Arkansas Pine-Bluff thoughts: We needed a drink at halftime
Well that was scary. We knew things would be different this season, but I didn’t think getting boat-raced on our home court in the first half was in the cards. I went to the game last night hoping to get to know this new team and see what they could do against inferior competition.
By halftime, I was ready to hit the bar, but I had my 12-year old with me, so the other option was to stay and hope for the best. We all know what happened next. The Jays figured it out, made some defensive changes, hit some threes, and we all got Godfather’s Pizza.
Here are some points I took away from the game:
Alex O’Connell is going to be the glue. He won’t lead the team in scoring every night, but he will be the leader of the locker room and the calming presence on the floor.
Ryan Nembhard has the look of a guy who could go down as one of the best point guards to ever play at Creighton. We are blessed to have him. He’s wise beyond his years and he plays with a sort of smooth confidence that puts me at ease when the ball is in his hands.
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Ryan Hawkins is as advertised. I do have concerns about him one-on-one when Big East play begins, but for now, he’s a guy who knows how to get the ball into the basket and understands the importance of rebounding and second-chance opportunities. Like O’Connell, his maturity is going to be very valuable to this team.
Ryan Kalkbrenner was a little quieter than I’d like him to be. Not sure if he was hurt or what was going on, but 7-footers need to play like 7-footers. They need to dominate at the rim on both ends of the floor. The clock is ticking on him being able to do that in a Jays uniform.
Keyshawn Feazell might end up being one of the most important pieces of this team. He has the aggressiveness and physicality you need to play in the Big East. It was only one game, but I almost feel like we’re better off with him getting more minutes in the paint than Kalkbrenner.
Trey Alexander looked the part. He’s going to provide valuable minutes off the bench without being a liability. He’s not a game changer, but he’s going to be huge as far as depth goes.
Rati Andronikashvili (I’m just gonna call him Andro) plays at a fast pace with a high level of awareness. I love the energy he brings, I just hope the staff can figure out the best way to utilize him this season.
Arthur Kaluma was the best athlete on the floor and it seemed like it took him a while to figure that out. This team will go as far as he and Nembhard can take them. I prefer to see him attack the rim than to toss up threes. I understand Creighton’s “Let It Fly” mantra, but this team is not built like teams of the past. This is a team built to play tough on the inside and attack the rim in order to be competitive in the conference, and that all starts with Kaluma.
Overall, the №1 thing I saw from this team that I was happy about was the appearance of giving a shit about rebounding, something we flat out have not seen from McDermott teams in the past. I’m also interested to see how the rotation looks when we get Shareef Mitchell back in the mix.
One game down, on to the next one. Go Jays!
