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Korver's
absence could be asset
By Brian Ayers
Sports Editor
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Senior
center Brody Deren grabs an offensive rebound from
two Maverick defenders in last Sunday's 72-66 win against
Division II crosstown-rival, the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Photo by Tetona Dunlap
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The show must go on.
Kyle Korver earned second team All American honors last season
and is now showcasing his talents in the National Basketball
Association for the Philadelphia 76ers.
There is no doubt that the Jays will miss Korver’s
abilities this season, but assistant coach Greg Grensing
offers Bluejay fans some reassurance.
“
We’re going to be a lot tougher to defend,” Grensing
said. “Last year our entire offense was slanted toward
Kyle and likewise teams slanted their defensive schemes to
limit Kyle’s shots.”
The competition will have to search for new answers to try
to stop the Jays from qualifying for the NCAA Tournament
for the sixth consecutive season.
Coach Dana Altman often can be heard throughout the course
of a game calling out “balance!” from the sideline.
Although this is simply an instruction for the Creighton
offense to set up when they take the halfcourt, Grensing
said that the scoring attack this season will be much more
balanced.
“
We’re going to look to Nate Funk to become a more prominent
scorer, and are looking for our post players to get in the
scoring more, too,” he said.
Having a sharpshooter on the outside like Korver last year
gave Creighton’s offensive attack an outside-in approach.
Grensing said that this year having three senior post players
in Brody Deren, Joe Dabbert and Mike Grimes will reverse
the offensive plan to an inside-out approach.
Grensing said that having that kind of depth in the post,
along with the athletic ability of the Jays in general, should
create some favorable matchups for Creighton when conference
play gets underway.
“
We like our ballclub and we’ll go to war with anyone.
We’re bigger, more experienced and more talented than
most of the teams we’ll see,” Grensing said.
That is not to say that playing in the Valley will be easy.
On Oct. 28, Missouri Valley Conference Media Day, the conference
sports information directors voted Wichita State as the favorite
with Creighton in second.
“
There are a lot of returning players in the Valley this year,
and I wouldn’t have disagreed with the voters if we
would have ended up anywhere in the top five,” Grensing
said.
If the starting line-up for the Jays during the exhibition
game against the University of Nebraska-Omaha is indicative
of who will start for the Jays this year, look for junior
Tyler McKinney and sophomore Funk to anchor the starting
guard positions. Seniors Michael Lindeman and Grimes likely
will start at forward, while Deren will start at center for
the third consecutive season.
Grimes said that he is excited to start for the Jays this
year.
“
Everyone wants to start and I feel like I paid my dues and
earned the job,” Grimes said. “It’s a different
approach mentally. When I came off the bench I’d scout
the player I’d be guarding before I got in the game
. . .but I’m confident I’ll do a good job.”
The bench is just as important at Creighton, if not more
important than the starting five are to the team’s
overall success.
Grensing said that the coaching staff likes to have fresh
legs on the court at all times and sophomore junior college
transfer guard Johnny Mathies, junior guard Kellen Miliner
and center Dabbert will be the most active bench players.
Junior forward David Finklea, a walk-on as freshman, will
see limited minutes off the bench as well.
“
They will probably average close to twenty minutes a game,
but when it comes down to it, playing time will be determined
by who is going to produce during the last five minutes of
the game,” Grensing said. “That’s the time
when the majority of our games will be decided.”
Miliner spent the off season conditioning for his increasing
role this season.
“
I’ve worked on getting stronger so I can take the ball
inside more than I did last year,” Miliner said.
Grensing said returning from injuries also will be a determining
factor for the team’s success, along with being lucky.
If the Jays are able to accomplish their team goal to return
to the Big Dance this year, it would only be the second time
in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference that a team
has received six consecutive bids. It also would be the first
time this feat has been accomplished in over 40 years. The
Cincinnati Bearcats did it with their run from 1958-63.
“
Making the tournament is certainly a goal of the team, but
the team focus is on improvement,” Grensing said. “I
do know that our seniors don’t want to be the senior
class that doesn’t make it to the tournament. They
have confidence and a lot invested into this season.”
Not only are the Jays chasing Valley history this season,
but with the opening of the new state-of-the-art Qwest Center
Omaha, a new chapter in Creighton basketball history will
begin to unfold when the Jays open regular season play against
San Diego University on Nov. 22 at home.
“
The addition of the Qwest Center signifies the Omaha community’s
interest in CU basketball. People drop their jaws when they
see it and it will definitely help with recruiting,” Grensing
said. “Whether or not it will provide our team with
the home-court advantage that the Civic provided is yet to
be seen.”
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