Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Focus improving for Jays

Filed by Steve Takaba

9:04 p.m., Tuesday: The Creighton men’s basketball team was a bit on the mellow side during its afternoon practice at the Qwest Center.

Assistant coach Darian DeVries was more than happy to put a stop to that.

“That’s not cutting it!” he roared. “They’re going to embarrass you in front of all these people!”

DeVries was referring to Brigham Young University, which faces the Bluejays on Wednesday night. The 6-0 Cougars are in the national polls, and they can score. A lot. They're beating their foes by an average of 22.5 points per game. Plus they’ve got a guy named Jimmer. You may have heard of him.

Jimmer Fredette is averaging 24.8 points per game and is on numerous preseason All-America teams. The senior guard is arguably the best scorer in the country. Perhaps all of that sunk in late in Creighton’s practice session.

The Bluejays got loud. They played with fire. And coming off a loss Sunday at Northwestern, they showed a sense of urgency. During one drill, the good-natured Kenny Lawson even got into a shouting match with Ross Ferrarini on the scout team. They quickly cleared up the spat, but Lawson said the situation served a purpose.

“When you come off a loss you have to have a different energy in practice,” the senior said. “That thing with Ross -- it’s just to get the team going. Sometimes you have to have that.

“All the coaches have been trying to get us to be more enthused. I mean, we’ve got a Top 20 team coming in so you just have to bring a different type of energy.”

Not to mention focus.

Coach Greg McDermott said that the Bluejays needed to pay better attention to detail following the Northwestern game. Playing screens properly, shot selection. Nothing was too trivial, especially when your next opponent is averaging well over 80 points per game.

The coach said the past two workouts have left him encouraged.

“It’s been better,” McDermott said, “but that has to become a habit. That isn’t something you should have to beg for. And it’s not just listening to your coaches, it’s listening to your teammates. That’s very important.” »

Monday, November 29, 2010

Jimmer could cause trouble for Jays

Filed by Steven Pivovar

10:35 p.m., Monday: Creighton faces a huge challenge in trying to keep Jimmer from jamming at Qwest Center Omaha on Wednesday.

Brigham Young guard Jimmer Fredette ranks as one of the top opponents that will have graced the Qwest court. The senior is a consensus preseason All-American, a player of the year candidate and, according to several publications, the nation’s top collegiate point guard.

He’s lived up to the hype in leading the Cougars to six straight wins. He’s averaging almost 25 points and five assists per game. He’s shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from 3-point range. He has a career high of 49 points against Arizona in 2009.

“I’ve faced some good guards,’’ Creighton coach Greg McDermott said, “and he’s right up there with any of them. He’s right up there with the best.’’

The scary thing, McDermott said, is that Fredette is not a one-man show. Two teammates, Jackson Emery and Noah Hartsock, also average in double figures. The Cougars are averaging 84.5 points per game and have outscored their six opponents by an average of 22.5 points per game.

“They’re a good basketball team,’’ McDermott said, “and they’ve already found ways to win some close games.’’

The two closest came last week in the South Padre Island Invitational, where BYU posted a two-overtime, 77-75 win over South Florida and a 74-73 victory over St. Mary’s College. Fredette scored 32 points against South Florida and 24 against St. Mary’s in earning the tournament’s most valuable player award.

So how will Creighton attempt to slow Jimmer?

“We can’t expect any one guy to do it on his own,’’ McDermott said. “We’ll do the best we can and try to keep a fresh body on him.’’ »

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Kyle Korver likes brother's growth, new coach

Filed by Steve Takaba

11:00 p.m., Sunday: Forgive Kyle Korver if he wasn’t feeling quite normal at Welsh-Ryan Arena. And it’s not just because he was bummed watching Northwestern defeat Creighton 65-52. Korver was simply perplexed at how fast time flies.

“I can’t believe he’s a senior in college,” Korver said. “It makes me feel old.”

“He” would be kid brother Kaleb, whom Kyle was all smiles talking about on Sunday. For Kyle it seemed not too long ago when he was earning All-America honors, leading Creighton to one of its finest seasons in school history. The Bluejays went 29-5 in 2003, Kyle’s senior season.

