Creighton 110, Houston Baptist 73; Creighton 88, North Carolina Central 54, Creighton 80, Arkansas-Little Rock 61

Finals Week

Most of us have been there before. A semester full of ups and downs comes to this; a week of finals. A plethora of tests smashed into handful of days, their methods mixed but each aiming for the same result – to test what you’ve learned during a few months of studying and intermittent examination.

The Creighton Bluejays had their academic finals in the week previous to their three-games-in-six-days homestand against Houston Baptist, North Carolina Central (NCC), and Arkansas-Little Rock (ALR). But with their tests behind them and a brief holiday break staring them down, the Jays’ three games served as a final exam of sorts for the first one-third of the season.

The first two games were like exhibitions, while the game against ALR was supposed to be more difficult because of the Trojans’ early season successes at the defensive end of the floor. Creighton averaged 93 points per game, won all three games by at least 19 points, and every Bluejay had multiple chances to show what he could do in extended minutes of action.

Below are the three-game statistics for Creighton’s basketball first semester basketball “Finals Week”.

The Starters

Dane Watts

It is not a stretch to say Watts is Dana Altman’s best player. Point guard Josh Dotzler might be the most important piece of the puzzle, as Altman’s lead guard usually is, and P’Allen Stinnett might be his most explosive talent, but Watts gives the Jays a lot of everything. He can score inside and outside, he can crash the glass, and with nearly 100 consecutive starts since his freshman year, he has seen just about every defense and other in-game situation possible.

During “Finals Week,” Watts led the team in points (43), minutes played (57), field goal attempts (26), field goals made (15), rebounds (22), and blocked shots (5). He is in the top 10 in scoring among all Missouri Valley Conference players, but he is doing his damage during much less court time than his MVC peers. Things were no different last week, as he recorded the second-highest points per minute average among all Bluejays (.75). It is one thing to be consistent; it is completely different to be consistently good.

Josh Dotzler

The holidays are a time for giving, and Dotzler spent the week before Christmas dolling out assist after assist (10 total, four more than the next closest Bluejays) in his 53 minutes of playing time. He committed just 2 turnovers, for a 5-to-1 turnover-to-assist ratio, which compares to Illinois State’s Boo Richardson’s league-leading A-TO ratio.

Dotzler also spent the week before the holidays taking from others. He recorded a team-high 8 steals during the week, and his 2.6 steals per game for the season is currently the third highest average among MVC players. It is simply amazing to watch Dotzler continually tip the basketball away from opponents, both during passes and simple man-to-man, face-to-face defense. Say what you will about his paltry .32 points per minute (only four Bluejays have lesser averages in that category); Altman doesn’t need Dotzler to score, but rather to help his teammates score and keep opponents from putting points on the board.

Nick Bahe

Bahe, the entertaining senior guard, did a little bit of everything during the past three games. He spelled Dotzler at the point guard position, logging valuable minutes (55 total) handling the offense against ALR’s pressure defense. He knocked down 4 of his team-high 11 three-point attempts, as well, on his way to averaging 6 points per game.

Chad Millard

The sophomore transfer from Louisville shot 15 times last week, 11 of which were three-pointers. Millard made 4 of them, keeping him on pace (along with teammate Bahe) among the conference leaders in three-point field goal percentage (Millard’s currently 9th with 41.7%, Bahe tied for 11th at 40%). It was a fairly non-descript week for Millard, who continues to give a high level of effort whenever he is on the floor. His defense as the point person on Altman’s full-court press has proved invaluable, with his long arms and heady play combining to make it seem as though there is nearly 1.5 “Millard” jerseys on the court at once.

Pierce Hibma

Hibma played the fewest total minutes (45) of any of Altman’s starters last week, and he didn’t score many points (.15 points per minute, the smallest percentage among Jays who scored at least a point during the three games). His production was a far cry from his scoring outburst against St. Joseph’s (17 points on 6-10 shooting from the field).

The Junior College Transfers

Cavel Witter

The explosive guard averaged 7 points in the three games, putting in 49 minutes of action (a .43 points per minute average). However, Witter committed one more turnover than assist for the week (6 and 5, respectively), and didn’t record a steal. He continues to be a quicker, flashier point guard option when compared with Dotzler, but that speed and energy translated to more turnovers and fewer defensive takeaways from Witter during the past three games.

