Doug McDermott Is Now The Best Walk On In College Basketball

Doug McDermott might now be the best walk on in college basketball history. (cbssports.com)

Doug McDermott has 1,635 points and 564 rebounds in his three-year college career.

McDermott has a mountain of awards and honors to his name, including Missouri Valley Player of the Year awards, AP All-American First Team honors and being named a consensus First-Team All American.

McDermott has led the Creighton Blue Jays to conference titles and NCAA Tournament victories.

This year, McDermott will add another distinction to his list: walk on. This will most likely lead to an unofficial honor of being the best walk on in college basketball history (with probably only Scottie Pippen, who racked up 1,600 points as a walk on at Central Arkansas, arguing this claim).

McDermott is a walk on to make room for teammate and friend Grant Gibbs, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility earlier this month. It also wouldn't have happened if his father, Greg, wasn't his coach.

But Greg McDermott has the means the pay for Doug's tuition, and credit Doug for not having an ego that would make him hate not being a scholarship player. He could have made another player give up a scholarship, but he and Greg made a sacrifice that was in everyone's best interest.

Gibbs averaged 8.5 points 4.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game last season. Most importantly, Gibbs is one of four starters returning next season, which will keep strong continuity and chemistry preventing a need for an early-season-get-used-to-playing-with-each-other phase.

Apparently the team won't take it easy on McDermott just because he's one of the nation's best players.

"He's going to be carrying bags and doing all that kind of stuff," Gibbs said with a smile in an ESPN article. "He'll have to handle that. That'll be a different situation for him. I think he'll probably be the best walk-on in America. We'll see."

Again, these are special circumstances in which McDermott's coach is also his father and able to pay the $44,000 in tuition. But both could have been stubborn. Both could think McDermott was too good to be labeled a walk on, and there had to be another scholarship player with the family means to pay for tuition.

But neither did that, and should be commended for it. In return, the Blue Jays are returning a strong piece of their starting lineup in Gibbs and should be a force in the new Big East this year.

After all, Creighton does have the best walk on in America on its team.


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Living with the Catholic 7's New Big East

The new Big East is not unsettling until you think about it. (holylandofhoops.com)

Has anyone properly addressed how odd the new Big East is going to be if Creighton joins the Catholic 7's 2.0 version with Butler and Xavier? Not according to Google because there were no appropriate results when I searched for "weird Big East Creighton." In fact, the most out-of-the-norm headline was a rumor about the Big 12 dropping all football programs and adding Creighton as well as Missouri Valley competitors Wichita State and Missouri State.

While the Big 12 getting rid of the biggest money-making sport would have been a surprise even at the conference's lowest point in realignment, it will not be a shock if the Bluejays defect from the MVC to take a place in college athletics' newest old conference.

What will make this conference so unique, if the Bluejays end up as a member, is the roster of teams that will be gunning for the same regular season championship. The grouping will encompass some of college basketball's historic cornerstones playing alongside programs that have surged more recently in a league that stretches across nearly half of the contiguous United States, although geography is less of an issue than ever in the realignment game.

Mid-major darlings like Creighton and Butler will mix with contenders like Georgetown and Villanova in a conference that, although it will be a conglomeration of solid teams, lacks a true powerhouse program. Despite the majority of schools coming from a (former) Power Six conference, the new Big East will more closely resemble a mega mid-major -- a conference that is at the top of it's class, but not quite on par with what remains of the NCAA's top Division I basketball leagues.

The Hoyas, along with Providence and St. John's, were founding members of the original Big East with 'Nova joining slightly later. History is on their side, but recent years have seen the programs post decent-to-good records, while rarely being legitimate threats to win their conference championship. (Georgetown's very strong season in progress is more of an outlier than a standard.) The other side of the coin sees the Bluejays, Butler and Xavier being marquee teams in their own less heralded conferences and either winning outright or sharing titles year in and year out in their respective spheres.

