The Holy Land of Hoops

I've decided to work on some previews over the summer to provide some life to the board. I'm going to try to crank one out every two weeks or so. Don't hold me to it, though. I'll start at the bottom of the conference and work up last year's standings, discussing each team's losses, returnees, recruits, storylines, and questions heading into next season.
I'll start with my own Creighton Bluejays, the team I (obviously) know the best.

Creighton Bluejays (14-19 overall, 4-14 Big East)
Tied for Last Place in Regular Season play, 10 Seed in Big East Tournament
No Post-Season Tournament

Losses:
PG Austin Chatman (graduated) - 33 GP, 33.8 MPG, 11.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.7 APG
G Devin Brooks (graduated) - 33 GP, 23.0 MPG, 7.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.1 APG
F Ricky Kreklow (graduated) - 32 GP, 24.5 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.5 APG
C Will Artino (graduated) - 33 GP, 16.2 MPG, 6.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 0.4 APG
G/F Avery Dingman (graduated) - 28 GP, 19.7 MPG, 4.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.0 APG
F Leon Gilmore III (transferred) - 8 GP, 4.9 MPG, 1.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.4 APG
F Mogboluwaga Oginni (graduated -- walk-on) - 11 GP, 2.3 MPG, 0.5 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.0 APG
G Gabriel Connealy (graduated -- walk-on) - 10 GP, 2.2 MPG, 0.4 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.0 APG

Returnees:
G James Milliken (Senior) - 31 GP, 26.2 MPG, 9.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.8 APG
C Geoffrey Groselle (Senior -- walk-on) - 31 GP, 12.3 MPG, 5.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.3 APG
C Zach Hanson (Junior) - 30 GP, 11.5 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.1 APG
G Isaiah Zierden (Junior -- missed final 13 games with knee injury) - 20 GP, 27.9 MPG, 9.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
F Toby Hegner (Sophomore) - 33 GP, 19.2 MPG, 6.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.8 APG
PG Tyler Clement (Sophomore -- walk-on) - 26 GP, 5.6 MPG, 0.7 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.5 APG

Additions:
F Cole Huff (Junior -- redshirted last season after transferring from Nevada) - 32 GP, 32.2 MPG, 12.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.8 APG (2013-14 with Nevada)
PG Mo Watson Jr. (Junior -- redshirted last season after transferring from Boston University) - 35 GP, 31.2 MPG, 13.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 7.1 APG (2013-14 with Boston University)
G/F Ronnie Harrell (Freshman -- redshirted last season) - 4 Star, #18 SF, #74 overall on Scout, 4 Star, #84 overall on Rivals, 4 Star, #71 overall on ESPN

Recruits:
G Marcus Foster (Junior -- transferred from Kansas State and will sit out this season) - 29 GP, 27.8 MPG, 12.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.9 APG (2014-15 with Kansas State)
G Malik Albert (Junior -- JUCO) - NR on Scout, Rivals, nor ESPN - 31 GP, 22.7 MPG, 24.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.5 APG (2013-14 with Mott Community College)
C Justin Patton (Freshman) - 5 Star, #8 C, #24 overall on Scout, 4 Star, #45 overall on Rivals, 4 Star, NR on ESPN
G Marlon Stewart (Freshman) - NR on Scout, 3 Star, NR on Rivals, 3 Star, NR on ESPN
G Khyri Thomas (Freshman) - NR on Scout, 3 Star, NR on Rivals, 3 Star, NR on ESPN
F Martin Krampelj (Freshman) - NR on Scout, 3 Star, NR on Rivals, NR on ESPN
PG Drew Cayce (Freshman -- walk-on) - NR on Scout, Rivals, nor ESPN
F/C Alex O'Neill (Freshman -- walk-on) - NR on Scout, Rivals, nor ESPN

Storylines:
A lot of turnover from a team that tied for last in 2014-15, but it's very possible that the 2015-16 Bluejays could be considerably better. Mo Watson Jr. and Cole Huff, who by all accounts were the two best players on last year's team, should slip into the starting lineup. Last year's starters James Milliken, Toby Hegner, Geoff Groselle, plus Zach Hanson, and the injured Isaiah Zierden also return. Ronnie Harrell, who redshirted last year, could make some noise as well as a deadly 3 point shooter. Freshmen recruits Justin Patton, Marlon Stewart, Khyri Thomas, and Martin Krampelj all add athleticism to the roster and could be immediate impact players. Marcus Foster has to sit 2015-16 out, but will make the 2016-17 Creighton squad a potential national contender.

Questions:
What will become of Justin Patton? Will he play or redshirt?
How will Mo Watson Jr. do in replacing Austin Chatman?
What will Cole Huff provide?
Will James Milliken keep his head on straight and improve his game?
Will Geoff Groselle be able to stay healthy?
Can Isaiah Zierden come back from a second major knee injury?
Will Martin Krampelj be the surprise of the Big East in 2015-16?

Unless the new guys play great, seems like Creighton will be near the bottom again. They are losing their 2 best players imo (Artino and Chatman) from a team that was already in last place. They lost a lot of close games but I think that they simply willed those games to be close to in the first place.

Prediction:
Anywhere from 8-10th (DePaul, Creighton, Seton Hall)

Just looking at them OOC, they have @ Indiana, @ Oklahoma as their 2 big road games. Got Arizona St and Nebraska as the big home games. Exempt tournament is very winnable with Rutgers and then Clemson/UMass. Looks like could go into conference play with only 2 losses very reasonably. Like that both tough home OOC games are in Dec along with the Oklahoma game. I think a pretty reasonable schedule for a team that is rebuilding. Only thing could be if they get close to the tourney, if they've lost both road games, not a schedule that could push them in the tourney.

