March 2009 Archives

Booker Woodfox, All-American

Max Univers

on March 30, 2009 5:12 PM | Permalink

If you're an honorable mention All-American, do you still list yourself as an All-American on your resume? I mean, most news outlets only list the First and Second Teams, and the players mentioned honorably are covered only in their hometown papers and blogs.

I say "Hell Yes". There are roughly 4,000 players in Division 1 Basketball, and around 50 of them are named All-Americans by the Associated Press. That's just over 1%.

Booker Woodfox, the Jays' guard from Lewisville, Texas, was named an All-American on Monday, placing him among the Top 1% of players in Division 1 hoops. I'd say that's cause for celebration, even if it is "just" an honorable mention. There's a litany of players considered among the Bluejay Bouguoise who weren't All-Americans (at least, not as named by the Associated Press, which is the only one that really matters, despite the litany of lesser awards listed in the media guide).

Sir Rodney Buford was. Kyle Korver was.

But Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver were not. Ben Walker and Ryan Sears were not. Chad Gallagher and Bob Harstad were not.

Booker Woodfox is, and forever will be, an All-American.

Continue reading Booker Woodfox, All-American.

Recruit Runnels Picks Jays

Max Univers

on March 26, 2009 3:05 PM | Permalink

Monday at the Kentucky game, I commented at one point to my buddy Rob that I hoped there was a recruit visiting. The atmosphere was that amazing, the crowd that awesome, that I wondered if any recruit -- no matter the caliber -- could leave without signing.

Turns out there was indeed a recruit visiting, and my hunch was correct: he signed before leaving. He's a helluva get, too, and exactly the type of player they need: an athletic 6'6" power forward who is a rebounding machine and is ready to step in and play right away.

From the Omaha World-Herald (emphasis mine):

Runnels sat beside Ethan Wragge, a 6-7 Minnesotan who signed with the Bluejays in the fall.

"We had a great time together," he said. "We both really got into that game. At first, we were just watching but by the end of the game, we were standing up and cheering and really getting into it. Right then, I felt like I was family and that I had to come to Creighton. That was the best atmosphere I've ever been at. I was getting goose bumps seeing the love the fans showed the players. It was amazing, and it made me want to suit up right then."

Runnels has some good size to him, a 6'6", 215 lb player who like Justin Carter (and Ben Walker before him) was recruited to play Division 1 football but chose basketball instead. I love those kind of guys; they generally tend to play tougher, don't shy away from contact and play bigger than their size would ordinarily indicate. Look at Walker, a guard who was often the team's leading rebounder. Or Carter, who was a BEAST against Kentucky, pulling down FOURTEEN rebounds in a game that was the zenith of a stretch-run where he was the Jays toughest player and toughest matchup.

With Runnels in the fold, imagine this lineup:

Lawson/Walker at the 5

Runnels/Millard at the 4

Carter/Korver/Harriman at the 3

Stinnett/Witter/Jones at the 2

Young/Bock/Witter at the 1

I like that a LOT. I'll have a lot more on the returning group as the summer goes on, but my basic thoughts are that Lawson and Walker are going to be the best post duo in the Valley the next two years. Unlike a lot of fans, I really really like Millard's game off the bench, especially at the 4 (and not out of position at the 5). Runnels getting substantial minutes at the 4 means Carter can slide down to the 3, where he'll be a nightmare matchup for pretty much every team in the conference, and many outside the conference too. And guard play is not, and has not been, a concern, nor will it be next year.

This is a HUGE addition. Welcome to Creighton, Wayne!

The Inventor of Mini-Donuts Dies

Max Univers

on March 25, 2009 11:33 PM | Permalink

You can imagine my surprise and trepidation when I logged onto the Bluejay Cafe message board tonight and saw my handle as the title of a thread on the front page:

Sad Day for All, Especially Polyfro

Needless to say, I immediately clicked on this thread, curious to see what I was supposed to be sad about. It had been a good day, I'd thought: I'd supervised a commercial shoot that day, and after getting home, managed to make pancakes in a frying pan without burning them. Don't laugh. This is a tougher task than you imagine it to be. Without a griddle, pancakes are damn hard to cook.

I wouldn't classify it as a great day, but it certainly wasn't a sad day. I wondered what the writer of the thread, a loyal reader who goes by the handle "Jayball", knew about my day that I didn't. There's three things someone can do to piss me off post haste:

Spill my beer, steal my mini-donuts, and disrespect either Creighton or the Minnesota Twins. Do any of those three, and we're going to have trouble with a capital T, as a country western star once sang.

Add a temporary fourth item to that list.

Edward Anderson, inventor of the Lil' Orbits automatic donut machine and the man who perfected the batter that went with it, died at the age of 78. The inventor of the mini-donut, dead!

As I wrote on the message board:

Continue reading The Inventor of Mini-Donuts Dies.

Kenneth Stirs The Pot (Again)

Max Univers

on March 24, 2009 8:41 PM | Permalink

"A loss to Creighton hurts us. A win over Creighton, the only thing it does is make our fans happy. It doesn't help you come Selection Sunday. That's just the way it is."

Those words from Kenneth Kenny "Doc" Sadler, head coach of Nebraska, just the latest in a slew of pot-stirring comments about Creighton from the Head Red. Or at least, that's the version that the Omaha World-Herald printed in a front-page story today. Since Day One, Sadler has taken opportunity after opportunity to take shots at the team down the road. An interesting tact to take, considering the fans he's speaking to tend to believe that school is irrelevant and the inferior program (despite ample facts to the contrary).

Having not grown up in this area, I don't have the deep-seated hatred of Nebraska that native Creightonians do. My attitude is more of indifference; the only reason I pay any more attention to them than, say, Iowa State or Missouri is because the Jays play them every year. I don't care for Sadler, but that's got nothing to do with Nebraska, per se. I didn't like Steve Alford or Bruce Weber, either. Its funny, all three coaches had something in common:

All three made no secret of their hatred for Creighton.

Continue reading Kenneth Stirs The Pot (Again).

