Some players just seem to have it against certain teams. Osiris Eldridge has a love playing against Creighton. Pierce Hibma loved playing against Drake. We are now realizing that Antoine Young loves playing against Southern Illinois.
Last Saturday’s game against Loyola-Chicago and last night’s game against Southern Illinois were two games that made me wish the season was starting over for the Bluejays. Although Creighton struggled at times during each of those games, they were able to keep their heads up and keep pushing to stay in the game or take it to the next level. I particularly enjoyed the fact that they pushed the ball up the court and the idea was to outrun the opponent. I remember seeing this at the two open houses before the season started and I think that is what I expected to see throughout the season. The cohesiveness we have been waiting to see for so long appears to have come together in the past two games.
A key to this has been the change up in the starting lineup last Saturday putting Josh Jones and Ethan Wragge in the forefront and building some continuity that can lead into next season. Against SIU, Jones hit a couple three pointers early keying the explosive first 10-12 minutes of the game where Creighton continued to push the ball and didn’t hold back. Wragge hit some key three pointers down the stretch against the Salukis showing veteran confidence which many fans saw early on in the season. Darryl Ashford has gotten some hops the past couple of games since losing his starting spot and coming off the bench. A couple of great eye opening dunks against Loyola and a key steal in the final minutes of regulation which almost turned into a spectacular dunk against SIU. Kenny Lawson has started taking things into his own hands and even taking the three-ball. That is just to name a few of the key changes in the past few games. The team cohesiveness appears to be clicking and maybe the Bracketbusters did have some impact after all.
However the offense starts with your point guard. Antoine Young, who has struggled at times this season, must have a smile come to his face when it is time to play against SIU. Young, who hit the game winner in the previous matchup in Omaha took the team on his shoulders in the second half and overtime of last night’s game in Carbondale. Coach Altman has said since Young joined the program that he has a different gear than everyone else on the Creighton team and probably against most in the Valley. He showed it last night as he continually took the ball to the hoop driving past the opponent and made spectacular shots. The Saluki’s could not stop him. On top of that, the shots that didn’t go down he got fouled or kicked it out to a teammate. Young came into the game as a 48% free throw shooter. But who would have known he would go 8-of-9 from the charity stripe? A career high 22 points? Last season, Antoine came off the bench and was fearless. This season with the keys of the team given to Antoine, it has been a bumpy road, one that has kept him from playing like he did in the past. However, last night against Southern Illinois, that fearlessness came back and helped lead the team to victory.
So even though the season didn’t officially start over last Saturday, maybe for some it actually did. A movement to the future appears to be in motion. It appears maybe the right combos have been found. Is it enough to give the Seniors one last shot at something special? Are they peaking just in time for the MVC Tourney? Senior day is Saturday against Bradley. As much as the Bluejays have struggled this season, this group of Justin Carter, Cavel Witter and Chad Millard deserve to have a good crowd and one that will stick around after the game is over. Yes, things didn’t turn out as many had hoped this season, but it is important to show support, especially for the young players that have been given the keys to the program heading into next season.