This would seemingly put the best of the Catholic 7 on the level with the mid-major imports. The sentiment is furthered with the speculative inclusion of programs such as Saint Louis, Dayton, Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth as soon as 2013-14 or 2014-15. These purported additions draw heavily from the Atlantic 10, often seen as the class of mid-major conferences, especially after sending eight teams to the NCAA Tournament just a few years ago.

Of Creighton and the nine schools already committed to joining this iteration of the Big East, four are locks to hear their names announced on Selection Sunday (Georgetown, Marquette, Butler and the Bluejays) in under two weeks and ESPN's Joe Lunardi is projecting Villanova as a play-in team. VCU and SLU are the only two prospective teams expected to make the NCAA tourney at this point, although that could change depending on the outcomes of conference tournaments.

Since only nine teams are committed to the new Big East at this point, this is merely one idea of what could happen. But if things shake out the way they are expected to, there needs to be a new term for such a unique conference; one that encompasses the strength of nouveau riche programs and those that could compete what was once the stacked Big East of old but can lay realistic claims to the new league's top spot. That term is not Catholic, after the majority of the schools' affiliations, but perhaps it is catholic, as in universal, appealing to a wide range of tastes.

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Creighton/St. Mary's Headlines Final BracketBusters Event

Creighton travels to St. Mary's for the biggest BracketBusters game of the year. (smcgaels.com)

BracketBusters is in it's final season, and after the pairings were announced Tuesday, it isn't exactly going out with a bang.

While some of the best mid-major teams are in action Feb. 22 and 23, the matchups are lacking the excitement the namesake has brought in the past. The purpose of BracketBusters is to give mid-major teams a final chance to earn a quality win late in the season and get exposure on national television.

If you're looking to scout teams that can make a buzz in the NCAA Tournament, this is your event. Indiana State is making a run at Creighton, Wichita State (both part of BracketBusters) and a Missouri Valley title and can make noise if they get into the tournament, March Madness veterans Belmont and Davidson are looking for a return trip and Murray State and Long Beach State try to regain the momentum from outstanding seasons last year.

The clear winner for best matchup to watch is Creighton versus St. Mary's. Creighton will be able to walk into the NCAA Tournament with a 20-3 record and quality wins but St. Mary's (19-4) is still in need of a signature win to boost the resume. Unlike some of the other matchups in the BracketBusters event, the Gaels can vastly improve their chances in March with a win against Creighton and can gain the most out of the BracketBusters teams who were not given the best opponent to help their causes.

St. Mary's has a great home crowd that will be going crazy for this game, but not only will having so much at stake for one side help build the anticipation in the arena, it will also be a great matchup on the court. The Bluejays and Gaels are both uptempo teams who can score quickly, so this could be a game of runs.

Creighton's Doug McDermott (24 ppg, 7.3 rpg) is a front runner for national player of the year and fans should take any chance they get to watch this guy play. St. Mary's is lead by point guard Matthew Dellavedova (16.3 ppg, 6.5 apg) who can hit big shot after big shot and has been doing it his whole career. Playing in the Olympics for the Australian national team looked to have only enhanced his game, and if the game is close in the final two minutes, look for the ball to be in his hands.

St. Mary's is looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2008, and a win over a ranked Creighton team should boost the Gaels into one of the final 68 spots, as long as they don't shoot themselves in the foot in the remainder of WCC play.

To start preparing your viewing schedule now, here's a schedule from ESPN for the BracketBusters games on TV:

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Saturday Proved College Basketball Excitement Starts Long Before March Madness

Hinkle Fieldhouse erupted as Butler defeated Gonzaga on a buzzer-beater Saturday night. (themonitor.com)

It's a common misconception that the college basketball season doesn't really get exciting until tournament time.

Saturday helped disprove this notion with a full day of drama. Out of the 13 games featuring a top-25 team, nine of those games were decided by single digits and seven of those games were decided by five points or less. The NCAA Tournament is one of the most dramatic and exciting postseasons in all of sports, but the great games start long before March, as Saturday showed. Saturday afternoon was like a three-course meal with each course better than the last.