2008-09 Game #35: Kentucky 65, Jays 63

Max Univers

on March 24, 2009 1:52 AM | Permalink

All I ask for as a fan, as a Jaybacker, and as an alum is for the team to play as hard as they possibly can for 40 minutes, leaving their guts, their heart, their soul, and everything they have on the court. If that's not enough to win the game, so be it. There is nothing to be ashamed of. If you do those things and come up short, I will do what I did at the conclusion of tonight's loss: stand and applaud each and every member of the team for an outstanding effort, because dammit, that sort of play is deserving of such recognition.

That was a whale of an effort, particularly defensively. I'm not sure what it looked like on TV, but in person, I can't ever remember witnessing a better off-ball defensive effort than the Jays executed on the All-American Jodie Meeks tonight. That was an absolute clinic. P'Allen Stinnett, Antoine Young and Josh Dotzler didn't just guard Meeks, they were in his face nearly every second he was on the court, and denied him from even catching the ball. It was simply extraordinary. When he did have open looks, he almost always nailed the shot, giving you a glimpse of what he might do against a worse defensive effort. That it happened so infrequently tonight is a credit to the men who stopped it from happening more often. You bet.

Furthermore, Kenny Lawson was a MAN tonight. Against the most talented big man he's likely ever faced in Patrick Patterson, he didn't just hold his own, he played toe to toe with him. In fact, you wouldn't be crazy if you made the argument Lawson outplayed him. Combined with the efforts of Kenton Walker, the Jays primary post players had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and were 8-14 from the field. Did I mention their defensive effort on Patterson was outstanding?

Everyone who got into the game had something to look back on and be proud of. Everyone.

Continue reading 2008-09 Game #35: Kentucky 65, Jays 63.

Gameday: NIT Second Round - Kentucky

Max Univers

on March 23, 2009 12:04 PM | Permalink

Around Omaha, the buzz for tonight's game is palpable. Indeed, its been awhile since I've had so many random people ask me my opinion on the Jays game. I'll give you three examples. On Friday, I was at dinner and happened to have a Jays polo on and the waiter, the hostess, and two random patrons asked what I thought would happen on Monday night. On Saturday, I was at Target and had on a Creighton ballcap. The security guy at the door asked me about the game, as did the clerk who rang up my merchandise. And in the days since the matchup was finalized, I've gotten more emails from readers than at any time since the days leading up to the Jays-Salukis game in 2007.

So yeah, people are kinda excited. And it is a big game, make no mistake about it. Kentucky has played one true road game -- ONE -- against a team outside of the power-six conferences in the last decade. And they haven't played a road game in this part of the country, period, in at least 20 years (I got bored with the research when I got that far back and stopped). They may be downtrodden and in the midst of their worst season in two decades, but they're still Kentucky.

They're one of college basketball's glamour programs, second only to UCLA in championships won and second to no one in total victories. They have one of, if not the, most rabid fanbases in college sports. They have fans all over the country; those from nearby states are excited at the chance to see Kentucky play within driving distance and have been snatching up any and all available tickets to the game.

All of that said, it really sticks in my craw to hear people call this "Creighton's Super Bowl." No, it is not. Please, I beg you, stop saying that. It only goes to prove to the Jay Bilas' of the world that teams of Creighton's ilk deserve the second-class citizen treatment they receive. Don't believe me? Here's an email I got from a Kentucky fan on Saturday:

"I'm excited to see how Kentucky fares in this game. I have always been dubious of Doug Gottlieb and others when they claim that Southern Illinois, St. Mary's, and Creighton, among others, are as good as teams from the BCS leagues. They're not. Fact: you guys would struggle to finish .500 in the SEC or any other BCS league. But the argument that truly elite BCS programs never travel to play you on your courts is something I cannot refute. We don't. And it gives you mid-majors something to hold over us in an argument.

That's why Monday is an important litmus test for me. If Creighton is really as good as the guys on ESPN say they are, combined with the advantage of home court, they should win by 20 points. I mean, it should be a blowout. Kentucky is having the worst season in the 30 years I've followed them, and yet I really honestly believe they are still 10-15 points better than even the best of the aptly-named mid-major teams. So I look forward to your team proving my point, one way or the other."

Calling this Creighton's Super Bowl plays right into their hands, don't you see? Is it a big game? Sure it is. Am I marvelously excited for it? Absolutely. But truth be told, I was way more excited when Oklahoma State came here in 1998, or when Iowa came here in 1999, because both teams were ranked at the time of their visits.

It is NOT the biggest game in program history, nor will a victorious outcome somehow "validate" the program. Unfortunately, I feel I'm losing the battle here, and that most fans really do believe this is the biggest game ever. For that, I am sad, and I will shed a single tear into my Diet Pepsi that the NCAA is forcing me to drink at the game because of their Gameday Prohibition laws. Bastards.

Continue reading Gameday: NIT Second Round - Kentucky.

A Game Plan for Beating Kentucky

Max Univers

on March 22, 2009 8:58 PM | Permalink

Ah, Kentucky. The winningest program in the history of college basketball with 1,987 victories. Seven National Championships. 43 conference titles. 47 All-Americans. Too many NBA lottery picks to mention.

Its because of the facts in the paragraph above that the prevailing opinion seems to be that the Jays have to play their absolute best game to have a chance to win. That's unequivocally, absolutely, positively the most absurd thing I've heard all week. Yes, Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson are wonderful players, NBA lottery picks both. But the players who surround them are very average. The team finished fourth in an extraordinarily weak SEC. The Wildcats are seeded #4 in the NIT for a reason. They're a good team, not a great team. They're beatable. Notice I didn't say the Jays WILL win -- I merely said they CAN win. To think otherwise is simply untrue.

The 'Cats were three-buzzer beater losses to LSU, Louisville and South Carolina away from being a 7 or 8 seed in the "other" tournament. But the last I checked, a 7 or 8 seed is never deemed "unbeatable" in that tournament. If the Jays had made the "other" tournament and drew a 7 or 8 seed with Kentucky's talent but a different name on their jersey, would people be claiming the Jays would have to play their absolute best to even have a chance? I'm guessing no.

