:
“It was evident to me in the Bahamas before the season started. This team has a chance to be special off the court because there are no cliques in this group. They really, truly care for their teammates and have fun with their teammates. They enjoy being around each other.”
Antoine Young, on his expectations for Illinois State Friday:
“It will be fun. We’re going to go there and swing away and play our game like we’ve been doing. Obviously we have to stop some things; they are a really athletic team and they match us size-wise, so we just have to go in there and swing away.”
Antoine Young had a season-high 21 points against Northern Iowa Tuesday (Mike Spomer/WBR)
Young, on how it feels to step up and play well against UNI, when the Panthers were trying to take Doug McDermott out of the game:
“You have to love it as a player. It challenges you to come up and make big plays. You just want to be a player and make plays.”
Young, on adjusting to playing with Grant Gibbs this season:
“I love playing with Grant. It takes a lot of stress off me. I don’t have to be on the ball all of the time. Plus, he’s just the most fun dude to be around. Having characters like him makes my job a lot easier. You can just laugh and have fun playing with each other, and that’s the best thing I’ve gotten out of playing with Grant.”
Young, on keeping composure during tough parts of the game:
“I think Grant and I are really composed players. We don’t really get rattled, and that’s kind of a reflection of how Coach [McDermott] is. He doesn’t really get rattled. I think we’re always calm no matter what the situation is. We are easy going and try to keep it the same flow no matter if we’re up 10 points or down 10 points. It definitely helps out in situations when it gets a little tough.”
Grant Gibbs, on the difference in the team to be able to come from behind in some games this season:
“I think just staying together, and toughness. Plus, we were able to pull some out early, games like UAB and San Diego State. Those games gave us confidence. And down the stretch you just have to execute, and we’ve done a good job that and not panicking, even when we’ve been down in games. Just being able to stay together and stay focused on the game plan.”