There's a plethora of delicious storylines heading into Saturday's matinee in Wichita. You've got the fallout from the postgame fireworks after the SIU game, the injury to Chad Millard, and the retribution, if any, from Wichita for the perceived "running up the score" by Creighton in their first meeting. Oh, and Wichita is winless in the league entering today's "Blackout" game on FSN, making this a deadly trap game for the Jays. Is that enough to grab your interest? I thought so.
First, the postgame fireworks -- and sadly, I'm not talking about the sort of fireworks that the White Sox shoot off every time one of their players hits a homerun. No, apparently in Wednesday's game, SIU's freshman stud Kevin Dillard was running his mouth, and late in the game, Cavel Witter called him on it. Their trash-talking spilled over into the postgame handshakes, where a fight nearly erupted.
Specifically, Dillard -- who had a big night -- took to celebrating after he made a shot late in the game. Enter Witter, The Enforcer, who was mad as hell and wasn't going to take it anymore:
"(Dillard) was running his mouth and celebrating on our court, and I took that personally. This is a rivalry game, and that got the blood boiling. On that play, I told myself that if he crosses over, I'm taking the ball. He did, and I took it."
The verbal exchanges continued throughout overtime, and after the game, things nearly got ugly. First, SIU's stiff center Carlton Fay inexplicably started celebrating after Bryan Mullins last-minute shot went in -- even though the shot was inconsequential to the outcome. Then, Dillard and Witter really got into it and, according to some reports, did a lot more than just shake hands, without actually really shaking hands.
Strangely, the part of this story that has gotten the most debate isn't the action itself, but Witter's unprompted apology the next day. He motioned for Creighton's beat writer, Steve Pivovar, to come over to talk after practice, where he gave him a quote for a juicy story in the paper.
"Creighton's not a program that's known for its trash talking, but as one that lets its play do the talking. I really felt bad because I knew there were little kids out there watching me. And our fans, the ones that support us, pay hard-earned money to watch us play, and they shouldn't have to see things like that. I don't want to represent Creighton that way. Things just got out of hand, and I got a little too into the game."
Some fans think Witter should never have done anything in the first place, that he should allow his play to speak for itself. These people probably also stand in their front porch and tell kids to get off their lawn. Look, would it be nice if players let their games speak, but that's not how it works anymore. Maybe these people would prefer it if players let their fists do their talking. I still remember the night Doug Swensen had taken enough smack from Northern Iowa in a game in Cedar Falls, and started a brawl.
Personally, I think its a classy move to apologize for his actions, moreso because he did it without being prompted by the coaches. I'd have done the same thing if I was a player and Dillard was disrespecting my school. The difference is when I was in college, I was too stubborn to have apologized for it the next day, if ever, so I respect Witter for taking responsibility.
Plus, anytime you can make SIU look even douchier than usual, you should probably do what it takes to make that happen.
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Second, we've got the injury to Chad Millard. He sat on the end of the bench Wednesday night with his ankle wrapped, and after an examination found out he'll miss 4-6 weeks with the dreaded high ankle sprain. His absence is really too bad, because I've been a big fan of Millard and the energy he plays with. He shows more heart and fire than either Kenny Lawson or Kenton Walker, with a smaller body and less talent. Unfortunately, until Arch Madness, those two are the Jays only players taller than 6'5".
Actually, I take part of that back. He plays with more heart and fire than Lawson, but not Walker -- the last two games, Walker has turned in back-to-back impressive performances. His offense leaves a lot to be desired, but this team has offense. Its his defense and rebounding that are more important, and in my opinion, he should be the starter at the 5. Period. His ridiculous rebound late in overtime and refusal to pass the ball because he wanted to be the man taking the free throw shots after SIU had to foul were two plays Lawson would not make at this point in his career. I'm a Kenton Walker fan, and he needs to play more. Lawson needs to play less. Period.
Lets hope Millard can heal quickly and get back, because the Jays need his attitude and fire on the court. But in the meantime, the post minutes need, nay, HAVE to be split between Lawson and Walker, and anything less than a 60-40 split in favor of Walker will make me pretty upset.
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And now finally, the Double-G Controversy. After the last matchup in Omaha, Gregg "Double G" Marshall accused Creighton of running a lob play for a dunk out of a timeout with less than a minute left in a blowout. The second G stands for Gasbag, which isn't exactly a news flash after what we saw of him last year, but you don't make those kind of accusations and then make threats that "it will come back to haunt them."
Is this going to lead to frostiness between Altman and Marshall on the court today? I wouldn't put it past Marshall to pull some crap today. He's officially taken the "Bruce Weber Memorial Most Hated Coach in the Valley" award, and I'm pretty sure he's not going to relinquish it anytime soon.
GiGi -- that's what I will be calling him from now on, incidentally -- is a hoot. I can't wait to see what he finds to whine about today.
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One Big Paragraph With Lots O'Dots (TM): Wichita is 6-11 overall and 0-6 in the league, and lost to the Jays 68-56 in late December ... The game Saturday afternoon is a "Blackout", with fans at Charles Koch Arena dressed in black for the FSN cameras. The Roundhouse is one of the toughest venues in the Valley on a regular day, but when Creighton comes to town AND its the Valley Game of the Week AND the Shockers are winless, the set up for the Jays couldn't be tougher ... Cleven Hannah torched Drake in an ESPNU Sunday Night game last weekend, going 6-6 from behind the arc. Given the Jays record in shutting down long-range shooters this year, his hot hand is yet another concern ... MVC Rebounding leader Ramon Clemente has lost his starting job, and had been coming off the bench the last two games ... Toure' Murry is second on the team in scoring at 11 PPG, putting him second in the league among Freshmen ... The Jays lead the all-time series 50-39, and have won four straight. They've also swept the season series 9 of the last 14 years, and are 33-8 in the last 41 meetings. No wonder Wichita State hates the Jays ... When the Shockers score less than 70 points against a Dana Altman coaches Jays team, they are 2-23. Defense, defense, defense ... The Jays will be wearing their home whites on the road, because Wichita is wearing their black jerseys as part of the Blackout.
The Last Time They Played: Creighton won 68-56, but the postgame comments by Marshall were way more interesting than anything that happened during the game.
Gratuitous Linkage: Jones Soda, who just loves to make soda flavors inspired by fourth graders, has a new one: Orange You Glad For Change Soda. See what I mean? Even the name is inspired by a bad fourth grade knock-knock joke. At least for once, the flavor is something that MIGHT be drinkable, unlike Turkey and Gravy, Ham Soda and my personal favorite, Christmas Tree Soda.
Official Gametime Snack: In honor of the hated Marshall AND the Wichita Blackout, I recommend snacking today on Black Licorice. It'll taste nasty and get you pissed off before the game, giving you the Gregg Marshall Experience.
The totally random song I'd play right now if I were still a radio DJ: Is there any doubt? The immortal Roy Orbison singing "Cryin'". I think this should be the official theme song for Gregg Marshall. Check that, it IS the official theme song.
Prediction: Vegas has the Jays as a 4.5 point favorite, and I like that line. Wichita always plays the Jays tough, their arena is a rough place on visitors, and despite the Jays dominance the games tend to be very close. That said, I will never be happier a day in my life if the Jays ran a lob play on the first play of the game -- just to stick it to GiGi Marshall. GiGi will find something to gripe about anyway, so you might as well stick a fork in his eye.
Jays 64, Shockers 58