Kentucky is still Kentucky, because of all of the reasons outlined in the lead paragraph. But people seem to believe that the talent and success of previous Wildcat teams somehow has any bearing whatsoever on Monday's game. Guess what: it doesn't. None of those players will be suiting up for the game. The jersey will still say KENTUCKY across the front, but the players occupying those jerseys are not the unbeatable juggernaut of years past.

The Jays can win this game, and they don't have to play their absolute best game ever to do so. After the jump, we'll analyze how they can accomplish that.

Continue reading A Game Plan for Beating Kentucky.

2009 NIT First Round: Jays 73, Bowling Green 71

Max Univers

on March 19, 2009 7:34 AM | Permalink

Yesterday was my bosses' birthday, and we brought in a homemade meal of her favorite food for lunch: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, rhubarb pie and ice cream. I was entrusted with bringing in the ice cream, because my considerable cooking skills are not yet trusted. I may be the Creative/Web Production Manager for an advertising agency, but I've only been here two months. They trust my kerning; they do not trust my baking.

Meatloaf! The bombastic, theatrical singer and star of such cinematic masterpieces as Fight Club and Wayne's World? I like him very much. A loaf of bread made out of various and sundry meats? Not so much.

Why do I tell you this? For once in my life, I got a prediction right, and not just right -- REALLY right. It must be the meatloaf. Has to be. How else do you explain me writing this yesterday?

"I think the hangover from 50 minutes of shoddy play in St. Louis, coupled with the disappointment of playing in the NIT, will lead to an ugly first half. I have an awful feeling that Bowling Green is going to jump out to an early lead, perhaps by double digits. Somehow, the Jays will find a way to come back.

Creighton 69, Bowling Green 64"

Doesn't that sound like essentially an elevator speech version of the game recap? Sure does. For a couple of hours yesterday, I was marvelously clairvoyant. I also warned a co-worker that he was not only going to eat pie and ice cream, but that he was going to get an ice-cream headache when he ate it too fast.

It was like I'd taken a Quantum Leap into the body of Ed Glosser: Trivial Psychic. Truly bizarre.

So...

The hangover from 50 minutes of shoddy play in St. Louis, coupled with the disappointment of playing in the NIT, led to an ugly first half.

Haha!

After the jump, I stop messing around and get to the actual recap. Join me, won't you?

Continue reading 2009 NIT First Round: Jays 73, Bowling Green 71.

Gameday: NIT First Round - Bowling Green

Max Univers

on March 18, 2009 6:44 AM | Permalink

The NIT is a funny tournament in that some years, you're clearly not an NCAA-tournament caliber team and you're glad for the extra games (2006, 2008). Some years, you're clearly not an NCAA-tournament caliber team but you wish the season would just end already (2004). And some years, you're a bubble team for the NCAA and didn't make the cut, so you're disappointed to be in the NIT (2009).

In a sense, the NIT can be more about which team cares to be there and less about who the more talented team is. You see it in lower-tier college bowl games all the time, where a clearly inferior team wins by three touchdowns over a big-name, heavily favored opponent that was disappointed at not playing in a bigger game. That's one of the keys to winning bowl game pick 'em sheets in your office: figuring out which teams in the lower-tier games actually care.

Hence our dilemma tonight. Creighton believed they were going to the NCAA Tournament, and now that they're in the NIT; many people -- players included, if the rumors are to be believed -- are not terribly excited to be there, and even less so to see Bowling Green as the opponent.

Look, I'm not hugely excited for the game, either. Part of it is that every damn time Creighton goes to the NIT, something awful happens that leaves me angry for two days.

In 2004, there was the Jake Muhleisen buzzer beater that gave Nebraska a 71-70 win and gave me nightmares for a week. Luckily my therapist, Dr. B. Light, is economically priced and always available. Four or five sessions later, I was over it.

In 2006, we had the Miami Debacle where the refs call the phantom foul on Dane Watts. Mayhem ensued, trash was thrown onto the court (although how anyone could tell the trash from the stands from the trash in striped shirts, I'll never know). Dana Altman chased the refs into the tunnel screaming bloody murder, and rumors of a certain Athletic Director allegedly taking a swing at said referees followed (for the record, those rumors were and are completely false, although it was and remains a fun rumor). Despite many sessions with my therapist, Dr. B. Light, I've yet to fully recover from this one. The Doctor's advice was to black it out as best I could, which I've mostly succeeded at doing until I stupidly brought it up just now. I've just broken a pencil in half on my desk. IDIOT.

In 2008, the Jays followed a buzzer-beater by Cavel Witter with an abomination in Gainesville, losing 82-54 and looking outclassed, outmanned and dominated. Only two sessions with Dr. B. Light were required to get over that one, because the game was over before halftime. However, three sessions with his assistant, the lovely Ms. Minnie Donutson, were prescribed and lustily enjoyed.

In 2009? My guess is Creighton wins tonight and Monday over Kentucky, then plays Notre Dame for the right to go to NYC. They're ahead all game, and in the last minute, Kenton Walker is called for a moving screen giving the Irish new life. On the other end, P'Allen is T'd up for hanging on the rim on the exclamation point dunk that should have sealed the win. Notre Dame wins on free throws. Dr. B. Light works overtime for days.

Just kidding. But seriously, the NIT has usually not ended well for the Jays. After the jump, we'll get ready for Bowling Green.

Continue reading Gameday: NIT First Round - Bowling Green.

Upon Further Reflection...

Max Univers

on March 17, 2009 2:51 PM | Permalink

Lots of things have been written here and elsewhere in the aftermath of Sunday's disappointment, and the inevitable backlash has begun. You wouldn't believe the emails I've been getting -- I could become a pretty successful freelance joke writer just by recycling the material I've received the last two days. I feel the need to explain something:

I can't speak for everyone, and wouldn't presume to do so, but I don't think Creighton feels a sense of entitlement or that the NCAA Tournament bid was "stolen" from them. I don't think this is a conspiracy, nor do I believe that the NCAA is some over-arching cartel that is out to get the mid-major team. Its disappointing that the criteria favored by the committee is increasingly advantageous to "major" teams. But there's no conspiracy here.

