Creighton Rundown

[Bluejays2010]

First off I want to say that I am very excited to Friday to come. These next few days will seem like an eternity but should be a fun game to watch. A fan of yours came to one of our message boards to give a little Bearcat rundown so thought I'd return the favor. Either way, can we all promise that whoever wins will beat Duke? Let's make them bounce early from March yet again.

The Bluejays
The team came into this year with a lot of expectations after a successful 2012 and lived up to most of them with a few embarrassing losses along the way. We are known for our offense and shooting % as we lead D1 in FG% and 3PT%. Lesser known, we actually are much improved on defense and really relied on it in our conference tourney to come away with the title.

Much like you guys, we started off hot and hit a rough patch in conference season. However, we've won 5 in a row and are back to looking closer to the team we had during non conference than the team of our lackluster February.
As far as each individual goes I'll give you a little rundown of the guys...

Doug McDermott
I may be biased, but he is one of the best players in the country and will likely go pro after this season. Rick Majerus used to refer to great players as '180 shooters', meaning their FT%, 3PT%, and FG% collectively add up to 180+. He adds up to 192. Say what you will about his numbers and playing in the Valley, but in the last 2 years we've played 9 teams from BCS leagues going 8-1 and Doug McDermott has 25.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg in those games. He can beat you with a quick move on the block, a fadeaway jumper, or if you leave him open from 3. Double him if you wish, but risk leaving open the rest of the shooters from the best 3 PT shooting team in the country.

Greg Echenique
By games end you will either know him as Googles Guy or Pink Shoes Guy as he wears both when he players. Greg started at Rutgers and transferred to Creighton a few years back. He is a defensive force and won defensive player of the year in the MVC last year. He blocks his share of shots and affects many more that the stat sheet wont show. He can also score but gets most of his buckets off of set plays and open looks under the hoop.

Grant Gibbs
The straw that stirs the drink for the Jays. One of those gritty players you love if you have him on your side but hate him if he's not. He's known for his great passing and is directly responsible for probably half of McDermott's scoring. He can hit the three if left open and can drive the lane and finish shots as well. Get him in foul trouble early and you guys should be smiling. We need him on the floor.

Austin Chapman
Much like Gibbs, he runs our offense as our starting PG. He's sneaky quick on offense and has really matured over the season to be a good ball handler. Hes another guy that cant be left open from 3 point distance and is our only real other threat besides McDermott for midrange jumpers.

Jahenns Manigat
Our fifth starter and as streaky as they come. For a sold 5 games stretch at the end of the season he was often hard to even notice on the court during games because he never really made plays. With that said, he stepped up big in our conference championship and helped us win the league. We often put him on the other teams best shooter as well to limit their touches.

Other guys to know....

Ethan Wragge
Won the 6th man of the year in the MVC and has one of the prettiest 3 point strokes you'll ever see. Also, if Creighton is down 3 with 5 seconds to go you better believe Ethan is guy coach Mac will be drawing the play for. He's a sniper from long range but just an average rebounder and defender and has only taken something like 5 2 point shots in his Creighton career. But his shooting is enough to win a game itself. His quick release and high release point makes it tough to defend and we haven't lost a game this year when he has made 3 threes

Will Artino
Arguably the best player our last 10 games besides Doug. Lanky body but finds a way to make buckets, block shots, and grab boards. He rolled his ankle in practice a few days back so hope hes ready to go come game time.

Other Notes
Creighton loves to set screens on offense. We have such a pick your poison type offense that it seems like someone always gets a good shot off. This is how Doug and Ethan get many open 3s and Greg and Will get easy alley oops. If your defense can disrupt this, which you're talented enough to do, you'll be in good shape.

We rarely run a press defense and usually rely on a halfcourt man. We sometimes use a zone to switch things up for a few possessions.

We struggle facing the press at times. Also if you guys don't pressure Jahenns when he has the ball you guys didnt watch enough film. He can be a human turnover when pressured and I hope you guys dont capitalize.

Questions
1. Do you guys press often? Whats your normal defensive look?

2. If Creighton manages to put up 70 on you guys do you have the offense to match it? From what Ive read you guys sometimes struggle to score.

3. If I were to try and watch ESPN3 replays of you guys to get an idea of how you play do you have any recommendations? Ideally I'd love to see parts of one game you think was your top performance and one game of your worst performance.

