Extra, Extra, Extra…Read all about it!  2017 Consensus TOP 25 recruit, Brian Tugs Bowen is on the Hilltop!

Brian Bowen, a consensus top recruit for 2017 (Rivals- , Scout- , ESPN- ) just arrived in the Big O for his official visit to Creighton University. The Bowen Family reportedly has trimmed their list to 3 schools and the Jays are his Final Visit!

This is HUGE (as they say these days)!  Brian trails only Benoit Benjamin (1982) as the highest ranked player to visit CU, and if he commits will be the highest ranked player to commit in the 64 team NCAA tourney era (since 1984-85).  Yeah Martha…this is that big!  Ol’ git is amped and I haven’t touched the Blue Juice today (yet).  The last time I was this excited was our 2012-13 season championships!

This is Bluenotes2.com and we don’t mince words here.  IMO, Creighton is the Best Possible Fit for Brian:  Top Academics, intimate size-not just another number or player (on the campus or on the team), and excellent instructor to student ratios. Creighton is also one of the top Wired Universities in the USA.

At CU Brian will be part of the family, not just another athlete amongst many.  He will be a student-athlete at an excellent small, Jesuit University which prides itself on instilling a sense of service as a part of the educational process.  Education is more than number grades and games.  It is about becoming a well-rounded individual, with critical thinking abilities, who values the importance of helping/serving others.

No football.  At Creighton hoops is King and the basketball players are BMOC.  The university has had many, many good players and several great ones pass under the arch…of which Gibson, Silas, Portman, Apke, Benjamin, Harstad, Buford, Korver, Tolliver, Echenique, and McDermott stand out. If a player is good enough, he/she can go pro from the Hilltop.  Creighton has hoards (15-20) of former players playing professionally overseas and has had Buford, Korver, Tolliver, and McDermott play in the NBA in recent years – the last 3 are still playing.  Lastly, Creighton competes in the Top Basketball conference in the USA, the Big East Conference – Home of the reigning NCAA Champions.  Our primary goal is to win championships: Big East and NCAA Championships.

If the Bowen family has in fact pared down Brian’s list, and if this visit is in fact his final official vist – Then the Bowen’s have Done Good…and have saved the Best for Last! Creighton, like a good dessert…is sweet, flavorful, titillatingly refreshing, and delightful!  Creighton is the Best Possible university for Brian…bar none!  Be a Creighton Bluejay, Brian Tugs Bowen.  It is okay and permissible for you to commit while on this visit.  Omaha and the Creighton community both love you and will be supporting you, both during your tenure on the Hilltop and as you move forward in life.

There is no better choice than Creighton University.  Commit now!  Be a Creightonian, be a Bluejay, Brian.

Once a Jay…Always a Jay!

luv ya,  gtmoBlue

Notes:

Mitch Ballock’s A Bluejay!!  All Right Mitch.

Up next:   @5Tyshon

Ty-Shon Alexander

The Creighton Bluejays are a near consensus pick in the majority of preseason polls, including Sports Illustrated’s poll.  However, there seems a disconnect within the SI teams’ opinion of the Bluejays…

Sports Illustrated is Rollin’:

Seth Davis calls the Jays and the Big East midmajors…which was Quickly retracted from Twitter…and the online article.
http://www.bigeastcoastbias.com/2016/11/9/13575284/sports-illustrated-calls-creighton-a-mid-major

SI has Jays 21st in their TOP 351 team countdown, but then predicts Jays in 4-way tie for 3rd place with a 10-8 conf record. Geez SI…are the Jays a top team or not?

Projected Order of Finish
(Projected conference record in parentheses. The tiebreaker for teams with identical records is their standing in SI’s 1-351 national rankings, which will be revealed in early November.)Conference Rank Team Proj. Conf. Record ’15-16 Conf. Record
1 Villanova 14–4 16–2
2 Xavier 12–6 14–4
3 Creighton 10–8 9–9
4 Butler 10–8 10–8
5 Seton Hall 10–8 12–6
6 Georgetown 10–8 7–11
7 Marquette 9–9 8–10
8 Providence 7–11 10–8
9 St. John’s 5–13 1–17
10 DePaul 3–15 3–15

The Skinny on Each Team

3. Creighton (10–8)

Opponents will have a really hard time dealing with Maurice Watson’s playmaking and Marcus Foster’s scoring on the perimeter, but they’ll also have to account for stretchy power forward Cole Huff as well as the guard we project to lead Creighton in offensive efficiency, senior Isaiah Zierden, who connected on 38.5% of his three-point attempts in 2015–16. This is a talented team with a host of proven scoring options.

Name Pos. Class PPG RPG APG ORtg Volume Mins
Maurice Watson Jr. Sr PG 15.6 3.2 6.5 112.6 27% 85%
Marcus Foster Jr SG 14.2 3.4 2.0 111.3 23% 71%
Cole Huff Sr SF 12.6 5.7 0.8 117.9 20% 65%
Isaiah Zierden Sr SG 8.1 2.6 1.8 125.8 15% 60%
Khyri Thomas So SG 7.7 3.9 1.6 110.0 18% 57%
Justin Patton Fr C 6.8 4.4 0.5 106.1 18% 49%
Zach Hanson Sr C 6.3 3.3 0.2 120.2 19% 36%

They need to get their act together. A bit of prior collaboration and planning would seem to have been missing here. And Seth Davis? Well…he’s just being Seth Davis (or Doug Gottlieb, or Jeff Goodman – take your pick)!

If the 21st best team in the nation (in their reckoning) can only muster 20-21 W’s in the regular season, and a middlin’ 10-8 in conference play – 1 of 2 things are happening here.

1. Sports Illustrated (SI) is attempting to placate folks by having the Jays in their Top 25 while their (SI) projections indicate they might not belong in a Top 25 listing. OR
2. The other pollsters are correct that the Jays do belong amongst this years elite and the SI Crew are non-believers hence the conservative SI projections.

The SI crew sound like a segment of our faithful…10-8… lol

Recruiting Visit – Brian “Tugs” Bowen and Family will visit the Hilltop on Friday, the 11th – Sunday, the 13th of November.   Show da Luv, Omaha…show da luv!  B A Bluejay Tugs.

Yo Tugs…  Mitch and Ty-Shon are onboard…Close the deal baby-boy, close the deal and let’s git(mo) to the next level, together!  Luv ya Tugs… Be a Creightonian – Be a Bluejay, baby!    Once a Bluejay – Always a Bluejay.