On Saturday after Creighton got hammered by Illinois State, I remember telling someone "Well, there goes the NCAA tourney bid." It was quite a discussion that night, with me, the eternal optimist, strangely playing the role of Negative Noonan. There were chinks in Creighton's armor I figured the committee, armed with a blowout in their last game, wouldn't ignore: a BAD home to Drake, non-conference losses to non-Tournament teams, and no marquee win. In other words, they were a bubble team. Win that game, they're not a bubble team. They lost it, though, and badly.

Did Arizona have chinks in their armor? Absolutely, and I outlined many of them here over the weekend. Same deal with every team on the bubble. That's why they were on the bubble in the first place. If they had sterling resumes, they'd be locks and someone else would be on the bubble.

Continue reading Upon Further Reflection....

A Tale of Two Coaches

Max Univers

on March 16, 2009 11:15 PM | Permalink

Two fellow Valley coaches had public comments in the aftermath of Selection Sunday. See if you can decipher who said which comment.

Coach X: "Am I upset that the league didn't get more than one team in? Yes. Am I upset that Creighton didn't get in? I won't say what I feel about that."

Coach Z: "What's very frustrating is to listen to the criticism that Creighton took, that we all take. You can never satisfy that. We can never get the Lakers on our schedule three times a year. It's not going to happen. So if that's the criteria, we cannot win that game."

After the jump...

Continue reading A Tale of Two Coaches.

Stood Up

Max Univers

on March 15, 2009 8:20 PM | Permalink

Joe Lunardi finally missed one in his final bracket, and wouldn't you know it, it was Creighton that he was wrong about. There's a couple of schools of thought about what happened to Creighton today, both of which contain puke-inducing unpleasantries.

One: the Jays were the proverbial "Last Team In", and were bumped for Mississippi State when the otherwise NIT-bound school won the SEC Tournament and thus, the automatic bid.

Two: the Jays were much further down the pecking order than any of the pundits believed, and had been out of the discussion pretty much all week.

I tend to believe it was the second scenario, hard as that is to digest. Mississippi State winning removed Penn State or Auburn from the field, not Creighton or St. Mary's. There were only four mid-major at large bids, and the 11/12 seeds that used to go to those schools are now going to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, etc. Those teams never used to get double-digit seeds. In the post-George Mason world, they do. Fewer and fewer mid-majors in the field leads to fewer chances one or two of them advance to the second weekend, or, God forbid, the third weekend. Every year the number of those teams getting in gets smaller, and that's what is upsetting to me.

Taking a step back, Creighton didn't have a fabulous resume. But the mid-majors that did have a good resume got screwed too, and that doesn't bode well for years when Creighton DOES have a great resume. The 2001 team that got an at-large doesn't get that chance in this environment; the 2003 team doesn't get a top-six seed in this environment. Wichita State doesn't get a favorable draw leading to a Sweet 16 run in this environment. It just doesn't happen, and that's really, really upsetting to me. I'm not upset over Creighton so much as I am about mid-majors in general.

Does this impact recruiting? Does it affect attendance? Valid questions with difficult answers.

This entire scenario is insulting, its demeaning and perhaps worst of all, its a wet dream for Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps. And as you know, anything that makes those two clowns happy is automatically "List of Things That Piss Me Off List".

*****

In my Selection Sunday Primer, I noted teams to be wary of seeing on the board. That list was gleaned from lots of sources, and was not as far out of left field as it wound up seeming.

"If one of the group consisting of Penn State, Auburn, Florida and Arizona shows up, its an ominous sign. If two of that group show up, its curtains."

When Arizona showed up in the very first region that was revealed, it was like getting punched in the stomach by 1985 Dolph Lundgren. Arizona was probably the worst team of that group, so them getting a bid was like getting a crisp meat burrito shoved up my butt. Thanks to some random Husker troll on the Bluejay Cafe for that insulting analogy, incidentally. I swore I'd steal it and use it eventually, and here I am mere days later, doing just that. Thanks.

Surprisingly, none of the other three in that group got in. But lots of other bad things did happen. Minnesota and Wisconsin got in with double-digit seeds, meaning they were closer to the bubble than we'd been led to believe. San Diego State and St. Mary's didn't get in, but Maryland did.

And around 5:40, it was official: Creighton, their 26 wins and conference co-championship were stood up for the dance.

Continue reading Stood Up.

Selection Sunday Primer

Max Univers

on March 15, 2009 12:15 PM | Permalink

Creighton is going to be one of the last four teams in, or the last four teams out. Its very close, and depending on which prediction you believe, they're barely in or barely out. Fortunately, the decision has already been made. Unfortunately, we won't find out until 5 PM.

When those brackets are revealed, there are four teams Jays fans do not want to see. If one of the group consisting of Penn State, Auburn, Florida and Arizona shows up, its an ominous sign. If two of that group show up, its curtains. Either scenario means the Selection Committee valued # of wins over RPI Top 50/Top 100 teams rather than winning percentage, and probably overall Strength of Schedule. Both of those stats inherently reward BCS teams, and hurt Mid-Majors.

There are three additional teams Jays fans don't want to see, at least not until Creighton's name has been revealed: San Diego State, Saint Mary's, and Maryland are all bubble teams that probably are grouped around Creighton. These teams getting a bid gives us no insight into the motives of the committee, but each team from this group that gets in leaves one fewer spot for Creighton to take.

We pretty much know who the "last" bubble teams are. The higher they're seeded, the narrower the bubble. Watching where they get seeded, if they get in, will also give us an indication as to the Jays' fate. If Big Ten bubble teams Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin not only get in but get single-digit seeds, its bad news for Creighton. And if mid-majors we know will be getting bids such as Xavier, Dayton and Utah are seeded 8 or lower, that's also bad news for the Jays.

The Selection Committee chairman told CBS this morning that the field is already decided on, and that seeding those 64 teams is all that remains. I believe that's true, and that they also know which team will be removed from the board should Mississippi State win the SEC title and steal a bid.

Is Creighton one of those teams that is in? If you like reading between the lines and believing conspiracy theories, ESPN has been giving us a lot to chew on today. Internet rumors have been around for years that Joe Lunardi has inside information on Selection Sunday -- his incredible reputation for being correct is based on his last posted bracket, which always goes up an hour before the brackets are revealed. Almost every year, he has one or two suspicious changes in that last bracket that seem to indicate some kind of insider info.