Appetizer
Texas had Kansas on the ropes midway through the second half with an 11-point lead. Texas had a similar lead against West Virginia last week, but was unable to hang on. Saturday was deja vu for the Longhorns. KU continued to chip away at the lead until finally going ahead 54-53 with 4:29 remaining. It was a one-point game for the next three minutes until KU broke free for good with a huge dunk by Ben McLemore to extend the lead to five with 1:14 left. Texas' youth showed through in the end as the momentum continued to swing in the Jayhawks favor, but the Longhorns were clearly not intimidated by the No. 4 next to the Kansas name.

Main Course
Remote controls were getting a work out. With about a minute of game time between them, Wichita State was trying to hold on to a home win against No. 12 Creighton while No. 6 Syracuse was giving No. 1 Louisville all they could handle at the Yum! Center in Louisville. WSU superbly defended National Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott, who was unable to convert on the final Creighton possessions as the Shockers held on to win 67-64.

At the same time, Louisville saw its lead slip away with a steal and emphatic dunk by Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams gave the Orange a lead they would not give up with 23 second left.

That highlight will be shown in March, but wasn't even the best play of the day. That was fittingly saved for primetime. Leading up to the final game on the night, Oregon hung on to knock off UCLA in Pauley Pavilion and Michigan State closed out a 59-56 nail-biter against Ohio State.

Dessert
Like most great meals, you are already full and content entering the dessert round. Saturday would have been one of the best college basketball days of the season after Ohio State, Michigan State, but the best was still to come.

The matchup was set for a great finish. No. 8 Gonzaga versus No. 13 Butler in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The battle of mid-major juggernauts battling on the court where the Hoosiers once captivated the world. The atmosphere could have been a Final Four, and the caliber of teams was just as strong as the surroundings.

After a back-and-forth battle, Gonzaga looked to have the game wrapped up. Kelly Olynyk hit two big free throws to take a 63-62 lead in the final 10 seconds. Butler was then called for traveling on the next possession, with 3.5 seconds left, nearly sealing their fate. But then the "magic" of Hinkle Fieldhouse, which looked very real Saturday, began to work. On the inbounds play, a miscommunication between Gonzaga's David Stockton, who was inbounding the ball, and Olynyk led to a steal by Butler's Roosevelt Jones. What happens next was scripted for March.

Fans had to be exhausted after seven hours of lead changes, nail-biters and plays that will live on highlight reels long after this.

March is supposed to be the exciting time of year for college basketball. But take a look at the games this month and realize the drama begins long before the tournament. We can only hope March is as exciting as Saturday was.

Who Will Be Next To Jump From Cinderella To Powerhouse?

Gonzaga was America's original "Cinderella" team, but now is a terrifying team to meet in March. (sportingnews.com)

Gonzaga started the idea of the mid-major "Cinderella" with an Elite 8 run in 1999. Now the Zags are a consistent top-25 team that is expected to do well in March.

Butler took it a step further with consecutive NCAA Tournament title game appearances under coach Brad Stevens and is continuing to take on a beat top 25 opponents. We've already discussed how good of a coach Stevens is, as now Butler is moving away from that Cinderella title to being a fixture at the top of the game every year. 

It's a tough job for a mid-major to maintain the kind of excellence it takes to become one of the big boys, with less funds and recognition. Many teams haven't been able to hold on after breaking into the limelight. Just look at Bucknell, Vermont or Hampton. We'll see if Norfolk St. or Lehigh are one-hit wonders after last season's shockers. Factors like coaching and personnel are obviously involved and if your breakout coach leaves for a bigger school, your dreams of being the next Gonzaga could end in a second.

Still, Butler will likely be the last team to make the jump in performance level and credibility, so here are a couple more schools in the running to be next in line.

