It has been 12 seasons since Dana Altman coached at Creighton. But Greg McDermott, who succeeded Altman at Creighton in 2010, believes Bluejays fans will experience a blast from the past when DePaul visits for a Big East battle Saturday afternoon in Omaha, Neb.
That’s because first-year DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield spent his previous 11 seasons serving as Altman’s top assistant at Oregon.
McDermott himself will miss the game after entering COVID-19 protocol on Friday. But before that news broke, the coach said Creighton fans will “recognize a lot of what (Stubblefield is) doing” on Saturday.
“I think it looks a lot like what Coach Altman did when he was here and what he has continued on at Oregon,” McDermott said. “You know, changing defenses. Different levels of pressure in the full court and three-quarter court. And then a lot of freedom on the offensive end. What he has done is taken a program that has not had a lot of success and really instilled some confidence in his roster. When they get behind, they do not quit. They have fought and fought and fought.”
DePaul (10-7, 1-6 Big East) arrives at Creighton on the heels of a victory over No. 20 Seton Hall and a one-point loss to No. 20 Xavier. The latter, a 68-67 home loss Wednesday, happened without standout Javon Freeman-Liberty and his averages of 21.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in the lineup. He sat due to a groin injury and is day-to-day.
“It could be this Saturday,” Stubblefield said. “It could be next Saturday.”
Top 100 recruit David Jones stepped up in Freeman-Liberty’s absence by stuffing the stat sheet in similar fashion: 26 points, five 3-pointers, five rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals.
Meanwhile, Alex O’Connell is finally hitting his stride for Creighton (11-5, 3-2). O’Connell rarely started in three years at Duke, then served as the ninth man on the Bluejays’ Sweet 16 team last year.
These days, he’s scoring like never before. He put up a career-high 22 points last Saturday at Xavier, then topped it with 28 points (including six 3-pointers) in Wednesday’s 87-64 home win over St. John’s.
“He’s halfway through his senior season,” McDermott said. “I think there’s a level of urgency there that slaps seniors in the face when it gets close to February. Like, holy smokes, it’s almost over. But he’s hanging around a little longer after practice and getting shots up … getting there a little earlier. And you see him sometimes at times of the day when you usually don’t see him there in the gym.”
–Field Level Media