And no, Kaleb won’t be a highly respected NBA player like his brother, won’t be all over Creighton’s record books. No problem with Kyle.

Kaleb averaged 12.4 minutes per game entering his senior season. Now he’s a starter.

“I’m really happy for him,” Kyle said. “His first few years, for whatever reasons, things weren’t quite going the way he wanted them to. With the new coaching staff, it was kind of a fresh start for him, and he’s taken advantage of it. He’s playing real solid basketball.”

And much to Kyle’s surprise, along with Bluejay fans, Kaleb’s defense is what has helped earn him extended minutes this season.

“You can tell he’s been watching a lot of film, studying that end of the floor, by the way he moves,” Kyle said. “It’s the first time I’ve watched him play really in a couple of years. It’s a ton of growth from what I’ve seen. I’m proud of him.”

Kyle also noticed something different with the Bluejays on Sunday. The man roaming the sidelines yelling orders wasn’t Dana Altman.

Korver said it was strange not to see his old coach there, but he still liked what he saw from the team. He was high on the talent and he liked the sets Creighton ran. Reminded him of when he was a Bluejay back in the day, he said.

But perhaps most importantly, Korver also fully backs the new man in charge — Greg McDermott.

“I like Coach McDermott a lot,” Korver said. “He’s a great basketball coach and he’s a great guy. Even if he wasn’t the Creighton basketball coach, you’d still want to hang out with him because he’s just a cool dude.”

As for Korver’s season, he said he was thrilled to be in Chicago after signing as a free agent with the Bulls in the summer. His team is in first place in the Central Division, and Korver has had a lot to do with that. He’s averaging 9.4 points per game and shooting 44 percent from 3-point range.

Korver said the Bulls are young, hungry and they have superstar guard Derrick Rose — who Korver called “amazing.” The Bulls are also getting injured star forward Carlos Boozer back for their next game.

Watching your sibling shine and a fulfilling career. Yes, life in the Windy City is good for Kyle Korver.

“I’m enjoying Chicago,” he said. “We play hard, man. Anytime you’re on a team that plays hard and plays unselfishly, basketball is a good time.” »

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Jays' focus: Stop Shurna

Filed by Steve Takaba

8:36 p.m., Sunday: We'll keep this really short since I was chatting with former Bluejay standout Kyle Korver during halftime.

If the Jays want to win, they need to contain Northwestern forward John Shurna. He's their leading scorer at nearly 23 points per game. He's 5 for 7 with 14 points and hit two 3s in the first half. He's athletic too, delivering two thunderous dunks in the first half. Creighton has double-teamed him in the post, but they need to deny him the ball on the wing.

Creighton also needs to get dribble penetration against the first line of Northwestern's trapping halfcourt defense. If Antoine Young can get by, he's going to have Kenny Lawson on the block or a pull-up jumper in the paint. »

Sunday, November 28, 2010

CU volleyball strides have A.D. pleased

Filed by Steve Takaba

12:20 a.m., Sunday: Bruce Rasmussen just had to throw his weight around a bit.

It was 2003 and the Creighton University athletic director was transitioning his volleyball program into a new era. Then-coach Howard Wallace had just resigned. Who to replace him?

A selection committee had the answer. Even the Bluejay players unanimously agreed with the pick. Not Rasmussen. He made an executive decision, one that helped a lowly program possibly make history this afternoon.

Rasmussen said he talked to his network of volleyball gurus, including legendary former Nebraska coach Terry Pettit. The name Pettit touted: Kirsten Bernthal Booth. Rasmussen was sold.

Fast forward to 2010, and Booth and her Bluejays should be seeing the name Creighton pop up on a TV screen during the NCAA tournament selection show at 2 p.m. It would mark the team’s first NCAA bid. Pretty neat for a program that won all of four matches in 2002.

