Creighton 78, Central Missouri 65 (Exhibition)
Last year’s 82-54 loss in Gainesville no doubt stuck with Altman’s returning players as they hit the gym, weight room, and classrooms in the summer and fall. Especially affected would be P’Allen Stinnett (4-10 from the field, 9 points, 6 turnovers and 0 assists in the game) and Booker Woodfox (2-13 from the field, 0-5 from 3-point range, 4 points), as those two Jays carried the team offensively (along with Cavel Witter) during the second half of last season.
But while the players probably dealt with the results of that game into their off-season workouts and preparations, fans I talk with regularly quickly phased the Florida blowout from their minds. The three aforementioned Bluejays return to the Hilltop for another season of Creighton hoops, along with seven other players from last year’s squad. Joining these 10 gentlemen are 3 newcomers who through past successes have Jays fans’ mouths watering at the present and future possibilities for the CU program.
Team and individual expectations are high after last season’s 22-11 record, Creighton’s 10th straight 20-win season and its 12th consecutive year of 10 or more Missouri Valley Conference wins. The Jays are picked to win the Valley by the MVC preseason poll, and Stinnett was named to the preseason all-conference team as a sophomore after his Freshman- and Newcomer-of-the-Year campaign last season.
We won’t know if this year’s team lives up to its potential until March, when Jays fans hope to have to use a sick day or cut class to watch a mid-afternoon match-up in the NCAA tournament. But we do know there are a few storylines set to unfold and follow in the coming weeks as Altman’s Jays look to return to March Madness.
“We talkin bout practice!”
"We in here, talkin’ bout practice. Listen, we talkin’ about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We talkin’ bout … practice. Not the game that I go out and die for, and play every game like it is my last. We talkin’ bout practice, man. I mean, how silly is that?”
I don’t know what’s “sillier”: listening to and reading about people breaking down the Jays’ future fortunes based on one exhibition game, or hearing Allen Iverson use the word “silly” in a sentence. And while this rant, made famous by SportsCenter and You Tube, is probably best used as a drinking game for college students (“Quick, he said ‘practice’ again! That’s another drink!”), I can’t help but keep the answer given by The Answer in my head after last weekend’s CU exhibition victory.
For all intents and purposes, the 13-point win against the Mules of Central Missouri (No, I’m not kidding. That’s their mascot) was nothing more than a money-making practice in front of 15,000-plus Jays fans eager to catch a glimpse of players familiar and new. Again, it is wise to head Mr. Iverson’s warnings: we’re talking about practice. But with that said, let’s check in on some of the continuing storylines using Sunday’s win as a reference point.
Bigger. Faster. Stronger?
Last season, as Jays fans streamed into their seats from the Qwest Center concourses near the end of halftime, Kanye West’s song “Stronger” would blare from the arena speakers. The corresponding video attempted to prepare the fans, and players, for a grueling second half of basketball. Fresh legs, sound bodies, and raw strength can be the difference between a win and a loss, a rebound or a missed shot, near the end of 40 minutes (or more) of play.
For years, Altman’s teams have consisted of heady, focused players who knew where on the court to be at what time. Guys at every position who could score. Players who did the little things to win. But against their most physical opponents (hint: it rhymes with “palukies”), the Jays often faltered late in games against teams with dudes who looked like defensive backs playing guard and tight ends playing forward.
After the success Altman has had at CU, I’m quick to forget that in the big scheme of things the Jays’ athletic department operates at a mid-major, Jesuit school level. This has repercussions in every aspect of the basketball program, to be sure, including the strength and conditioning of the players.
Altman and the Jays added a new assistant coach this offseason to help change the way our players physically prepare for the season. CU hired Andy Woodley, a former Northern Iowa Panther player and Iowa high school head coach, to help the Jays toughen up for the rigors of a long and challenging season. Woodley is responsible for adding bulk to the bodies of Kenny Lawson, Kenton Walker, Chad Millard, and the rest of the Bluejays. And after watching a handful of practices and summer games, along with the exhibition game, I’d say Woodley and the Jays are living up to West’s lyrics.
This year’s team passes the “bus test” more so than any recent Jays squad that comes to mind. When they step off the bus, they look the part of an upper echelon college basketball team. That’s a testament to Woodley, the coaching staff, and most of all the players who bought in to the strength and conditioning program. I can’t remember the last time Altman brought in two freshmen who look as physically strong at the guard spots as Antoine Young and Josh Jones. And don’t even get me started about Justin Carter, the 6-4 junior college swingman. Actually, I can remember the last time. Does the name Ben Walker ring a bell?
Make no mistake: I’m not comparing any of those three dudes to Walker, who will continue to hold an invaluable place in the hearts of many Jays fans as one of the reasons the program is where it is right now under Altman. But do you remember how skinny Nate Funk, Kyle Korver, and Anthony Tolliver were as freshman? I mean, when they show old video clips at the Qwest Center, people in section 123 laugh when they see Kyle’s freshman and sophomore images grace the big screen. Those three, as well as Walker, by all accounts put in copious amounts of effort to better themselves physically and mentally as college basketball players. It paid off with professional contracts (and for some, NBA roster spots). Just imagine the potential that exists when you can add aggressive training early in a career to an individual who clearly has God-given talent and ability.
NKOTB
If you don’t know what that acronym stands for, you’re either a) my parents (and anyone else in their generation), or b) permanently scarred from the success of 80s boy band New Kids on the Block and choose to block those initials out of your mind forever. Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Donnie, and Danny are back. Then teen heartthrobs, the New Kids played in Creighton basketball’s home gym 18 years ago. They return to the Jays’ new arena tomorrow night. Just typing this paragraph has made me physically ill, although I’m sure my wife will hum a few bars of “Hangin’ Tough” as she reads the blog today. You’re welcome, sweetie.