If you want to see Creighton at their best I'd skim this game.McDermott goes for 41 and the team scores the most points Wichita St has ever allowed. And they have the 30th best defense this year according to KenPom
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=831890

If you want to see us at our worst watch the first half of this game or when we got blown out at Indiana St. Hard to believe this is the same team...
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=745476


Hope I helped you out a bit and we can have some fun conversation up until Friday. Then once Friday comes I hate you all with a burning passion. (I kid, I kid ) Let me know if you have any other questions. Ill try to check back often.

 

[CaptDale]

First off I want to say that I am very excited to Friday to come. These next few days will seem like an eternity but should be a fun game to watch. A fan of yours came to one of our message boards to give a little Bearcat rundown so thought I'd return the favor. Either way, can we all promise that whoever wins will beat Duke? Let's make them bounce early from March yet again.

The Bluejays
The team came into this year with a lot of expectations after a successful 2012 and lived up to most of them with a few embarrassing losses along the way. We are known for our offense and shooting % as we lead D1 in FG% and 3PT%. Lesser known, we actually are much improved on defense and really relied on it in our conference tourney to come away with the title.

Much like you guys, we started off hot and hit a rough patch in conference season. However, we've won 5 in a row and are back to looking closer to the team we had during non conference than the team of our lackluster February.
As far as each individual goes I'll give you a little rundown of the guys...

Doug McDermott
I may be biased, but he is one of the best players in the country and will likely go pro after this season. Rick Majerus used to refer to great players as '180 shooters', meaning their FT%, 3PT%, and FG% collectively add up to 180+. He adds up to 192. Say what you will about his numbers and playing in the Valley, but in the last 2 years we've played 9 teams from BCS leagues going 8-1 and Doug McDermott has 25.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg in those games. He can beat you with a quick move on the block, a fadeaway jumper, or if you leave him open from 3. Double him if you wish, but risk leaving open the rest of the shooters from the best 3 PT shooting team in the country.

Greg Echenique
By games end you will either know him as Googles Guy or Pink Shoes Guy as he wears both when he players. Greg started at Rutgers and transferred to Creighton a few years back. He is a defensive force and won defensive player of the year in the MVC last year. He blocks his share of shots and affects many more that the stat sheet wont show. He can also score but gets most of his buckets off of set plays and open looks under the hoop.

Grant Gibbs
The straw that stirs the drink for the Jays. One of those gritty players you love if you have him on your side but hate him if he's not. He's known for his great passing and is directly responsible for probably half of McDermott's scoring. He can hit the three if left open and can drive the lane and finish shots as well. Get him in foul trouble early and you guys should be smiling. We need him on the floor.

Austin Chapman
Much like Gibbs, he runs our offense as our starting PG. He's sneaky quick on offense and has really matured over the season to be a good ball handler. Hes another guy that cant be left open from 3 point distance and is our only real other threat besides McDermott for midrange jumpers.

Jahenns Manigat
Our fifth starter and as streaky as they come. For a sold 5 games stretch at the end of the season he was often hard to even notice on the court during games because he never really made plays. With that said, he stepped up big in our conference championship and helped us win the league. We often put him on the other teams best shooter as well to limit their touches.

Other guys to know....

Ethan Wragge
Won the 6th man of the year in the MVC and has one of the prettiest 3 point strokes you'll ever see. Also, if Creighton is down 3 with 5 seconds to go you better believe Ethan is guy coach Mac will be drawing the play for. He's a sniper from long range but just an average rebounder and defender and has only taken something like 5 2 point shots in his Creighton career. But his shooting is enough to win a game itself. His quick release and high release point makes it tough to defend and we haven't lost a game this year when he has made 3 threes

Will Artino
Arguably the best player our last 10 games besides Doug. Lanky body but finds a way to make buckets, block shots, and grab boards. He rolled his ankle in practice a few days back so hope hes ready to go come game time.

Other Notes
Creighton loves to set screens on offense. We have such a pick your poison type offense that it seems like someone always gets a good shot off. This is how Doug and Ethan get many open 3s and Greg and Will get easy alley oops. If your defense can disrupt this, which you're talented enough to do, you'll be in good shape.

We rarely run a press defense and usually rely on a halfcourt man. We sometimes use a zone to switch things up for a few possessions.

We struggle facing the press at times. Also if you guys don't pressure Jahenns when he has the ball you guys didnt watch enough film. He can be a human turnover when pressured and I hope you guys dont capitalize.

Questions
1. Do you guys press often? Whats your normal defensive look?

2. If Creighton manages to put up 70 on you guys do you have the offense to match it? From what Ive read you guys sometimes struggle to score.

3. If I were to try and watch ESPN3 replays of you guys to get an idea of how you play do you have any recommendations? Ideally I'd love to see parts of one game you think was your top performance and one game of your worst performance.