Booker Woodfox

The Lone Star Gunner played 36 minutes last week, and he made the most of his time offensively. He shot the ball 13 times, 10 of those were from long range, and all of his field goal makes were three-pointers (6, which led the team for the week). Coach Brian Fish has warned Jays fans since Booker’s commitment to Creighton that once he gets on a roll shooting the basketball, he is capable of scoring in bunches. Jays fans saw that ability during the past week, along with a few jump shots that just rimmed in and out for the junior from Texas. He also added 2 steals on the defensive end.

The Freshmen

Kenny Lawson, Jr.

It was a banner week for Altman’s freshmen post players, and Lawson led the way. He scored 37 points (12.3 per game), second only to Watts’ output, grabbed 13 rebounds (fourth most), and scored almost a point a minute (.93 points per minute, far and away the leader for the week). He shot 71% from the field, including 3 slams during the dunkfest victory against NCC.

What’d he get for his effort? Just the Newcomer Of the Week award among Valley rookies, marking the fourth time a Bluejay has won the award this season (Millard, Stinnett, and Witter also claimed the prize earlier this season). Hard to imagine Lawson is just a redshirt freshman.

Kenton Walker

The other half of the Cali Connection had a breakout week, as well. The true freshman from the Left Coast averaged 9 points during the three games, maxing out his minutes to the tune of .71 points per minute played (third best for the week). He made 75% of his field goals, including his first three-pointer of the year, while grabbing the second most rebounds (16) of any Jays for the week. He also had two blocked shots. The left hander is going to be a beast for years to come in the conference, and there is a decent chance that the names “Lawson” and “Walker” will become synonymous with “winning” and “low post domination” in the next couple of years.

P’Allen Stinnett

When I walk through the Qwest Center concourses and see boys and girls of all ages wearing #10 CU jerseys, I can’t help but think of the coincidence. Nate Funk, who wore the #10 jersey for the five seasons previous to this year, was arguably the most popular Bluejay since new Utah Jazz forward Kyle Korver when he graduated. And now Stinnett, who now dons #10, has quickly become the most enjoyable Jay on the court. His highlight-reel dunks, he defensive effort, and his positive attitude both on the floor and on the bench seems to permeate throughout the building, and his charismatic play is making all of those kids (and adults, too) who bought #10 jerseys in the past few years look like savvy investors. The #10 jersey is going to mean something special for a long, long time.

Oh, and his stats were good this week, too. He scored almost a point for every two minutes he played, he logged starter-type playing time (51 minutes), and he continued to prove stingy on the defensive end (5 steals, second only to Dotzler for the week). He had some rough spells, though, including the most turnovers among Jays for the week (7), and his long-distance shooting has tapered off since his outstanding three-point show against DePaul at the start of the season (0-5 for the week from three-point land).

Kaleb Korver

The younger brother of Bluejay legend and the newest addition to the Utah Jazz (Kyle was traded from Philadelphia to Utah just moments ago), the Phone Booth crowd grows excited every time the freshman from Pella checks into the game. Korver couldn’t have come into a better situation for his maturation as an all-around basketball player: Altman doesn’t need to count on him for any one thing off the bench, and when he hits the floor he can give maximum effort on all ends of the court for a few minutes while he learns the speed and makeup of the college game.

Korver played 47 minutes last week, shooting 50% from the field (5-10) and from three-point range (4-8). He chipped in 5 assists and just 2 turnovers, including a perfectly placed alley-oop pass to Stinnett for another one of P’Allen’s p’oster-style dunks.

Casey Harriman

Harriman, the redshirt freshman who looks as comfortable setting strong screens and picks as he does shooting the basketball, had one of the more productive weeks among his teammates. He finally got a little help from the Basketball Gods, and some of his near makes from the beginning of the season swished through the net. He averaged 7.3 points in the three games, and scored more than a point for every two minutes he was on the floor. He shot 50% from the field (6-12), and made better than half of his three-point shots (5-9). He added 5 assists, 1 turnover, and 3 steals in 47 minutes of action.

Both he and Korver look more well-rounded as overall players than their prolific shooting statistics from high school showed, and they are in the position to gain valuable experience as first-year players.

The Pizza Providers

Aaron Brandt

Brandt, the redshirt freshman, scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the field for the week. An athlete in the truest sense of the word, Brandt is slowly getting acclimated to major Division-I basketball. His physical abilities allow him to be fairly productive when he sees playing time, but it will be hard for him to increase his minutes with the sheer number of guards ahead of him on the bench. When he’s in the game, though, it usually means good things for the Jays and the wallets of those season ticket holders in attendance – pizza time!

Dustin Sitzmann

Truly the fan favorite, The Nickel played just 15 minutes last week and missed his only field goal attempt during the three games. That doesn’t stop the crowd from loving Sitzmann’s hustle and effort.