“When you look at character, passion and style of teaching, she was really what we were looking for in those areas,” Rasmussen said. “I think there are a lot of coaches with passion and intelligence but to find one with passion, intelligence and character is a little bit more critical.

“Not just her knowledge of the game but her style of coaching, the way she conducted business. You never had to worry about how she represented herself and the university.”

And now the product isn’t an issue, either.

Creighton restarted its volleyball program in 1994 with mostly lackluster results. Hey, the Bluejays played in the school’s recreation center and Omaha South High up until Booth took over in ‘03.

They moved to the Civic Auditorium and just completed their second year at D.J. Sokol Arena. Creighton has improved its record in just about every season under Booth. She’s won 20 or more matches in three of the past five seasons. Top three finishes in the Missouri Valley Conference are the norm now. Even produced the program’s first two All-Americans.

But perhaps the Bluejays’ greatest volleyball achievement was this weekend. Creighton advanced to the Valley tournament final for the first time. The Bluejays lost in four sets to Northern Iowa on Saturday, but that’s not a total downer. Creighton entered the Valley tourney with an RPI of 39. The league has a conference RPI of No. 6. Put those together with the fact that the runner-up in the Valley finals has made the NCAAs the past four seasons, and the Bluejays should be whooping it up today.

But ask Rasmussen and he’ll tell you an NCAA bid isn’t what he’d be proudest of.

“When Kirsten came to Creighton, our program was really not very good,” he said. “Not only was our performance not very good, our reputation wasn’t very good. … I think we don’t look enough at process, and we go about the process the right way here in volleyball. Those kids get better individually and as a group. They represent the university well and they enjoy the experience.”

This season in particular.

The Bluejays have gotten close to landing at-large NCAA bids in 2007 and ‘08. They went a combined 39-19 and finished second in the Valley both times. Still got snubbed. On Saturday, however, the Bluejays simply looked like a team worthy of an NCAA bid. They took a set against the 11th-ranked team in the country on its own home floor and hung tough throughout. Just like the program the past eight seasons.

“Whether they get in or not, you feel a sense of gratification because they’ve gone about the process the right way,” Rasmussen said. “It’s kind of icing on the cake if we get in.” »

Friday, November 26, 2010

Jays display inner fire

Filed by Steve Takaba

10:30 p.m., Friday: Kenny Lawson sprinted down the Qwest Center floor, eyes wide open, hands up. The Creighton center could surely feel what was about to come.

He took a Josh Jones pass near the right block, cocked back and ripped a dunk over Kennesaw State’s Aaron Anderson. Talk about posterizing a guy. Remember P’Allen Stinnett’s jam over then-Husker Shang Ping here a few seasons ago? Eat your heart out, P. Kenny just upped the ante.

Lawson’s stuff brought Creighton fans out of their seats in approval. Lawson turned and emphatically pumped his fist after drawing a foul on the play to boot. It would surely be a YouTube hit if anyone filmed it. Teammate Gregory Echenique was even asking a CU staffer to send footage into ESPN if possible following CU’s 75-57 victory.

But as special a moment as that was for Lawson, it illustrated something so much more about him and his fellow Bluejays. The second-half stuff demonstrated aggression. It illustrated toughness, something that coach Greg McDermott has been searching for during the young season.

“It seemed like every game we played was kind of a grind it out game,” McDermott said. “Tonight we had an opportunity to put a team away and we did it. Those first four games we had double-digit leads including Iowa State in the second half and just didn’t have that killer instinct that you have to have. I think we showed that a little bit better tonight.”

Creighton has been called “soft” by some during the past few seasons. Good kids, good students, good ballplayers. But far from having the mentality on the court that Michael Jordan and Larry Bird made legendary.

McDermott, like former CU coach Dana Altman in recent years, has noticed.

“Some guys that get you down, they’re going to beat you while you’re down and some guys are too nice to do that,” McDermott said. “We’re probably on that side of it a little too much. We’ve got a bunch of great guys on this team that makes them great guys to be around. But they also don’t want to step on somebody’s throat when they’ve got them down.