If you want to see Creighton at their best I'd skim this game.McDermott goes for 41 and the team scores the most points Wichita St has ever allowed. And they have the 30th best defense this year according to KenPom
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=831890

If you want to see us at our worst watch the first half of this game or when we got blown out at Indiana St. Hard to believe this is the same team...
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=745476


Hope I helped you out a bit and we can have some fun conversation up until Friday. Then once Friday comes I hate you all with a burning passion. (I kid, I kid ) Let me know if you have any other questions. Ill try to check back often.

1. Oh, I'm sure you'll see lots of pressing and face guarding
2. We couldn't score 70 if you left the court
3. Watch the Providence game for one of our better efforts of late and watch ND, Lou or GTown for worst.
We'll give you a good run for your money, but it won't be a high scoring game, rest assured.
Remember to take EVERYTHING BearcatMick says as the gospel

 

[BearcatMick]

Uc is the better more physical team and we wil win by 15

 

[Scheids21]

First off I want to say that I am very excited to Friday to come. These next few days will seem like an eternity but should be a fun game to watch. A fan of yours came to one of our message boards to give a little Bearcat rundown so thought I'd return the favor. Either way, can we all promise that whoever wins will beat Duke? Let's make them bounce early from March yet again.

The Bluejays
The team came into this year with a lot of expectations after a successful 2012 and lived up to most of them with a few embarrassing losses along the way. We are known for our offense and shooting % as we lead D1 in FG% and 3PT%. Lesser known, we actually are much improved on defense and really relied on it in our conference tourney to come away with the title.

Much like you guys, we started off hot and hit a rough patch in conference season. However, we've won 5 in a row and are back to looking closer to the team we had during non conference than the team of our lackluster February.
As far as each individual goes I'll give you a little rundown of the guys...

Doug McDermott
I may be biased, but he is one of the best players in the country and will likely go pro after this season. Rick Majerus used to refer to great players as '180 shooters', meaning their FT%, 3PT%, and FG% collectively add up to 180+. He adds up to 192. Say what you will about his numbers and playing in the Valley, but in the last 2 years we've played 9 teams from BCS leagues going 8-1 and Doug McDermott has 25.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg in those games. He can beat you with a quick move on the block, a fadeaway jumper, or if you leave him open from 3. Double him if you wish, but risk leaving open the rest of the shooters from the best 3 PT shooting team in the country.

Greg Echenique
By games end you will either know him as Googles Guy or Pink Shoes Guy as he wears both when he players. Greg started at Rutgers and transferred to Creighton a few years back. He is a defensive force and won defensive player of the year in the MVC last year. He blocks his share of shots and affects many more that the stat sheet wont show. He can also score but gets most of his buckets off of set plays and open looks under the hoop.

Grant Gibbs
The straw that stirs the drink for the Jays. One of those gritty players you love if you have him on your side but hate him if he's not. He's known for his great passing and is directly responsible for probably half of McDermott's scoring. He can hit the three if left open and can drive the lane and finish shots as well. Get him in foul trouble early and you guys should be smiling. We need him on the floor.

Austin Chapman
Much like Gibbs, he runs our offense as our starting PG. He's sneaky quick on offense and has really matured over the season to be a good ball handler. Hes another guy that cant be left open from 3 point distance and is our only real other threat besides McDermott for midrange jumpers.

Jahenns Manigat
Our fifth starter and as streaky as they come. For a sold 5 games stretch at the end of the season he was often hard to even notice on the court during games because he never really made plays. With that said, he stepped up big in our conference championship and helped us win the league. We often put him on the other teams best shooter as well to limit their touches.

Other guys to know....

Ethan Wragge
Won the 6th man of the year in the MVC and has one of the prettiest 3 point strokes you'll ever see. Also, if Creighton is down 3 with 5 seconds to go you better believe Ethan is guy coach Mac will be drawing the play for. He's a sniper from long range but just an average rebounder and defender and has only taken something like 5 2 point shots in his Creighton career. But his shooting is enough to win a game itself. His quick release and high release point makes it tough to defend and we haven't lost a game this year when he has made 3 threes

Will Artino
Arguably the best player our last 10 games besides Doug. Lanky body but finds a way to make buckets, block shots, and grab boards. He rolled his ankle in practice a few days back so hope hes ready to go come game time.

Other Notes
Creighton loves to set screens on offense. We have such a pick your poison type offense that it seems like someone always gets a good shot off. This is how Doug and Ethan get many open 3s and Greg and Will get easy alley oops. If your defense can disrupt this, which you're talented enough to do, you'll be in good shape.

