Creighton 74, DePaul 62

It was a night for new beginnings. Much has been written and said about the vast amount of changes experienced by the Creighton men’s basketball program in the last 8 months, but all the opinions and prognostications ended for about two hours Friday night – just long enough for this season’s Jays to write their own first chapter to a new volume of Bluejay basketball.

Friday morning, I wrote about expectations. Specifically, not knowing what to expect from this season’s team, other than knowing Dana Altman would be on the sidelines, getting everything he possibly could from his apt pupils. After Friday night, if you believe the giggly Jays fans leaving the Qwest Center after a remarkable comeback by the Jays – some familiar to the 16,000-plus in attendance, some not so much – or the observers sharing their expertise on post-game radio shows or Internet message boards, expectations are again through the roof.

Back for his 14th season on the CU sideline, Dana's the one constant Jays fans can count on

For better or worse, that’s what happens when you can’t seem to buy a basket for the first 10 minutes of the game, spot the visiting team a 17-point lead half way through the first 20 minutes of action, and expect your roster of fresh faces and redshirts to bring the blue out in The Phone Booth and rally to victory – and then pull it off.

If expectations are out of whack, you can blame one guy: P’Allen Stinnett. He of the contagious positive attitude, 23 points in his first career Division I game – all coming in the second half – and numerous electric plays that sent CU fans scurrying to figure out which former Jays to compare to young Mr. P.

Expect P' Allen's smile to get even bigger with more 20-plus point evenings on the horizon

Or blame Dane Watts. Finally, a familiar face. He of more than 85 consecutive starts dating back to his freshman year. When the going was rough for the Jays against the Blue Demons in the first half, Dane stayed steady and scored 8 points and grabbed a first-half high 4 rebounds in just 9 minutes (due to 2 personal fouls). Due to Mr. P’s second-half explosion, Dane didn’t need to score much in the second stanza. But he grabbed 5 more boards, giving him a team-high 9 for the game. Solid.

Watts' play was solid as usual

Or blame Chad Millard. Mr. P might get the bulk of acknowledgement for his tremendous second half, but it was Millard’s torrid three-point shooting that got the Jays going half way through the first half. Coupled with his heady play at the front of Dana Altman’s press, which led to a steal and lay-up following one of his three pointers and got his teammates on the court and in the stands fired up and ready to apply more pressure on DePaul, Millard showed the all-around abilities Jays fans were hoping to see after watching the sophomore forward only on the court last year wearing street clothes as a transfer.

Newcomer Millard made his presence felt on both sides of the ball

Nothing of note went exceptionally wrong during Creighton’s home opener Friday night, which in and of itself is a victory considering all of the relatively inexperienced players taking the court at the Q. Except for the slow start, which could be expected from a young squad, Altman’s pressure defense looked fairly composed, as did most of the new guys. Altman was able to sub sets of three and four players in at a time, mixing and matching players together trying to get a feel for how certain players would interact on the floor at the same time. The returns were mostly positive: guards Kaleb Korver and Casey Harriman each had nice passes from the perimeter to the paint, leading to some easy looks (not easy baskets, however; we’ll get to that later).

Kenny Lawson, although a little sped up on the offensive side when receiving the ball in the post, grabbed 4 rebounds in 10 minutes of play against some relatively large gentlemen in the post for DePaul. Cavel Witter played an extremely savvy game and maximized his minutes on the floor, going perfect from the field (including one three-pointer), perfect from the free throw line, dishing 3 assists, not turning the ball over once, and inducing two Blue Demons to trip over themselves with ankle-breaking crossover dribbles. Oh yeah, that was in just 14 minutes of play.

Lawson's efforts didn't translate to much offensively, but his energy sparked CU's rebounding

And it might come off as “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” but the score could have been much more lopsided if not for the missed lay-ups and point-blank chances Dotzler, Watts, Lawson, and others could not convert to baskets. Both teams scored 32 points in the paint, but Creighton easily left 10 or 12 more points on the rim and backboard. As frustrating as that was, and as maddening as the in-and-out misses from the perimeter in the first half, my dad and I were able to look at those non-baskets positively after the contest.

Because of the press, and because of this team’s athleticism and speed, we were able to get shots on our own. Only Altman and his coaches could tell you just how many times plays broke down on offense, but when a young man like Kaleb Korver — a true freshman trying to make the most of his minutes on the floor — sees the shot clock winding down, fakes a three-pointer and draws the defender in the air, and then pounds the ball on the floor twice, draws contact, and just misses an off-balanced leaner, you know you have something good in the works.

Again, the passing was crisp and benevolent; most Jays made the extra pass when the opportunity presented itself, which led to some good looks (again, not all of the shots went down). But Creighton only shot 39% for the game; those near-misses will one day be makes, and then they’ll be able to set the press more frequently, leading to more steals and easier looks. A vicious circle, to be sure … for their opponents.

And again that is all the game was: the beginning of something. Whether the Jays can get better in practice this week and build on season-opening momentum is yet to be seen; a let-down is surely possible with not-so-ferocious Mississippi Valley State coming to The Phone Booth a week before rival Nebraska shows up Turkey Day weekend. It might be just the beginning, but it could be the start of something this school has yet to see on the basketball court.