“You have to take advantage of that otherwise you get to a point where something fluky can happen at the end and you end up losing a game that you controlled most of.”

Like Sunday against Iowa State. Creighton, though, made sure that scenario didn’t repeat itself on Friday. Creighton led by 12 at the half and never let the cushion get under 10. An 8-0 run in the middle of the second half ended things.

Lawson, who was in foul trouble early and finished with seven points, has been targeted by many in Bluejay Nation as being “soft.” You’ve heard those callers on postgame radio shows.

On Friday night the senior addressed the toughness issue. It’s about digging deep and fighting. Getting key stops, he said. The Bluejays showed that for much of the night. Players were diving on the floor for loose balls, not backing down on the boards. Maybe these good boys are becoming men after all. Lawson thinks so.

“I think we’re a tough team,” he said. “We may not show it all the time, maybe we’re not as consistent, but we have the capability of being a tough team. I think we’re improving being tougher down the stretch and I think we showed that tonight.

“We’re going to continue to improve and be better as a team.” »

Friday, November 26, 2010

Halftime update: Jays crank up 'D'

Filed by Steve Takaba

8:05 p.m., Friday: It wasn’t long after Creighton defeated Louisiana that coach Greg McDermott had a message for the media. Forget about Sunday’s game against Iowa State, his former team. Don’t worry about Northwestern this coming Sunday. The Bluejays had Kennesaw State the day after Thanksgiving.

“Kennesaw State 80, Georgia Tech 63,” the coach said with emphasis.

Got it, Greg. Apparently the Jays, did too.

After a slow start that saw Creighton trail early, McDermott’s team cranked up the defense to take a 36-24 halftime lead. The same defense that allowed 91 points to Iowa State has put the clamps on the Owls.

Kennesaw State’s leading scorer, Markeith Cummings, has three points on 3-for-8 shooting. And that came late in the half. Cummings, averaging 18.2 points per game, was shut out for a good portion of the half.

The Owls are shooting just 35.7 percent from the field. And they’re frustrated.

Numerous KSU players have jawed with officials after foul calls. But perhaps nothing better illustrated that frustration than after Darryl Ashford swiped the ball away from Ladaris Green. Green could only shake his head and mutter something as he chased Ashford and the Jays down the floor. »

Friday, November 26, 2010

Note to Oregon: Be patient with Altman

Filed by Steve Takaba

4:45 p.m., Friday: I was just doing some thinking as we’re a few hours away from Creighton’s game against Kennesaw State. Thinking about Dana Altman’s first huge game on the national stage at Oregon.

On Saturday, Altman gets Duke. Lucky guy.

It’s probably going to be brutal Saturday for the Ducks. I just saw Duke win the CBE Classic earlier in the week in Kansas City, Mo. The Blue Devils are deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the polls. They dismantled No. 4 Kansas State in the title game, silenced about 18,000 fans in purple shirts.

Duke has excellent talent. That’s obvious. But what makes that team so special is that the players simply listen. Makes sense since their coach also has a summer gig coaching NBA millionaires.

Duke shut down Jacob Pullen, the Big 12’s preseason player of the year. Followed the plan on him all game long, switching defenders out on the perimeter on him. Pullen makes the Wildcats go. They sputtered as he was held to four points. He was even benched in the last five minutes.

It’s going to be ugly for Altman Saturday in Portland. The Ducks have mostly struggled in starting the season 3-1. They even lost at home to San Jose State. When Altman took over he lost six players. He’s got just 10 on scholarship now. And none of them are going to strike fear into the hearts of the Blue Devils.

In a recent story on SI.com, Altman was doing “remedial” rebounding drills with his players. He was tossing balls down the court and having them run and dive for it. He’s teaching fundamentals instead of gameplanning. It’s out of necessity.

The Ducks were picked to finish last in the Pac 10 and likely will. There will be signs galore when the Ducks hit the road this season mocking Altman. He wasn’t the school’s first choice. Couldn’t nab Tom Izzo and Mark Few. Let’s settle on Altman.