We rarely run a press defense and usually rely on a halfcourt man. We sometimes use a zone to switch things up for a few possessions.

We struggle facing the press at times. Also if you guys don't pressure Jahenns when he has the ball you guys didnt watch enough film. He can be a human turnover when pressured and I hope you guys dont capitalize.

Questions
1. Do you guys press often? Whats your normal defensive look?

2. If Creighton manages to put up 70 on you guys do you have the offense to match it? From what Ive read you guys sometimes struggle to score.

3. If I were to try and watch ESPN3 replays of you guys to get an idea of how you play do you have any recommendations? Ideally I'd love to see parts of one game you think was your top performance and one game of your worst performance.

If you want to see Creighton at their best I'd skim this game.McDermott goes for 41 and the team scores the most points Wichita St has ever allowed. And they have the 30th best defense this year according to KenPom
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=831890

If you want to see us at our worst watch the first half of this game or when we got blown out at Indiana St. Hard to believe this is the same team...
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=745476


Hope I helped you out a bit and we can have some fun conversation up until Friday. Then once Friday comes I hate you all with a burning passion. (I kid, I kid ) Let me know if you have any other questions. Ill try to check back often.

Love the input, thanks a lot. I'll give it a go with your questions:

1. Our normal defense is a tight man to man with a 2-3 mixed in every once and awhile. We will press sporadically, but it is usually more pressure than all out full court. Also, most of our pressing is done when we need a spark or are falling behind. Our coach is obsessed with defense and stresses deflections as an actual statistic. Jackson and Mbodj are in the middle and can both get plenty of blocks while our guards, again, play for deflections.

2. If you score 70 on us, we are most likely done. We have scored 70 once in the last 3 months or so and that was in overtime. Our offense consists of a 4 or 5 coming off the block for a high ball screen. Other than that, there is a lot of standing around and taking guys one on one. That is what we have seen for almost all our games in the Big East this year. However, we are at our best when our defense creates offense. We lack a half court set and rely heavily on deflections creating runouts at the other end. We have plenty of athletes, but no big time shooters. Pretty much all of our games end in a bump and grind battle. When the games are messy and ugly, that is when we usually succeed. Creighton MUST take care of the basketball.

3. Our best basketball was played non-conference so I would probably say the Oregon game or Iowa State. However, not sure if ESPN will have replay of those games since they were at a Vegas tournament. So a little more recently would be Marquette or maybe Providence during the Big East Tournament. Those are the games our offense hasn't looked QUITE so bad. As far as bad games, honestly take your pick. We have had some games where we looked like a CBI team, but my personal favorite was at Notre Dame in mid-February. Watch that game and you will see the lowest our team has been all year.

Overall, Creighton needs to take care of the ball and keep us in our half court set. We do not screen and cut very much and our players resort to passing the perimeter for 30 seconds and then chucking a three. Our defense and rebounding will keep us in most games, but the question is always whether we can score. And the answer is usually no.

 

[CanadianBearcat]

First off welcome to the site and thank you for the run down on your squad, very informative and I really appriciate it.

As for your questons:

1- We will pick up full court all game. Sometimes it's just a token pressure but other times we will really turn it up. We have a number of different presses that we have used this year but we often stick to a full court man type of press. Our base D is a aggressive trapping man defense, and Im gonna assume you have seen the likes of it this year (Wisc is great but just arent as atheletic as our boys). It can drive other teams nuts, they are very athletic, physical and in your face the whole game. Normally we will switch most screens on our 1-4 positions however we have now started to trap ball screens alot more so your pg better not panic when he has two coming at him.

2- If you score 70 you win, congrats. We arent matching it.

3- If you want to see good games for us, early in the season the first half vs Oregon was great, also our first game vs Pitt and maybe second half against Nova. If you want to see bad watch the ND game. This it the game that has all of us nervous about the BlueJays because they seem the most similar team to you that we have played and it was damn ugly.

The big key to this game for you guys I think is your rebounding. There is a chance that Cincy could destroy on the boards. Our guards rebound incredibly well for guys who arent big (see Jaquon Parker, your gonna hate him but love his game after Friday) and we rebound about 40% of our misses. That is our best offense, so if Creighton manages to force us to 1 and done possessions then you will be looking at a second rd matchup with the Dookies.

