Creighton’s offseason got off to a rocky start when the headliner of their incoming class de-committed, one of the stars of their Sweet 16 run transferred out, and two assistant coaches departed. Faced with replacing all five starters and 80% of their scoring, what initially looked like a rebuilding year was now looking like something worse.
Namely, that Greg McDermott’s controversial “plantation” comment had damaged his program beyond repair and squandered any momentum their Sweet 16 run might have produced.
Whether real or perceived, that comment was a convenient thing for detractors to point to any time bad news about the program surfaced — and through the first two months of the offseason there had been nothing but bad news piling up. TyTy Washington wound up at Kentucky. Christian Bishop transferred to Texas. Marcus Zegarowski opted to forego his senior season and turn pro. Assistant Paul Lusk left for a similar role at Purdue. Terrence Rencher left for Oklahoma State. And while recruit Mason Miller remained committed, he had yet to sign. There was momentum alright, but it was downward.
A month later, things have changed pretty dramatically. The incoming 2021 class is the 7th best in the country (and best in the Big East) according to 247Sports after the addition of Arthur Kaluma. Two extremely impressive assistants have come on board. And just like that, while Creighton will still be one of the youngest major college teams next year, they’ll also arguably be one of the most talented.
McDermott replaced Rencher with Jalen Courtney-Williams, a coach from the south with no ties or connections to Creighton and who had never been to Omaha before accepting the position. He played at LSU, started his coaching career under Ben Howland as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, and had most recently been at McNeese State. Courtney-Williams comes to CU after a series of “real and raw conversations” about McDermott’s comment that convinced him that the aftermath represents a positive opportunity, and one that he’s excited to be a part of.
On an episode of the Nick Bahe Podcast, Courtney-Williams went into detail about those conversations.
“Of course, when you read (that comment) for the first time, you take offense to it, to be honest. But as I spent time with that statement and started to unpack it, I thought, there’s no way he meant that. He and his family are some of the most generous people I’ve met in this profession.
When we sat down to talk, that was a real conversation. I had the opportunity to ask him what was going through his mind, and what he meant. You know what I found out? Through real and raw conversation, I discovered it was more of a cultural perspective error. We talked about how he grew up and where he grew up, and I realized that a word like that — a word like ‘plantation’ — for a kid who grew up on a farm in Iowa means a completely different thing than it does to a Black kid from Mississippi. That was a big-time moment for me to realize that not only do words have meaning and power, but words mean different things to different people. He’s opened himself up not only for criticism but for education, and that’s a credit to him. It’s an opportunity to educate each other and have conversations that otherwise wouldn’t be had. That’s the conclusion I came to after some real and raw conversations, and I’m proud to be here along side him.”
He replaced Lusk with former TCU assistant Ryan Miller, regarded as one of the top recruiters in America. Miller had stints at Pepperdine, Auburn, New Mexico and UNLV before joining Jamie Dixon’s TCU staff in 2016, where he helped to lure future NBA First Round pick Desmond Bane to Fort Worth. At UNLV, he was instrumental in the Rebels landing the nation’s No. 11 (2015) and No. 5 (2014) ranked recruiting classes. Among the players on those rosters was Rashad Vaughn, a consensus five-star recruit ranked as high as No. 8 nationally who went on to be drafted 17th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2015 NBA Draft.
He was drawn to Creighton because of a desire to be closer to his parents in Sioux Falls, SD, and to coach his nephew Mason. In fact, Mason did some recruiting of his own in convincing his uncle to join him in Omaha.
“I’ve known Coach McDermott and his coaching staff for a while,” he told TCU blog Frogs o’War. “Mason has a chance to be pretty good, I’m excited to have the chance to coach him, to be a bigger part of his life, and help him develop his game, so I’m excited about it.”
He’ll assume the defensive coordinator role in-game that Lusk had handled previously, something he’s looking forward to. And Miller has wasted no time in bringing his recruiting skills to fruition on the Hilltop. On Monday, he landed a commitment from Arthur Kaluma, one of the last remaining unsigned four-star recruits in the 2021 class. Ranked #46 in ESPN’s recruiting rankings and #45 by 247Sports, he’s the highest-ranked recruit to land at Creighton in the history of either of those recruiting services. ESPN’s database goes back to 2007; 247Sports dates to 2002. While losing out on TyTy Washington stung, landing Kaluma this late in the game is one helluva consolation prize.
He drew interest from just about every high-major program in the country last summer before deciding on UNLV; when T.J. Otzelberger left for Iowa State, Kaluma was released from his letter of intent. He picked the Jays over Arizona and Syracuse this time around, and did so because he thinks it gives him the best chance at impressing NBA scouts. In an interview with ESPN NBA draft guru Jonathan Givony, Kaluma said that “I like the pieces they have and think I can come in and help them win games, achieve what we need to achieve and make a name for myself at Creighton. They play an NBA style, which will help further prepare myself for the next level I want to reach.”
The 6’8”, 225-pound wing is the type of long, athletic player Creighton has long found frustrating as an opponent, and long struggled to recruit themselves. His 7’1” wingspan gives him the versatility to protect the rim inside while also switching onto any player defensively, which gives the Jays some intriguing options defensively that they haven’t had in recent years.
McDermott said in a statement to GoCreighton.com that “Arthur Kaluma is an extremely versatile player who can stretch the floor and create opportunities for his teammates. His unique skill set and physical ability will be impactful from the start. Arthur’s footwork and strong motor will help us both offensively and defensively. On top of that, he has a high basketball IQ and can rebound the basketball. We can’t wait to get him in a Bluejay uniform.”
The next two highest-ranked recruits in the program’s history are also part of the incoming 2021 class: Point guard Ryan Nembhard (#65) and forward Mason Miller (#70). John Christofilis, regarded as the best pure shooter in the entire 2021 class, ranked #148 on 247Sports’ list. All totaled, Creighton now has the nation’s 7th-best incoming class according to 247Sports and the best in the Big East. That’s without 6’7” Ryan Hawkins, an immediately-eligible transfer from DII national champion Northwest Missouri State who doesn’t figure in recruiting rankings.
Hawkins scored 2,098 points in a decorated career at NWMS, where he won three national titles. Over the last two seasons, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 55.1% from the floor and 45.7% from 3-point range. Watching highlights of Hawkins, you can’t help but be reminded at least a little bit of another similarly-sized forward from Iowa who scored over 3,000 points for the Jays.
And they still have two open scholarships, with offers out to Michigan State transfer Rocket Watts who was originally recruited by Creighton out of high school, and to the last remaining unsigned four-star recruit, Trey Alexander.
Alexander was recruited heavily by Miller out of high school and nearly picked TCU before originally committing to Auburn. Given a second chance, Miller is hoping to lure him to Omaha. If he pulls that off, CU would likely have a top-five class nationally.
Keep in mind that Rati Andronikashvili was ranked #77 and fourth-best in CU history when he signed as part of the 2020 class; he redshirted last season after tearing his ACL in the preseason and will take the floor this fall. Forward Modestas Kancleris was ranked #189 and impressed in preseason drills before he too tore his ACL and redshirted; he’ll also return this fall.
In the span of a month they’ve gone from wondering if the program had squandered every bit of momentum possible from a Sweet 16 run to landing the highest-ranked recruit in school history and the top class in their league. Creighton will be young in 2021-22, but the sheer amount of talent they’ve amassed on this roster means they’re much closer to reloading than rebuilding.