They'll probably look different tomorrow, huh?
As mentioned above, there are actually a few other new kids who performed at The Phonebooth for the first time this week. And as you can imagine, they’re the stars of tomorrow … not the stars of 1990. Omaha basketball fans know the names Antoine Young and Josh Jones; they’re not exactly new to the scene. If you read their bios, or remember any of the local media coverage from their all-state high school days, you can catch on quickly to what local fans have seen for years: two of the most talented metro Omaha players in recent memory will spend the next four years competing together to bring their hometown college further prominence and championship hardware.
Just how much they play this season is a question worth asking. Young scored 6 points and recorded 1 assist in 16 minutes of action against the Mules. Jones hit one basket in 7 minutes of playing time. The Jays are loaded at guard, but if Altman plays Witter more at off guard, Young might see some minutes at point guard. It is hard to see how either guy gets ample playing time, but this is just the beginning for both young men. They’re here to create lasting legacies in their hometowns, and you can bet local fans will be following them Step By Step.
A Poised P’Allen
I myself was poised to write a sizeable chunk of content about P’Allen Stinnett’s transition from fabulous (yet inconsistent) freshman to sensational sophomore. But then local Jays guru Steve Pivovar penned this classic, and I felt it would be too repetitive to try and regurgitate what Piv wrote.
Two quotes stick out, though.
[Altman, when talking about the four technical fouls accrued by Stinnett, as well as the multiple emotional meltdowns the young guard suffered] "He didn't help himself, and he didn't help the team. But he understands that. He's a bright young man. He knows how bad his actions hurt himself and he hurt our team. In all the ways he helped us, that wasn't one of them."
In many ways, Stinnett was the savior of last year’s team. With so many unknowns, the freshman from Vegas took his opportunity for playing time and capitalized in a major ways. Not since Rodney Buford, to whom Stinnett is constantly compared, has a high flying freshman so captivated the CU faithful. However, as Altman pointed out, for all of the good P’Allen brought to the floor, his emotions got the best of him too many times.
[Stinnett, when talking about last year’s efforts] "I've learned to trust my teammates and not to try to make the play all the time," he said. "I don't have to do all the work. It's a five-man team. Last year, we were all young and
didn't know each other. But we've really bonded together this offseason. That
takes a lot of pressure off me."
Many times, his emotional uprisings followed unsuccessful attempts to lift his teammates and carry them to victory. Coach Altman preaches against trying to do too much, and “make the simple play” is a familiar mantra. With a year under his belt, and with an entire season of playing with Witter, Josh Dotzler, and other teammates, can Jays fans expect to see a more composed Stinnett? For so many reasons, that is arguably the most important question facing Altman and CU this season. Talents like P’Allen don’t come around all too often, but emotional issues have limited a fair share of players in any and all sports you can think of. A happy medium sounds cliché, but in this case is completely warranted.
The Middle Men
The 2005-2006 Creighton Bluejays season is probably remembered best for three things: Nate Funk’s shoulder injury and subsequent medical redshirt season; Josh Dotzler’s fantastic first half of his freshman season, followed by a frustrating knee injury that would affect the rest of his career; and the infamous CU-Miami NIT game. It was also Anthony Tolliver’s junior year, the season A-Train started to assert himself as a potential top-tier player in the MVC. The Jays had longed for a dominating inside presence since the graduation of Brody Deren, Joe Dabbert, and Mike Grimes in 2004. Here’s a little bit of what I wrote following an exhibition game in November 2005:
“Word from the Hilltop this summer and fall was that young Tolliver, an athletic talent from a highly-touted high school power in Missouri, was morphing into
what public prognosticators hoped he would be for the Jays – an agile, acute
offensive option in the low blocks, with a good defensive sense and the vertical
ability to alter shots.”
From that game:
“Tolliver showed some flashes of good things to come in his 26 minutes against EA Sports; he looked physically stronger, scored 8 points (hit 4 of 6 from the free throw line, which in his two previous seasons was one of his glaring
shortcomings), grabbed 6 rebounds, blocked a shot, and altered a few others.”
And finally:
“I’m not screaming that the sky is falling, and I’m not jumping the gun or going out on a limb or committing another cliché, but the kid looked comfortable.
… He just looked different – he looked like he was ready to step up and shore up the middle of the paint.”
Most Jays fans know what happened next. Anthony used his smarts, work ethic, and talent to turn himself into an All-Valley player and a San Antonio Spur.
Hard work pays off
The next two gentlemen in line: Kenny Lawson and Kenton Walker. Like Anthony before them, both players were the subject of murmurs this summer. People close to the program were cautiously optimistic about their increased physical strength, as well as their developing skills on the court. Walker suffered an injury that limited his participation in the conditioning program, but by all accounts Lawson continued to capitalize on his redshirt freshman year.
Again, we’re talking only about practice, but the development was evident against Central Missouri. Lawson finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes, while Walker recorded 14 points and 8 boards in 17 minutes. And they’re both sophomores. Each is 6-9, they can shoot with either hand, block shots, and energize the crowd with their effort on both ends of the court.
But they’re both sophomores.
How far this team can go depends so much on their further development that it continues to be the emphasis of local media coverage and pundit predictions. We’ll know more as the season goes on, but the play of the California Connection in Sunday’s win only added to the excitement and expectations currently surrounding this year’s Bluejays squad.
Then again, it was only practice. Right?
posted by Creighton Otter at 11:48 AM
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