Based on ESPN's arguments today, I think they already have that info. They attacked Creighton and defended Arizona to an unbelievable degree. While barely mentioning Maryland, Penn State and San Diego State, they spent an entire segment attempting to assassinate the Creighton resume while pumping false life into Arizona's. Why do that?

Joe Lunardi got his insider info as the bracket was completed last night, and ESPN knows who's in and who's out. They're making Creighton the poster child for Mid-Major at-large bids, and Arizona the poster child for BCS snubs.

Of course, this is all speculation. A few hours from now, it will all be moot and we'll know for sure whether we'll be preparing excuses to get out of work Thursday/Friday for a game, or whether we'll be waiting in line at Morrison Stadium for *** tickets.

You bet.

Matt Perrault to Leave Big Sports 590

Max Univers

on March 15, 2009 8:04 AM | Permalink

Before Matt Perrault came to Omaha to host the Big Show, local radio was radioactive listening for Creighton fans. ESPN 1620 takes great glee in bashing all things not red. KFAB doesn't even bother mentioning anything not red.

It always seemed curious to me why no one with a radio show paid more attention to a team that, at the time, was drawing 10,000 a night to their games and consistently playing in the postseason. Clearly there was a fan base that wasn't being served by local radio.

There's such a fanaticism with all things red in this state that anyone who rocks the boat is going to be a pariah. But having grown up in a state where there was more than one team and thus the coverage was split, I was always curious what the reaction might be if someone came along and rocked the boat.

In April of 2005, we began to find out. Magic 590, the old WOW-AM, switched formats and became a Fox Sports Radio affiliate. It made sense, because they'd had Creighton basketball for years and had the Kansas City Royals contract in the summer. That's nine months of built-in programming. To build around their game coverage, they hired local sports anchor Travis Justice to do a show in the morning, and an east coast transplant from Boston to host the afternoon drive-time show.

From the beginning, Matt Perrault made it clear he wasn't going to do the same kind of show as everyone else. He was going to give Creighton Basketball the sort of coverage their growing fan base was clamoring for. Over the next five years, he'd interview Dana Altman the day after a game, every game. He'd talk to assistant coaches. He'd talk to players. He'd bring recruits on the air the day they signed, often for extended interviews so that fans could learn more about them. He'd bring in national media-types to talk about the Jays. He traveled to MVC Media Day and devoted entire shows to interviewing players and coaches from every team in the league. He traveled to Arch Madness and did special shows from courtside. It was fantastic stuff. I listened almost every day.

Continue reading Matt Perrault to Leave Big Sports 590.

More Air in the Bubble

Max Univers

on March 13, 2009 10:02 AM | Permalink

Its been said that the closer your last game is to Selection Sunday, the more opportunities you have to improve your resume and impress the committee. One could argue the opposite is true, as well, and we're watching that happen right before our very eyes. Creighton is moving up the list, regardless of which pundit you believe, and are one or two upsets away from relative safety.

Even Jerry Palm, whose dog was run over by Dana Altman or something, now has the Jays in his bracket. I kid, but really, every time Palm talks about Creighton on the radio, it sounds like he's holding in a kidney stone. The guy just does not like the Jays, for whatever reason. So when he relents and puts them in, you know things are breaking your way.

Dan Patrick is on the bandwagon, trumpeting on his show Thursday morning that the Jays belong in. Mike & Mike said the same, with Golic going one step further and predicting the Jays could make some serious noise if only they're allowed in. Joe Lunardi now has them among his "Last Four In". Even Omaha's official Jays Haters on 1620 have started coming around.

And that's without even mentioning The Official TV Analyst of Polyfro.com, Doug Gottlieb, continuing his full-court press on the committee to put Creighton in. Seriously, even if Creighton gets left out, I owe Gottlieb a beer if I ever run into him at a bar. His work this week pushing the Jays has been a tour de force.

This morning on Mike & Mike, he asked Joe Lunardi straight-up about the Jays. Lunardi said they should root against Maryland, San Diego and Kentucky, because if those teams get upset, the Jays are virtually a lock. Then Lunardi, in passing, made this remark:

"I think Creighton will probably sneak in regardless, however."

Sometimes sitting idle for a week is a good thing, because it allows your competition to shoot themselves in the foot. Fresher wounds are more memorable. A wise man once told me that. Who was this wise man? Myself, ten minutes ago, in the mirror. Don't question the Man in the Mirror! The only man who can do that is Michael Jackson, and I'm not even sure he's a man anymore.

Continue reading More Air in the Bubble.

Life on the Bubble

Max Univers

on March 11, 2009 7:41 AM | Permalink

Its Wednesday of Bubble Week, and the tension mounts every day as Creighton sits on the sidelines, their season over. Have they done enough? Is their last impression a damning indictment? Was the 11 game winning streak that preceded it a better indication of their achievements? Does being co-champion of the ninth best league in America overrule any other potential roadblocks?

In other words, Creighton is squarely on the bubble. They're not close to it, nor looking at it in the rearview mirror -- they are smack dab on top of the damn thing. St. Mary's losing by 20+ on Monday night was a boost. Butler losing to Cleveland State in the Horizon Championship was a setback. Cleveland State wasn't getting in without that auto bid, while Butler now takes one of the few remaining at-large bids away from bubble teams.

Still, the Jays have been, and they still are, on the bubble.

I don't understand the Danny and Debbie Downers who keep slapping their mostly unwelcome commentary into my virtual face on Twitter and Facebook. You know these folks; they're the ones who've been preaching "NIT" since mid-February, happily dropping a turd into the winning streak punchbowl by saying "I'd rather win three straight in St. Louis than 10 straight in February! Na ha ha, look at how real I keep it!"

I also don't understand the Ronnie and Regina Realists who, after seeing Butler take a dump last night, are proclaiming that the Jays better start preparing for an NIT game. Honest to mini donuts, I had a guy send me a message on Facebook this morning asking when NIT tickets went on sale. When I told him to get away before I laid some virtual smack down on his virtual ass, he told me I wasn't being realistic about the Jays chances and that it would "behoove" me to accept their fate sooner rather than later. Behoove? Who uses that word? I possess the vocabulary of a Rhodes Scholar trapped in the brain of an idiot, and I don't even use the word "behoove". But I digress.