Here’s to hoping Oregon gives Altman a chance. Remember how slow he started at Creighton? Took him three seasons to get over .500. His boss gave him time, and look at what happened. Conference titles. Postseason tournament bids. And you’re going to be cheering on the Bluejays tonight in a 17,000-plus seat arena. »

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Stats breakdown: Kennesaw State at Creighton
1:33 a.m., Friday: The Creighton Bluejays host the Kennesaw State Owls on Friday at 7:05 p.m. Find the interesting facts about the matchup here:

• Both teams are winless on the road

• The teams have a combined five-game losing streak (four for Kennesaw State, one for Creighton)

• Creighton currently ranks in the top five in free-throw percentage (81.1%)

TEAM STATS COMPARISON

Kennesaw State, Creighton

Win-Loss: 2-4, 3-1

Avg. Points: 67.8, 74.0

Avg. Points Allowed: 72.8, 69.0

Home Record: 2-2, 3-0

Road Record: 0-2, 0-1

Current Streak: L4, L1

STATS LEADERS

Points, Rebounds, Assists

Kennesaw: Cummings 17.7, Anderson 7.0, Dixon 4.2

Creighton: Young 16.5, Lawson 7.5, Young 4.0 »

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Creighton the next Gonzaga?

Filed by Steve Takaba

6:55 p.m., Wednesday: I just got back from the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo., where I was fortunate enough to see some of the top college basketball programs in the nation in action. Duke, Kansas State, Marquette and Gonzaga. Doesn't get much better than that if you're a hoops junkie.

It was a chance to see if Kansas State had really hit the big time. Could K-State play at Duke's level? It also was another shot for Gonzaga to show its stuff against the big boys. The Bulldogs got beat up by K-State on Monday but rebounded Tuesday to knock off Marquette of the Big East Conference. Another sweet victory for college basketball's version of The Little Engine that Could.

So, Creighton fans, can your Bluejays get to that level? Remember when the talk was that Creighton wasn't all that far off? It wasn't that long ago. It was 2006-07 to be exact, when guys named Tolliver and Funk had the Bluejays ranked in the preseason Top 25. There was actual talk of being a sleeper Final Four team. But Creighton hasn't gotten back to the NCAA tournament since that season. Former coach Dana Altman kicked up recruiting, nabbing three players ranked in the top 150 nationally out of high school — P'Allen Stinnett, Kenton Walker and Chad Millard, a Louisville transfer. That still didn't cut it.

Is reaching Gonzaga heights simply a pipe dream? The Bulldogs have been to the NCAAs every season since 1999, including five Sweet 16s. Grant Gibbs said Creighton, and other mid-majors like Dayton and Xavier in particular, aren't as far off as one might think.

And Gibbs would know better than anyone in these parts. He spent two seasons in the Gonzaga program before transferring to Creighton. The 6-foot-4 guard from Marion, Iowa, is sitting out this season per NCAA transfer rules.

“I don't think they're far superior than other mid-major programs but I think they've made the jump media-wise as far as exposure,” said Gibbs, who played in 24 games and made one start last season. “They've got a big Nike deal, they're on ESPN all the time and they get marquee games.”

Gibbs said he's confident that Creighton's headed in the right direction. The Bluejays have had a ton of on-court success like Gonzaga, after all. He talked about how the Qwest Center is a great recruiting tool. It has an NBA feel that would catch the eye of any kid with big hoop dreams. Plus, Gibbs said, coach Greg McDermott is someone you want to play for.

“Coach Mac is going to get good players,” Gibbs said. “There's no doubt. He's very personable. He's a good recruiter.”

OK, Grant. Now let's be totally honest here. You've said all the right things, proving you're a team guy. Can Creighton actually be on par with Gonzaga?

He didn't hesitate.

“Absolutely,” Gibbs said. “There's no reason why. A lot of people look at Gonzaga as the staple of mid-majors, and that's what a lot of mid-majors shoot to be. There's no reason why we can't have that level of success here, especially at a place like Omaha.

“It's a big city and they like Creighton basketball. There's no reason why we can't get to that level.” »