 

[CaptDale]

Love the input, thanks a lot. I'll give it a go with your questions:

1. Our normal defense is a tight man to man with a 2-3 mixed in every once and awhile. We will press sporadically, but it is usually more pressure than all out full court. Also, most of our pressing is done when we need a spark or are falling behind. Our coach is obsessed with defense and stresses deflections as an actual statistic. Jackson and Mbodj are in the middle and can both get plenty of blocks while our guards, again, play for deflections.

2. If you score 70 on us, we are most likely done. We have scored 70 once in the last 3 months or so and that was in overtime. Our offense consists of a 4 or 5 coming off the block for a high ball screen. Other than that, there is a lot of standing around and taking guys one on one. That is what we have seen for almost all our games in the Big East this year. However, we are at our best when our defense creates offense. We lack a half court set and rely heavily on deflections creating runouts at the other end. We have plenty of athletes, but no big time shooters. Pretty much all of our games end in a bump and grind battle. When the games are messy and ugly, that is when we usually succeed. Creighton MUST take care of the basketball.

3. Our best basketball was played non-conference so I would probably say the Oregon game or Iowa State. However, not sure if ESPN will have replay of those games since they were at a Vegas tournament. So a little more recently would be Marquette or maybe Providence during the Big East Tournament. Those are the games our offense hasn't looked QUITE so bad. As far as bad games, honestly take your pick. We have had some games where we looked like a CBI team, but my personal favorite was at Notre Dame in mid-February. Watch that game and you will see the lowest our team has been all year.

Overall, Creighton needs to take care of the ball and keep us in our half court set. We do not screen and cut very much and our players resort to passing the perimeter for 30 seconds and then chucking a three. Our defense and rebounding will keep us in most games, but the question is always whether we can score. And the answer is usually no.

Good synopsis Scheids. Mine was very cursory - intentionally.

 

[Scheids21]

Good synopsis Scheids. Mine was very cursory - intentionally.

Haha much appreciated. I'm with you, I keep my posts short because God knows no one wants to read a book on here. However, it's not often you have specific questions to answer from someone who honestly doesn't know and then I won't shut up.

 

[BearcatSofaKing]

Building on what has already been said...

You guys scoring 70? I doubt that happens. And yet, if you get 60, you're still probably coming out on top. Thing is you can score 50 and still win. Conversely, when we score 60, we win. That is a rule of thumb for us.

Our press is opportunistic and help defense is great. Nothing is easy. However, over-aggressiveness can be problematic (dumb fouls). I think the refs call games tighter in the NCAAs compared to the Big East. So Bearcat foul trouble could be a factor.

Your description of Gibbs prompts me to expand on the previous mention of JaQuon Parker. They may play similar roles. Parker can be the difference maker. He flat out wills the team to wins--for example, in last year's tourney against Florida State. He epitomizes grit and determination. I'd hate him if I were you. His Achilles heel: the free throw line (and he gets there all the time).

Against solid competition, we don't play well with a lead. Even if the Cats make a run, the momentum will likely subside. "Killer instinct" is lacking; aside from the obvious lack of interior offensive production, this is the most serious team weakness.

If I try to be objective...Frankly, I think you guys are going to win. However, I don't want to downplay this teams ability to grind. Many on this board have questioned the Cat's will and toughness this season. But I think they have heart. It'll be a fight.

 

[OmahaJay]

Another Jays fan here. I see my fellow Jays failed to post YouTube highlights of our squad. If you'd like to see us at our best, here's a couple videos:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1-ojNd6qY[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7onFE3SdEM[/ame]

You seem like a nice bunch of guys on this board. I wish you all the best.

 

[CaptDale]

Another Jays fan here. I see my fellow Jays failed to post YouTube highlights of our squad. If you'd like to see us at our best, here's a couple videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1-ojNd6qY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7onFE3SdEM

You seem like a nice bunch of guys on this board. I wish you all the best.

I know these are highlight tapes, but you guys have a great shooting, great passing team. Lots of assists. I will say we have a much better defense than either WSU or ISU. So you'll have to work harder for your points.

 

[Cpaw]

I want to thank the Creighton fans for your discussions. You all are a classy bunch and glad you stopped by.
With that said, this game is gonna be great. I love when a high scoring offense plays a grind it out hard working defense. I think the magic number is 60 for us like others have said. If we hit that, we should win. If not, I hope you all take it to the dookies!!!

Cpaw

 

[bearcat jeff]

I want to thank the Creighton fans for your discussions. You all are a classy bunch and glad you stopped by.
With that said, this game is gonna be great. I love when a high scoring offense plays a grind it out hard working defense. I think the magic number is 60 for us like others have said. If we hit that, we should win. If not, I hope you all take it to the dookies!!!

Cpaw

I'd like to second this.