Here's the thing. If you take a wide-angle view of the bracket projections that are out there, the Jays fall in one of three categories: safely in, barely in, or barely out. There isn't a projection out there -- not even the potentially insane Jerry Palm -- who say the Jays are eliminated. Until the day when they are eliminated, "NIT" is and will remain a three-letter swear word around these parts. Na ha ha, look at how real I keep it!

Continue reading Life on the Bubble.

Doug Gottlieb is Awesome

Max Univers

on March 10, 2009 1:32 PM | Permalink

Years ago, I had a list of college hoops personalities who had, at one point or another, said or done something to piss me off. Some of them were TV analysts, some were writers, some were coaches, and well, you get the idea. The inaugural class included five members and one alternate:

Digger Phelps was the inaugural member. The best thing you could say about Digger, and it holds true today so at least he's consistent, is that he doesn't even pretend to hide his disdain for mid-major teams. He's said so many anti-Creighton and anti-Valley things over the years that I lost track somewhere around 53. At one point, I considered designing a playing card set: 52 Funniest "Digger Hates Mid-Major" Moments. Each set would come with a complimentary chameleon highlighter that would magically change color to match your wardrobe each day. Sadly, such a marker does not exist, which made the fun of the potential card set about 90% less so.

Tom Penders, the coach of the Houston Cougars, told his team's beat writer in 2006 that he would be surprised if any Missouri Valley team could even get the ball across half-court against his team. He was flabbergasted the the MVC took four teams to the NCAA Tourney that year, and based on his quote, apparently believed the MVC was a league of D-III players. At the time, I promised $100 of my own cash if I couldn't get the ball across half court against his team. I'd still make that bet. Making a basket would be another story entirely, but he didn't say they couldn't score -- he said they couldn't even get it across halfcourt. Needless to say, when Houston got pistol whipped by Creighton in Hawaii the next year and fans chanted "Half-Court! Half-Court" all night, I found it marvelously amusing. What a douchebag.

Gary Williams, the coach of the Maryland Terrapins, claimed in a Washington Post article in 2006 that his team deserved bid more than Wichita State or Bradley because they'd played tougher teams. Fair enough; I might not agree, but I can peacefully coexist with an informed debater. However, Williams then ruined any chance we had of coexisting by claiming he'd play any Valley school anywhere, if only they'd ask -- but that none of them had ever asked. This played well on the East Coast ("See, those Valley teams are afraid to play the ACC!"). Everywhere else, it played as the sad musings of a world-class douchebag. The fact of the matter was, many MVC coaches had called Maryland to schedule a game, and Williams ignored all of them. Then he lied about it when it was convenient to make the MVC look like wimps.

Jay Bilas is like the Jim Rice of this list -- the guy who I was on the fence about forever, going back and forth as to his merits much like Hall of Fame voters did with Rice for over a decade. He writes and speaks plenty of Big Conference Bias material, but does so in a quasi-informed manner AND does just enough positive press on lesser-covered teams to make him a borderline candidate.

Jim Nantz, despite opening each telecast by saying, "Hello friends," is no friend of mine. A gifted orator unless you actually listen to what he's saying, Nantz is, I suppose, a pleasant enough play-by-play caller. When he gets into analysis, however, a disturbing trend of hating non-ACC schools begins to surface. The sight of him ripping "these Valley schools" on national TV during the 2006 Selection Sunday show would have made him lead gangsta in college hoops' Public Enemy if not for...

Billy Packer. Curmudgeon. Grumpy. Old-Fashioned. Elitist. For years, Packer managed to do the impossible: take all of the fun out of the greatest event in American team sports. Nearly every team not in the ACC or SEC had a bone to pick with the man over something he'd said. In 1979, he famously spent the entire Final Four telecast of Indiana State-Michigan State -- what should have been a celebration -- bitching and whining about how Indiana State didn't belong on the floor with the Spartans. He even claimed Larry Bird would be, at best, a sixth-man in the NBA. Oops. He villified Villanova for having the audacity to upset vaunted Georgetown. He ripped St. Joseph's Coach Phil Martelli TO HIS FACE for, in his mind, not deserving a #1 seed because they came from the (gasp!) A10. He refused to scout George Mason until they reached the Final Four, telling anyone who would listen that he wasn't going to bother because they wouldn't keep winning. Oops.

And that's without even mentioning a certain duo on a certain four-number-frequency AM station right here in Omaha who wear their hatred of the MVC and Creighton on their sleeve.

Continue reading Doug Gottlieb is Awesome.

CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 3/09/09

Max Univers

on March 9, 2009 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Starting last week, the BlogPoll is now prominently featured on the same page as the AP and Coaches Polls on CBSSports.com -- giving the same amount of space and billing to the BlogPoll as they do to the "mainstream" polls. So that's cool.

In this week's poll summary and recap, an ominous note appears near the bottom of author Brian Cook's breakdown:

Is it possible to jinx a jinx? Last week in this space I touted the dire power of the CK Award and boldy warned of a bad week on the court for I Bleed Blue and White -affiliated Villanova, only for the Wildcats to curb-stomp Notre Dame in South Bend and coast to a double-digit victory over Providence. Maybe by presuming to be so confident in the CKA's cursing abilities, the curse cursed me by cursing the "runner-up" team in last week's poll, Inside Creighton Hoops's Bluejays, instead?

Gulp. Sorry about that, guys.

Big change this week: Creighton drops out, Northern Iowa is in. I made a deal with my brother last week that if UNI won the MVC Tournament, I'd take Creighton out and put UNI in. I'm likely the only voter with UNI in my poll. I'm also likely the only voter with a free case of Bud Light in my fridge after his brother felt bad for having done this to me. Before you ask, this is not untoward, shady or illegal -- this is two brothers who went to two schools in the same conference talking smack. His team won, and my punishment is getting pummeled by you, my humble readers, for putting UNI in my poll.

