Mark Watts 2019 6'2" PG (offered)

[westojay]

Out of high school Top 100 AOC, Top 100 Jones, Top 70 Rati (Jays highest rated recruit in Internet era before this year) and Top 150 Chrisofilis. The off guard spot is not a weakness.

They were all ranked but not one of them so far have shown they are capable of being a consistent threat since they have stepped foot on campus. (The latter two though not fair to determine yet)

[REALITY]

Out of high school Top 100 AOC, Top 100 Jones, Top 70 Rati (Jays highest rated recruit in Internet era before this year) and Top 150 Chrisofilis. The off guard spot is not a weakness.

They were all ranked but not one of them so far have shown they are capable of being a consistent threat since they have stepped foot on campus. (The latter two though not fair to determine yet)

Exactly. If AoC or Jones had played well last season this wouldn't be an issue. Instead they were inconsistent if not just bad at times.
That the coaches are looking for wings signifies that they see it the same way.

[Oldfan]

The off guard is easily the biggest weakness on the roster right now

[vivid_dude]

The off guard is easily the biggest weakness on the roster right now

I don't disagree, although I have an irrational amount of hope that Rati and/or Christofilis could play alongside Ryan/Shereef and do very well. Such versatility. Speaking of being irrational, here's one for you: John Christofilis will average more points than TyTy next year. Why not? Sunshine pumping mode is way more fun than the alternative.

While I was hopeful for Watts, and hate Roger Clemens now, my silver lining is that Creighton is in play for so many talented 2022 guards/wings. If we load up too much on freshmen/young transfers this year, does that hurt our chances for potentially more talented players next recruiting cycle? Maybe that's not the way to think, but too late. I'm thinking that way. I feel like the combination of Nembhard, Shereef, Rati, AOC, Antwann, Christofilis can be more-than-serviceable when combined with our also-versatile big guys on the front court.

If I had control of everything, I'd prefer a grad-transfer back-up center with one year of eligibility to play 12 minutes a game and cause havoc. Let the Millers, Hawkins, Kalumas, Kalkbrenners do their thing alongside our backcourt, and instruct this new fella to just hurt folks. If that doesn't happen and we get Trey Alexander, I won't complain.

The above was some serious stream of consciousness writing.

[Angry Dan]

Out of high school Top 100 AOC, Top 100 Jones, Top 70 Rati (Jays highest rated recruit in Internet era before this year) and Top 150 Chrisofilis. The off guard spot is not a weakness.

They were all ranked but not one of them so far have shown they are capable of being a consistent threat since they have stepped foot on campus. (The latter two though not fair to determine yet)

Exactly. If AoC or Jones had played well last season this wouldn't be an issue. Instead they were inconsistent if not just bad at times.
That the coaches are looking for wings signifies that they see it the same way.

I’m with LJ on this one. AOC had to switch gears after he had an elaborate sit out year training program lined up with our trainers. That was derailed when he decided to play after the NCAA ordered an extra season for all.

Rati hasn’t proven anything because he hasn’t had a chance to. You are free to assume the worst, I’ll assume the best.

Antione struggled for sure, but hopefully he can get it going.

I think we are solid with these three Bluejays

[Angry Dan]

The off guard is easily the biggest weakness on the roster right now

I don't disagree, although I have an irrational amount of hope that Rati and/or Christofilis could play alongside Ryan/Shereef and do very well. Such versatility. Speaking of being irrational, here's one for you: John Christofilis will average more points than TyTy next year. Why not? Sunshine pumping mode is way more fun than the alternative.

While I was hopeful for Watts, and hate Roger Clemens now, my silver lining is that Creighton is in play for so many talented 2022 guards/wings. If we load up too much on freshmen/young transfers this year, does that hurt our chances for potentially more talented players next recruiting cycle? Maybe that's not the way to think, but too late. I'm thinking that way. I feel like the combination of Nembhard, Shereef, Rati, AOC, Antwann, Christofilis can be more-than-serviceable when combined with our also-versatile big guys on the front court.

If I had control of everything, I'd prefer a grad-transfer back-up center with one year of eligibility to play 12 minutes a game and cause havoc. Let the Millers, Hawkins, Kalumas, Kalkbrenners do their thing alongside our backcourt, and instruct this new fella to just hurt folks. If that doesn't happen and we get Trey Alexander, I won't complain.

The above was some serious stream of consciousness writing.

I agree, let’s get a BIG BANGER!

[JacobPadilla]

Antwann hasn't played one second of off-guard at Creighton in a real game. He played the 4 this year, which just further shows the flaw in citing high school rankings when discussing the positional strengths and weaknesses of Creighton's roster.

The truth is we have no idea what the strong or weak spots are on this team because Creighton doesn't have any proven players beyond a freshman center who hit the rookie wall and fell off a cliff the last third of the season. We have role players coming back at the 1, 2/3 and 4 plus Kalkbrenner, and everybody else is new.

In terms of depth of bodies, the 1 and the 4 are clearly very strong while the wing and center positions are shallow. It will be interesting to see how Mac adjusts his system to maximize this roster because it's very different than what we've had the last few years.

Ball-handlers: Mitchell, Andronikashvili, Nembhard
Off-ball guards: O'Connell, Christofilis
Wings/forwards: Jones, Kancleris, Hawkins, Miller, Kaluma
Centers: Kalkbrenner

[Angry Dan]

Is it possible to have Rati and AOC play at the 2 or the 3? Could Kaluma play at the 3? Could Miller and Hawkins play at the 3?

Just asking

[Chicagojayfan]

Antwann hasn't played one second of off-guard at Creighton in a real game. He played the 4 this year, which just further shows the flaw in citing high school rankings when discussing the positional strengths and weaknesses of Creighton's roster.

The truth is we have no idea what the strong or weak spots are on this team because Creighton doesn't have any proven players beyond a freshman center who hit the rookie wall and fell off a cliff the last third of the season. We have role players coming back at the 1, 2/3 and 4 plus Kalkbrenner, and everybody else is new.

In terms of depth of bodies, the 1 and the 4 are clearly very strong while the wing and center positions are shallow. It will be interesting to see how Mac adjusts his system to maximize this roster because it's very different than what we've had the last few years.

Ball-handlers: Mitchell, Andronikashvili, Nembhard
Off-ball guards: O'Connell, Christofilis
Wings/forwards: Jones, Kancleris, Hawkins, Miller, Kaluma
Centers: Kalkbrenner

No doubt we're all projecting, but it's easier to hope/project when you have guys who were ranked highly and who clearly have athletic skills that map into the BE level of play.

Agree on 1 and 4 having the depth, but we appear to have a ton of people who can provide a lot of flexibility on offense and defense. Mac has to be excited to have so many options and we should be able to present a lot of different matchup problems with this roster. Theoretically, we could have 5 more or less positionless players on the floor who could all handle, pass, score and defend

I was worried about the shooting (and still am), but think our shooting may come more from the wings/forwards this year than it has in recent years.

[yeti47]

Miss state