The 3 Most Important Questions for Creighton in the 2023-24 Season
Day 27 of 40 in the Countdown to Creighton Hoops
1. Depth, Depth, Depth- Where will it come from?
Any conversation about Creighton’s success in the upcoming season starts here.
Why?
Because bench production was limited last year. When you look at it from a points/game perspective, Creighton was in the bottom 2% (356/358) of all D1 teams:
Look, it is never fair to pinpoint success on one single person or unit. This is a team game and just because you don’t have depth doesn’t mean you can’t go far in the NCAA tourney. Last year’s Jays proved that more than anyone.
However, you can’t ignore the statistics as well as the subjective viewing of when we tried to go to the bench last year. There was less offensive production, mismatches on the defensive end, and at times unforced turnovers.
Last year’s shot chart for the returning bench reserves:
Last year’s defensive stats for those reserves as well:
A couple of notes from above:
Steal percentage was low for each player
Block percentage high for King (as you might expect)
Those two categories for each player were lower than the starting 5 except for Francisco’s steal percentage- being at about average for the team.
The good news here is that Farabello and King both return and have a year of experience in the Creighton system. Miller will likely be starting, so won’t be a part of the reserve conversation (but see below).
The new reserves on the block? Traudt, Dotzler, and Lawson. Which you feel will give the Jays options (or at least more options) than what they had last year.
The question really becomes, what do we need out of the bench this year?
I think it comes down to three things:
Score on open threes- With the exception of King, we need everyone including our bench to be shooting a high percentage on kick-out and transition threes.
Take care of the ball- Unforced errors and turnovers need to be kept to a minimum for the players on the team playing less than 15 min/game.
Create a spark- Who is going to be the reserve to create turnovers for this team? Who will be the on diving on the ground getting extra possessions? Who will be pumping the crowd up after a big three? We need 1 or 2 of the players on the bench to be “that guy” this year.
2. What will the Power Forward (4-spot) position look like this year?
We’ve discussed this in prior posts, but the Miller and Traudt development into this 4-spot, replacing Kaluma, is going to be the most intriguing position on the court when looking at the starting five.
I have confidence in Miller’s development, but seeing in-game play will shine a light on how quickly and significantly that development has actually occurred in the off-season.
More than anything, how will he and Traudt guard those 6’7-6’11 Forwards who don’t fit the typical Center prototype? Big East players of concern that come to mind include Oso Ighodaro, TJ Bamba, and Bryce Hopkins among others who could cause problems in that Forward spot.
It’s an important spot.
3. What does transition offense and the first 10 seconds of offensive motion look like for Creighton this year?
This question could also be rephrased as, “How will Steven Ashworth and Trey Alexander run the offense for the Jays this year?”
This is what I’m most excited to see for the Bluejays this year.
There is so much offensive firepower to expect for Creighton between our entire starting core— but it’s also going to stem from the decisions that Ashworth and Alexander make with the ball early on in the shot clock.
The decisions within the first two/three dribbles of transition can make or break scoring plays. The decision to lob pass or bounce pass, cross-court pass or hold on to the ball for safety, attack the paint or wait for a screen. Each of these things will be considerations for Ashworth & Alexander for >90% of trips down the court this season.
Some questions though:
How effectively will Ashworth get out in transition?
How will Mac rotate Ashworth out of the lineup— will he go with Alexander at point, or will he lean on a younger Dotzler or even Farabello?
If Alexander is the go-to PG replacement at times— how will he find ways to get to the hoop as effectively as Nembhard did in transition? He seems to be the guy to do that on this team (from a guard perspective)- so will he be able to exhibit this strength?
I don’t know if those are “answerable” questions at this point. I try not to speculate too much during these articles while trying to lean on facts and history as much as possible. But I do want to point them out to our readers- so they can be on the lookout for these things early on in the season.
As always
Roll Jays