The two best players by all accounts were sitting on the bench in Watson and Huff. There will be a huge talent upgrade this year. If Patton or one of the other new players (Harrell?) can step up, I think this team can be somewhere between 5-8 in a deep Big East.

Jet915 wrote:The two best players by all accounts were sitting on the bench in Watson and Huff. There will be a huge talent upgrade this year. If Patton or one of the other new players (Harrell?) can step up, I think this team can be somewhere between 5-8 in a deep Big East.

I hope you are right and the new additions are good, but I will wait and see.

This highly detalled preview STYLE may best be done by a stalwart fan from each school? That way much of the details and minutiae is correct.

Storyline - I'll take a shot at it:

Rebuild period is shortlived - Creighton is back in the BE mix. I will have them in the top half of the conference in my August predictions. (Nothing new there...)

Questions: Were these rhetorical questions or did you have answers for them? Would be great to get your take on them (it is your preview).

What will become of Justin Patton? Will he play or redshirt?
Patton plays. The staff eases him into the mix: 10+ Minpg early. Depending on his development, he could be starting by Feb 2016.

How will Mo Watson Jr. do in replacing Austin Chatman?
Just fine (thank u very much). Mo is one of the country's top PGs - now he has the platform to showcase his game. I think he will win the BE PoY this coming season.

What will Cole Huff provide?
Motor, heart, and 15ppg, 6 rpg.

Will James Milliken keep his head on straight and improve his game?
Nothing wrong with jMilli...he will be consistent (8-10 ppg) and help provide leadership and an offensive spark.

Will Geoff Groselle be able to stay healthy?
In a word...Yes. Geoff continúes to play well (as he did late last season), continúes to be a defensive presence in the paint.

Can Isaiah Zierden come back from a second major knee injury?
Good question. I hope so.

Will Martin Krampelj be the surprise of the Big East in 2015-16?
Another good question. Define "surprise".
As an older kid and a Euro player, I expect his adjustment/ learning curve to be shorter & quicker. If he can duplicate what Kreklow gave us last season I will be happy.

DudeAnon wrote:Unless the new guys play great, seems like Creighton will be near the bottom again. They are losing their 2 best players imo (Artino and Chatman) from a team that was already in last place. They lost a lot of close games but I think that they simply willed those games to be close to in the first place.

Prediction:
Anywhere from 8-10th (DePaul, Creighton, Seton Hall)

Just my opinion, but Artino wasn't one of CU's top players at all. Groselle was starting over him by the end of the season, and was more dependable, steady and less erratic. Artino on D became a liability, constantly leaving his feet and flailing his arms around like the guy in Midnight Oil. Artino is all heart though, no one puts in a better effort..

Milliken is a key returnee, since I saw him as a guy who could create his own shot.

Looking forward to seeing the new guys. At least Watson isn't a freshman, should be comfortable with the team after practicing last year with them, and put up good numbers 2 years ago, even if it was only at Boston U.

Barring a season-ending injury, Patton is not redshirting. How is that even a legitimate question?

I am much more optimistic than many of my fellow Creighton fans (sans GtmoBlue). We were 4-14 last year but lost 4 games by a point and 4 more by less than two buckets or in OT. So we were not that far away from 12-6. I know, many factors go into winning and I do not claim we were as good as the second place teams in the league. My point is that despite the record we were not that far removed from being competitive with most of the teams in the Big East. We go into this year with a significant talent and athleticism upgrade over last year. Outside of Chatman, we lose little from the departing seniors. Devin could do some really good things, but his mind boggling breakdowns neutralized most positive plays, or worse. Ricky Kreklow probably single-handedly kept it from being one of the worst won-loss records ever at CU. But, I think we will put a couple of new players on the floor this year in that spot who will be every bit as good. And it appears that our replacement at PG will be at least as good as Chatman was. Size, athleticism and talent will be upgraded almost across the board. If Groeselle stays healthy and Johnson gets his shoulder healthy and back to himself, they will anchor a much improved interior defense as well as an offensive threat that can again open up some things on the outside. And, we will add the #49 recruit into the mix there. The pre-season trip and extra practice time for it should help these guys gel earlier than you might otherwise expect. Time will tell, but my biased opinion is that Creighton could easily finish top half. I recognize several other teams will be getting better also, so nothing is a given. What I do not doubt is that if CU is not top half it will be because it will have been another dominant year for the Big East.

cu blujs wrote:Outside of Chatman, we lose little from the departing seniors. Devin could do some really good things, but his mind boggling breakdowns neutralized most positive plays, or worse. Ricky Kreklow probably single-handedly kept it from being one of the worst won-loss records ever at CU. If Groeselle stays healthy and Johnson gets his shoulder healthy and back to himself, they will anchor a much improved interior defense as well as an offensive threat that can again open up some things on the outside.

Two things really stand out about this analysis from a Creighton fan.

First, who is Johnson? I'm afraid there is no Johnson playing for Creighton's basketball team. Better learn the roster, chief, before predicting huge turnarounds based, in part, on players who don't exist.

Second, how can you follow up "Outside of Chatman, we lose little from the departing seniors." with "Ricky Kreklow probably single-handedly kept it from being one of the worst won-less records ever at CU." That is one of the most extreme examples of contradicting one's self in message board history.

I hope the Jays turn it around, but it won't be because of anybody named Johnson or this analysis.