Favorite:

VCU: The Rams hammered their way into the spotlight in 2007 with a dramatic 79-77 win over Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They only reached the tournament one more time in the next three years (2009) but then had the breakout year in 2011. VCU scrapped its way to the Final Four before losing to who else but Butler. The Rams were back in it again last year, nearly losing to Indiana (63-61) in the second round. The Rams have had the big wins to get themselves known and then made an impressive run to make the nation believers. As long as Shaka Smart is the coach, VCU has a good chance to keep this going. They probably need two or three more tournament appearances and another Sweet 16 birth — as well as some huge regular-season wins — to move into Butler range.


In The Running:

Creighton: Creighton benefits from playing in a conference (Missouri Valley) known for producing talented, mid-major basketball programs. The BlueJays have been a mainstay in the NCAA Tournament since 1999, making the tournament eight times during that span, including five seasons in a row from 1999-2003. Creighton has advanced to the second round three times since 1999, yet can't seem to find a way into the second weekend. With potential National Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott leading the way, this could be the year Creighton breaks through to the Sweet 16.

Davidson: If Stephen Curry could have stayed at Davidson for more than four years, Davidson could already be in line with Butler. The Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament each year from 2006-2008, with the climax being Curry leading the 2008 squad to the Elite 8, where it was narrowly defeated by soon-to-be national champion Kansas. Bob McKillop has rebounded from the loss of that great 2008 senior class and is looking to make a second-straight tournament appearance this year. Davidson has been able to recruit pretty well, schedules big-name opponents early in the season and plays in a fairly weak conference, so the blueprint is there for the Davidson name to grow, but the Wildcats still need to go first.



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Creighton: Usual Suspects in the Missouri Valley Title Hunt

The long wait will soon be over when the first official NCAA basketball game of the 2012-13 season will tip-off on Nov. 15. Some of our favorite players have moved on the ranks of professional athletes, new recruits have been polishing their games in gyms with recognizable logos on the court, and schools have switched conference allegiances. Through a series of conference previews, the BDD crew will do its best to prepare you for the next 4.5 months of collegiate hoops.

Doug McDermott will once again lead Creighton's charge to the top of the MVC. (Travis Heying/Wichita Eagle)

Favorite:  Creighton

Creighton is the only Missouri Valley team to be ranked in the top 20 preseason poll. The reason is simple, and his name is Doug McDermott. Entering his junior year, McDermott is the only First Team All-American returning to NCAA competition, and he's an insanely efficient scorer who averages 23 points per game on 60 percent shooting while staying at 48 percent from three point range.

Creighton is also returning veteran point guard Grant Gibbs, who averages five assists a game. They are losing two of their three leading scorers, however, in guard Antoine Young and center Gregory Echenique. Echenique's departure is an especially big blow because of his shot blocking, but he will be replaced by a seven-footer out of Texas named Geoff Grosselle. 

Dark Horse:  Northern Iowa

In 2011-12, Northern Iowa was tied for third place in the conference. This year, they are returning six of their seven highest scorers from last season. They had a surprisingly balanced attack last year, with only one player averaging (rising senior Anthony James) more than 10 points per contest. Their experience could be a huge advantage in the coming months. 

POY:  Doug McDermott, Creighton

McDermott should be the unanimous pick. The 23 points and eight rebounds he averaged per game last year gives him a convincing argument even before this season begins.

Coach of the year:  Greg Marshall, Wichita State

Wichita State is losing their top six leading scorers from last year. There is no doubt 2012-13 will be tough, but the coach of the year award usually goes to the team with the lowest expectations at the beginning of the season. Marshall has a great recruiting class that includes three-star small forward Deontae Hawkins and Oregon transfer Malcom Armstead, who averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 assists per game two seasons ago. 

Newcomer:  Fred Van Fleet, Wichita State

Another addition to Marshall's remade Wichita State roster, Van Fleet is a four-star point guard from Chicago. Although he is undersized at only 5’11”, he is still a threat, proven by his status as the No. 1 recruit out of Illinois this year. Van Fleet has been committed to WSU since his junior year. His ballhandling and shooting should should anchor the Shockers' backcourt for the next four years.


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