Let the Big East Show begin!

Jays completed the non-conference portion of the seasons’ slate with an expected win over Midland Lutheran yesterday.  Midland was an late addition to the scchedule.  Most likely to avoid having a 10 day gap between games heading into Big East play.  I had expected 3 losses, but the Jays closed out both Oklahoma (home) and Arizona State (road) to exceed my expectations.

Jays vs Midland to close non.conference slate.

Jays vs Midland – OWH

The 11-2 Jays open conference play with a home date with Marquette (10-2) on Wednesday, 01Jan20.

So with the Big East opener on deck, what’s the latest?

WBR/Juszyk photo

Courtesy: Creighton Athletics

Denzel Mahoney is finally playing.  Averaging 12.7 ppg over his 1st 3 games.  He had 14 pts vs both Oklahoma and ASU.  Denzel is one of 2 welcome potential additions – includes Davion Mintz.  However…it also appears that Kelvin Jones while playing, is also being brought into PT slowly.  He should be ready for the Marquette game.

Coach Mac informed all that Davion will be redshirting this season, as his recovery from his ankle injury is not progressing as was expected.  Unfortunate for Davion, but will be a boon for the team’s depth next season.

The Preseason BE Coaches and other polls had Seton Hall and Villanova as the teams to beat this season.  However, it seems that both Butler (12-1) and DePaul (12-1) had other ideas.  Both have only 1 non-conference loss entering league play.

DePaul will tangle with preseason favorite Seton Hall (8-4) and PoY pick Miles Powell on 30 Dec19-in Chicago.  Powell is recovering from a concussion and it is not yet known if he will play in the opener.  DePaul follows up with another home date vs Providence (7-6) on Sat 04Jan20.

Butler gets a matchup @St Johns (11-2) on New Year’s Eve, followed by Jays @Butler on Saturday, 04Jan20.

Current standings as we get ready for takeoff:

BE Standings as Conf Season begins

Big East Conference

2019-20 Men’s Basketball Standings

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2019-20 Men’s Basketball Standings

School	Conf	CPct.	Overall	Pct.	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
Butler	0-0	0.000	12-1	0.923	8-0	1-1	3-0	W3
DePaul	0-0	0.000	12-1	0.923	9-1	3-0	0-0	W3
Creighton	0-0	0.000	11-2	0.846	9-0	1-1	1-1	W7
St. John’s	0-0	0.000	11-2	0.846	9-1	0-0	2-1	W7
Xavier	0-0	0.000	11-2	0.846	8-0	1-1	2-1	W2
Marquette	0-0	0.000	10-2	0.833	7-0	1-1	2-1	W5
Villanova	0-0	0.000	9-2	0.818	5-1	1-1	3-0	W5
Georgetown	0-0	0.000	10-3	0.769	7-2	2-0	1-1	W6
Seton Hall	0-0	0.000	8-4	0.667	5-1	1-2	2-1	W2
Providence	0-0	0.000	7-6	0.538	6-1	0-2	1-3	W1

 

Ryan is our sole signee in the Fall 2020 signing period.

Jays hit one out of the park to start off their 2020 recruiting efforts!  While many fans were seemingly worried that CU wouldn’t pull in a top prospect, the staff just continued to keep their nose to the grind and kept working.  Now it is still really early in the 2020 recruiting cycle, but folks were antsy when seeing no early results.  Visions of last recruiting cycle (no top HS recruits) were rampant, with fingers ready to push the panic button.  The staffs hard work bore fruit Sunday night (22 Sep 19) as 247 (composite) top #75 center Ryan Kalkbrenner committed to Creighton.  Rivals.com #69.                          Make no mistake here…           This is a Big Time get!

Young Mr. Kalkbrenner is the Real Deal.  He was the EYBL’s Defensive PoY this spring, averaging 4.5 blocks and 8.9 rebounds in 13 games for the Mac Irvin Fire.  He entered EYBL play relatively unknown…13 EYBL games and 58 blocked shots later, Ryan has become well known.

At Trinity Catholic in St. Louis, Ryan averaged 13.9 points and 7.6 rebounds as a high school junior.  He is tapping into his potential and showing major improvement at the perfect time.

Kalkbrenner is becoming a well rounded player.  While known primarily for his defensive acumen, he is a good shooter and is developing his offensive game.  Seems his best days as a hoopster are still ahead of him.

Jerry Meyer/247 Sports:

Has NBA center length as a 7-footer. Possesses good mobility, good hands and feet. Not an explosive athlete and needs to gain strength and build up mass. Not a long-range shooter at this point, but has good shooting touch and shoots a high-free throw percentage. Offensive game is improving as strength and confidence improves. Greatest strength is shot blocking. Blocks shots at a high rate.

Coach Irvin/Mac Irvin Fire_EYBL:

“First of all, he’s 7-foot and mobile,” Irvin explained. “He can guard a pick and roll, he blocks shots, and he can guard all five positions. He’s a very smart defender.”

“He never gets in foul trouble,” said Irvin.

That notion is backed up by Kalkbrenner’s 1.6 personal fouls per game. This has allowed him to constantly be on the floor for the Fire, and their defense has proven to be amongst the league’s best when he’s manning the backline.

“(Ryan) has been unbelievable on defense,” Irvin said.  “He’s the best defender I’ve ever coached.”

https://247sports.com/Article/Creighton-Bluejays-basketball-top-75-Ryan-Kalkbrenner-commitment-136002556/

Ryan remarkably grades out higher on 247’s ratings than both Justin Patton and Jacob Epperson, although both were numerically ranked higher.  His 0.9698 score makes him the highest rated player for CU since 247.com began such player ratings.

• Ryan Kalkbrenner
  Trinity Catholic(Saint Louis, Missouri)
• C
• 6-11 / 210
• 0.9698

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/four-star-ryan-kalkbrenner-picks-creighton

Ryan had accumulated 17 offers, including GT, Illinois, Pitt, Mizzou, VT, Purdue, Stanford, KU, and Cincy, among others.  He visited many schools unofficially, the focus centered early on Illinois, and later on Purdue.  Ryan and family narrowed his official visits to the Jays, Purdue, and Stanford.  Kansas offered on 10 Sept 19, attempting one of their famous late entry swoops to snag a promising recruit.  LOL.  However, the process was too far gone by then and the Kalkbrenner family stayed the course with their final 3.

Creighton, with this committment has addressed their greatest needs, in getting a legit big with defensive chops.  Ryan will fill the holes in rim protection, rebounding, and blocked/altered shots.  He adds much needed depth in the frontcourt for the Jays.  Although not needed on a team constructed like Creighton’s, he will develop into another nice offensive weapon also as he fills in his body and gains more strength.

The Jays still have one scholie to give for 2020.  Perhaps a nice Euro PF?  Perhaps SG Kerwin Walton from Minnesota?  We shall see.  For now, the Jays have broken the ice for 2020 and are looking good.  Well done Creighton, well done!

Welcome home Ryan.  You done good in making your best decision.  Looking forward to seeing your exemplary play as a Bluejay!