Saturday, August 16, 2008

Creighton: 2008-2009 Team Preview

2007-2008 Record: 22-11, 10-8 MVC (4th)

Key Losses: Dane Watts (11.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Nick Bahe (5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, starter)

Key Returnees: P'Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg), Cavel Witter (9.1 ppg, 2.5 apg), Josh Dotzler (3.6 apg, 2:1 a/to)

Newcomers: Josh Jones, Antoine Young, Justin Carter

Creighton is your typical MVC team - a lot of guards, a lot of shooters, and a deep rotation (the Bluejays actually had 12 guys average between 7 and 25 minutes a game). Their going to be led by 6'3" scoring guard P'Allen Stinnett, who led the team in scoring as a freshman despite only being in the starting lineup half of the year. Cavel Witter and Booker Woodfox, two guards that also come off the bench (both averaged 9 ppg in about 18 mpg), will also see a lot of time and be counted on for a lot of scoring. PG Josh Doltzer doesn't put up big numbers (he only averaged 3.4 ppg and amazingly made just three 3's and grabbed three offensive rebounds ALL SEASON in 703 minutes), but he is the anchor for this back court and this team. Think Adam Emmenecker.

Creighton was not a very big team last year, and after losing forward Dane Watts, their best front court player, to graduation, they will continue to be small inside. Creighton makes up for the lack of size through versatile players, who, for the most part, can all shoot. They do have Kenny Lawson Jr., a 6'9" bruiser who had to red shirt his freshman year due to tendinitis. Now that he is healthy, look for the rising sophomore to be a force in the paint.


UPDATE: Thanks to Blue Jays basketball for pointing out something I missed. The Jays signed JuCo transfer Justin Carter out of Fullerton CC in California. Carter is a 6'5" slasher that can score (although he is not a great shooter), defend, and rebound. According the WildJays at the Blue Jays blog, Carter should be the early season favorite for MVC newcomer of the year.

Outlook: The Bluejays, along with Illinois State, are probably the pre-season favorites to win the MVC with Drake and Southern Illinois losing a lot of important players. Although Creighton brings in a fairly weak recruiting class (according to scout.com, they only have guards signed to an LOI), they bring back enough talent where they should end the season atop the hyper-competitive MVC.

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