Blast away. I can take it.

In other poll news, Louisville is my new number one because they didn't lose last week, and I had them at number two previously. Seems logical enough. The rest of the poll is pretty self-explanatory, so explain it to yourself after the jump. You bet.

Continue reading CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 3/09/09.

2008-09 Game #33: Illinois State 73, Jays 49

Max Univers

on March 8, 2009 8:29 PM | Permalink

I've been racking my brain all day, and I can't recall the Jays ever playing so poorly in a game that mattered so much, at least in the DA era. For a team so reliant on jump shots for success, shooting 27% tells you a great deal about what the final score wound up being. For some perspective, that's the worst shooting percentage in a game since a February, 2001 game against Evansville.

Creighton missed layups. They missed mid-range jumpers. They missed three-pointers. Mostly, they missed.

Was it a hangover from the previous night's near-catastrophic collapse? I hate to say so, but man, that sure looked to me like a team playing with no confidence. Think about the reality of blowing a 16-point lead in the last four minutes of the game. How can that NOT be in the back of your mind? These guys are human, after all. On the opening tip, one of the Jays (I forget who, but its not important) fell down, and Champ "Don't Call me Chamberlain" Oguchi drains a wide-open three. You think doubt, even a subtle amount, doesn't creep in?

Maybe it didn't. I don't know. But I wouldn't blame them if it did.

Continue reading 2008-09 Game #33: Illinois State 73, Jays 49.

2008-09 Game #32: Jays 63, Wichita State 62

Max Univers

on March 6, 2009 11:11 PM | Permalink

WHOOOHOOOO! YEAAAAAAHHHH! YOU BET! HIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAHHHHH! THAT'S YOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!! RIGHT THERE! BOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEERRRRRR WOOOOOOODDDDDDDFOOOXXXXXX! YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA! YOU BET!!!

You bet.

Well then. The Jays jumped out to a 22-point lead, were ahead by 16 with just four minutes remaining, and then...

P'Allen Stinnett falls out of bounds in the backcourt with the ball. Cavel Witter dribbles the ball off his foot in the backcourt. Stinnett misses the front end of a 1-and-1. Booker Woodfox misses the front end of a 1-and-1. Kenny Lawson fails to get a rebound on a missed free throw. Stinnett gets tied up one-on-three. Lawson and Millard fail to get another rebound on another missed free throw. Stinnett gets screened and leaves Wichita State's best shooter wide open for a three. Antoine Young dribbles into traffic and loses the ball without getting off a shot at the buzzer.

And just like that, a 16 point lead with 4 minutes left had evaporated into a 62-61 deficit with under 2 seconds to play. As I sat with my buddy Gilby and about 75 other Jays fans at Beer & Loathing here in Omaha, I was about to go from a lenten vegetarian to a groin-kick anorexic. My digested cheese pizza was about to make an unwelcome reappearance to say hello to me. I was distraught and looking for things to throw. I needed a dart, or a shoe, and an empty spot on the wall to punish.

It looked bleak. Gilby, ever the realist, correctly pointed out that there would still be a second or two on the clock as a Shocker player knocked the ball out of bounds on Young's drive. We watched in horror as the Jays did what Altman teams always do: run a buzzer-beater play sans timeout. Wichita, after seeing that Creighton was lining up for a lob play to their bigs, called their last timeout to set their defense accordingly.

Unbelievably, GENIOUSLY, after seeing Wichita's defensive personnel consisted of every big man on the Shocker team and realizing the play wouldn't work, Altman did what he never does: call timeout to draw up a buzzer-beater. What a coaching job. Say what you will about his failure to use a timeout to stem the tide during the four-minute-meltdown; that timeout to draw up the play for the game-winner was great.

Altman put in all new personnel, drew up a new play...and Marshall was stuck with his big lineup because he had no more timeouts. Wichita's big men were trying to guard a shooter-heavy Jays lineup consisting of Booker, Cavel Witter, and P'Allen. You could see before the inbounds that the strategy had changed entirely -- instead of a lob play, this was going to be a jump shot. And Wichita had a lineup of bigs out there to defend it. Genius.

And so it was that Altman drew up a play to get the Player of the Year in the conference -- the leading three point shooter in the country, mind you -- the ball. And not just to get the ball, but in position to get a shot off? That's absolutely, positively, one of the most marvelous coaching moves I've seen in some time. Just what was that play?

Continue reading 2008-09 Game #32: Jays 63, Wichita State 62.

MVC Quarters Gameday: Wichita State

Max Univers

on March 6, 2009 12:39 PM | Permalink

Tonight, the Jays begin their quest for an unprecedented seventh MVC Tournament Title in 11 years, and their quarterfinal opponent is the Wichita State Shockers, who will be 22 hours removed from a play-in round win over Missouri State. They're the No. 2 seed, which is very good thing: the Jays are 16-2 all-time as the No. 2 seed, and have won the tournament the last four times they've been seeded there. And then there's this: the No. 2 seed has won at least one game in 10 straight tournaments, reached the final in nine of the previous 10 seasons and won the title in five of the previous seven years.

They stand at 25-6 overall, and probably need at least one win in St. Louis to feel good about their at-large chances for the NCAA Tournament should they not win the championship. Two wins would get them to 27-6 -- and NO TEAM HAS EVER BEEN LEFT OUT WITH 27 WINS. Not that the committee pays attention to such things (they don't), but its worth noting.

Arch Madness should be colloquially known as the Creighton Invitational. Why? The Jays have a 20-4 record in Arch Madness since 1999. They've reached the semifinals 8 of the past 10 years. They've won 12 straight games as the No. 2 seed. Dana Altman is 21-7 all-time in the tournament. Yup, the Jays have dominated it for over a decade. You bet.

Continue reading MVC Quarters Gameday: Wichita State.

Booker Joins the Creighton Immortals

Max Univers

on March 3, 2009 7:58 PM | Permalink

On March 26, 2007, the Jays signed a 6'1" guard from Lewisville, Texas out of seemingly nowhere. The recruiting forum on The Bluejay Cafe generally has threads to track every player on Creighton's radar, and yet, there was nothing on this player until the day he signed. No one outside of coaches and a few others close to the program had even heard of him, much less knew he was being recruited by the Jays. Over the next couple of days, info started to trickle out.

