Creighton 87, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 55

Jimmy Motz probably wishes Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Creighton squared off every year during his CU career. Just last season, in the third game of the year, Creighton drilled Pine Bluff, with Jimmy pouring in 12 points on 4-5 shooting (all from behind the three-point arc). He picked up Saturday exactly where he’d left off last November, pacing all Creighton scorers with 17 points (6-7 shooting from the field, 5-6 from long distance), as Creighton rolled over an overmatched Lions squad.

The best part about Jimmy’s production: he scored those 17 points in 16 minutes. He is just one piece of an intricate puzzle this season, one that is comprised of more than a dozen young men with the same objective: winning basketball games, no matter what it takes.

Oh, and on some level they’ll be trying to prove all of the prognosticators and newspaper publishers correct, as Bluejay Fever continues to swell earlier in the season than any other year during Dana Altman’s tenure as Dean of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Jimmy Motz is an example of exactly what this year’s team needs. Sportswriters and casual fans (of which I’m among) don’t hesitate to point out the flaws in Jimmy’s game. What they seem to miss, however, are his absolute strengths. He is all energy, all of the time. There are photos and highlight clips of him waving his arms, pointing at teammates, and grinning from cheek to cheek, the result of solid plays or hustle or momentum-turning three-pointers.

When Kyle Korver roamed the Civic Auditorium, he was known by the Bluejay faithful as much for his on-court character as for his accomplishments. He flapped his lengthy wingspan to get the crowd pumped up and into the contest, something that only Jimmy has carried on after Korver’s jump to the NBA.

People wonder why Jimmy doesn’t start. He’s a senior, they say. Reward him for his hard work, others moan. But what they don’t realize is that every successful team needs someone like Jimmy to come off the bench. Altman needs Motz’s energy coming off the bench, providing instant offense and a spark to a sometimes-quiet Qwest Center.

And that brings us to the greater point: Dana knows what he is doing. He is a great enough coach to know that the key to success on a basketball court is playing to a team’s strengths, starting at the individual level. Jimmy has never been great at rebounding, and if he hasn’t developed that after playing competitive hoops for 10-plus years, that part of the game isn’t going to instantly come to him. But he can shoot the rock, and he is above-average in that aspect, so Altman can position Jimmy’s minutes in a way that provides the best opportunity for Jimmy – and the team – to succeed.

The reason for the hype surrounding the early part of this Bluejay season is that it doesn’t take two MVC Coach-of-the-Year awards to realize the kinds of role players comprising this year’s team. It is up to Altman, the rest of his staff, and the kids on the roster to position the pieces of the puzzle just right, and through three games the neatly-carved image is already starting to come into focus.

Behind the Box Score

• Through three games, Creighton has shown the ability to score any way imaginable. With so many scoring options, crisp and timely passing becomes of vital importance; you have to be willing to give up a good shot for a great shot, and Creighton’s performance against Pine Bluff served as a great example of that style of unselfishness.
  
  The team combined to dish out 18 assists, with seven players recording at least two assists. Leading the way was Anthony Tolliver (4 assists), who continues to look vastly improved from this time last season. In an offense that stresses solid passing from the high post position, coupled with the fact that there are a Bluejay or two who can shoot the basketball, should make for healthy inside-out execution this year.
  
  
• Altman, along with any other basketball coach you can pry away from the hardwood long enough to chat, will be the first to tell you that rebounding is one of the keys to winning any basketball game. The Jays must have practiced (or Altman must have preached) a lot of caroming this past week, because they looked solid on the boards (53 rebounds, to 29 for Pine Bluff).
  
  Tolliver was involved again, pulling down 9 boards, and Nate Funk chipped in his usual 5 rebounds, but it was Dane Watts (7) and Nick Porter (10) who dominated the offensive and defensive boards, respectively. Much has been made of Porter’s size at the off-guard position, and his crafty offensive skills. His role on this team, right now, is to penetrate on the offensive end and add a solid rebounding force from the perimeter. Watts has capability to become a fierce force on the boards, but needs to bring that determination every minute he is on the floor – he hasn’t even broken the surface of his rebounding ability.
  
  
• Brice Nengsu (6 points, 4 rebounds in 14 minutes) is going to be very good. He doesn’t seem to know the offense very well right now, and he’s spending a lot of time shooting just to get comfortable when he’s on the court. But he just oozes talent and athleticism, and his jump shot is perfectly formed. Once he gets familiar with the system, and as he parlays his defensive ability into extended minutes on the court, he could be a difference-maker this season.
  
  
• Knowing what we know about the MVC point guards who graduated last year, and the projected players at the position this year, I would take Josh Dotzler over any other Valley point guard right now. Hands down. Johnny Mathies struggled to score versus Pine Bluff, as he was busy running the point from the start of the game and only played 17 minutes during the course of the contest. Hopefully Dotzler can snatch that starting point guard spot from Johnny so that our electric scorer can shift back to the off-guard spot from the get-go and pour in double figures every game from here on out.