"Booker Woodfox: (SO) 6-foot-1 (175) from Lewisville, TX. Woodfox is currently averaging 18.7 ppg and 3 assists this season from the two guard position. 'Booker can flat out score the ball and he has a quick shot release," said Horstman, his coach at San Jacinto. Booker had signed with Louisiana-Lafayette coming out of high school. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Sam Houston State and Utah are currently following Woodfox. Booker has shot 39.3% (72-183) from 3-point range this season. He is currently the 3rd leading scorer in the conference. Booker has scored 936 points over two seasons."

The Jays have had lots of lightly-regarded recruits over the years that turned into solid players. They've even had some turn into great, all-conference players. But there was no indication that Booker Woodfox would be anything more than a shooter, a one-dimensional junior college stopgap guy who could hit a few jump shots while the freshman recruits matured. Actually, considering his signing took everyone by surprise, there wasn't much indication of anything.

Continue reading Booker Joins the Creighton Immortals.

CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 3/02/09

Max Univers

on March 2, 2009 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For years I've looked on with bemused wonderment at the goofy nature of polls and ballots in college basketball. How can people be so stupid, I wondered. No way team XYZ is that good, I said. It'll be a cold day in Omaha before, oh wait, it is cold and I am in Omaha. Never mind. What I'm getting at is voting in these things is harder than I figured. For instance, in the four weeks of the poll I've had three different number one teams because they keep losing. Same deal with most of the Top Ten. There's a lot of things I hate about my poll.

For example, I hate that Michigan State is so high, because from what I've seen of the Big Ten the conference is riding the rep of their non-conference -- when in reality the conference is just not that good. News flash, guys: just because you play games in the 50s doesn't mean you're playing great defense. Sure, it might, but I've seen plenty of games around the country with great defense and scores in the 70s. Sometimes when you score 55 points, it means your offense sucks. Period. But back to Michigan State, specifically: they keep winning, so they keep moving up. This is how polls work; once you're in, if you keep winning, you move up as everyone else loses.

Additionally, I don't really believe there's any way UCONN is number one. I just don't see it. But Pittsburgh lost, Oklahoma needs to show that Blake Griffin has no ill effects after his concussion, Louisville isn't that impressive either, Memphis is tough to gauge because of the relative weakness of C-USA, et-cetera et-cetera. So UCONN it is.

And that's just the Top Ten! The middle of the poll was really difficult this week. Gonzaga is tenth, but again, I don't know that they're the tenth best team -- they just had a good week while everyone in front of them lost. Same deal with LSU. They're steamrolling through the SEC, but the SEC is the worst of the so-called Big Six conferences, so is that really as impressive as people believe it to be? Yet they keep winning, so they keep rising.

Missouri is a fraud, as Kansas showed, so they drop. Marquette is playing like the bottom of a taxi cab, so they drop. Arizona State had two losses in a row so they drop big time.

And then there's the last five in. I took some heat from you guys last week for leaving Creighton out of the poll just as they were receiving votes from the "mainstream" guys. On the one hand, I didn't want to come across as a homer by being the only one voting for the Jays. On the other hand, I didn't want a target on their back as they entered the final week. Both hands said to leave them out, so I left them out.

This week? Screw it. They're #23, because dammit, they're 25-6 and co-champions of a top ten conference. If that isn't a Top 25 team, come to Omaha, prove it to me and I'll buy you a beer at the bar of my choice, which will always be the Homy Inn because the beer is cheap there. And yes, they're ahead of Dayton because the Jays beat Dayton earlier this year. I actually dropped Dayton down one spot further than I had intended to because of that fact. Sorry, Flyers.

As always, my full poll is after the jump, and the actual BlogPoll will be live on CBS Sports.com this afternoon.

Continue reading CBS Sports Blog Poll, Week of 3/02/09.

2008-09 Game #31: Jays 74, Illinois State 70

Max Univers

on March 1, 2009 7:43 PM | Permalink

As I watched the game on Saturday, it was apparent that this was the best Illinois State had played in about a month. In retrospect, it shouldn't have been surprising. Speaking in generalities, the Jays always get their opponent's best shot in conference games. At home, opponents get jacked up to play in front of the biggest crowd they'll see all year, in an NBA-quality arena. On the road, Jays' opponents are excited because their crowd is larger and rowdier for Creighton than it is for almost anyone else.

I've heard this theory mentioned before, but I wasn't sure I ever really bought into it. Two years ago, I almost came around to believing it after watching team after team in the MVC play lights-out against a very good Jays squad -- and then suck against other teams. You'd see SIU or Bradley or Wichita State randomly blow out a team they were supposed to struggle with, and wonder, "Why is it no one ever has an off night against Creighton?"

Because everyone circles Creighton on their schedule. No one ever looks past them, no one ever has trouble getting up for the game, and everyone wants to play well against them. It makes a lot of sense. And maybe its part of the reason Creighton hasn't won a regular season title since 2002. Not THE reason, mind you, but part of the reason. There's no off night for Creighton in the MVC. Every time Creighton plays an MVC game, they have to bring their A game because the opponent is damn sure going to bring theirs. While some other teams can afford to have a game or three where they aren't 100% focused, Creighton can't.

Remember when Illinois State started the year 14-0, and Champ Oguchi bragged to the Chicago Tribune that the Redbirds were going to go undefeated all season -- including March? After knocking Creighton into next month in mid-January, it looked like his ridiculous claim was slightly less ridiculous. The Redbirds hadn't played as complete a game as that since, and tripped up enough to fall all the way to third place. Including Saturday's loss, they're just 8-8 since that 14-0 start.

They were a team spiraling downward until Saturday, when like clockwork, the Redbirds suddenly looked a lot like the team that started the year undefeated and led the outspoken Oguchi to make his ludicrous claim. This just four nights removed from a disheartening, stunning double-overtime loss to Northern Iowa on Senior Night that eliminated them from a chance at the league title. I wonder why that is?

Continue reading 2008-09 Game #31: Jays 74, Illinois State 70.

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