Banter Recap and ATR–6/29/09

I figured today as I recap the Bluejay Banter radio show from yesterday, I would also throw in some links of interest in a little Around the Rim.

Bluejay Banter recap

• A nice interview with Lance Wilkerson from Evansville TV and Radio.  I nice preview of the incoming players for the Purple Aces squad and their chances for next season.
• Later in the show, Mary Simmons from Evansville took some time from a father/son camp to talk.  Very entertaining.
• A great interview with Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen.  In the interview it appears within the next couple of seasons there is a good possibility of a home-home matchup with Vanderbilt and LSU.    There is also one game left to schedule for the Jays this season which is expected as Coach Altman likes to hold one game late to see if a high level team needs to fill a game late.  If necessary the Jays will go on the road for this game this season depending on the opponent available.    (With the Jays also already bringing back St. Joesph’s in 2010-11, the home schedule that season is starting to look quite favorable in 2010-11) Also a lot of great info with the new Ryan Center and the new baseball stadium stuff.

Around the Rim

• Northern Iowa’s Lucas O’Rear has decided to stay at UNI for this upcoming season.  Very interesting the different scenario’s presented to him and UNI keeping him from going to another Valley school for baseball.
• Gregggg Marshall seems to be pretty happy with what he as built and Wichita may be interesting for the next couple of seasons.
• Summer workouts–with the Jays not in Summer League this season, the Jays are having their own private summer workouts, so it is hard to know how they are looking and I don’t know if media types or others are let in to see them play some pickup games.  However some have had looks at other teams.  See New Mexico (who the Jays play at The Pit this season) and Wichita St.
• This was just funny to me.  See what the University of Iowa is doing to provide incentives for students to attend athletic events.   Lunchboxes and stickers?  Is this junior high?
• The Jay’s odds to win the 2010 NCAA tournament?  Vegas has their say.
• Coaches Twittering…Jim Les and Chris Lowery do it.   Marty Simmons might be next to join the Valley coaches who Twitter.  Any Creighton coaches?

Also, Booker Woodfox did not get drafted last week in the NBA draft.  Anyone know where he is headed for Summer League?  I would imagine he will get a shot on some NBA Summer League team.    Also Kyle Korver has until tomorrow to decide if he is staying in Utah or not.  Things I have heard say he is leaning toward staying.  Should be interesting.

Bluejay Banter for 6/28/09

This week on Bluejay Banter, it will be a full show.  Tim and Heath will be jumping into a smorgasbord of things:

• Start previewing the Men’s Basketball teams in the Valley for 2009-10.  The first team up is Evansville
• Lance Wilkerson that does Aces TV and Radio will be on to discuss Evansville’s chances.
• Evansville head coach Marty Simmons will be on the show.
• Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen will be on the show to talk about scheduling, the new ballpark, and more.

It looks like a full show on Sunday at 10AM on 1620 AM and online at http://1620thezone.com Check it out.

Note: Cavel Witter will be on the show July 5th along with Art Hains of Missouri St.

NBA Draft Tonight–Woodfox be drafted?

Tonight is the NBA draft.  The last Bluejay to be drafted was Kyle Korver.  Could Booker Woodfox be next?

Last week, Booker worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks.  Milwaukee was his third pre-draft workout and he had a few more lined up before tonight.  After the workout, the official Bucks NBA website had interviews with each of the players that worked out.  Here is what Booker had to say about his workout:

On today’s workout…
“I played alright. I did pretty well in the shooting games, but my shot wasn’t really falling in the full-court games and the half-court games. I played hard and gave it my all.”

On what he’d bring to the Bucks…
“Just energy. Get everybody going, and just try to help out as much as I can, whatever position I’m in.”

On future workouts…
“I’ve had three so far. I got a few more workouts coming up. My agent is supposed to let me know about those tomorrow.”

On the Bucks workout compared to other workouts…
“It was the best one. It was short and sweet. Everybody went hard and that’s what I like. Everybody played together and we all did well.”

Then Bucks Director of Player Personnel Dave Babcock had this to say about Booker’s workout:

Booker Woodfox – “Just like (Mike)Rose (who also worked out), he’s a shooter. I don’t think he’s a draftable guy, per se, but he did a nice job today.”

It will be interesting to see what happens tonight.  I’m sure Booker will get invited to a summer league camp as a free agent and given an opportunity.  Otherwise, I’m sure he will get an opportunity somewhere overseas and the fans in Europe can enjoy the sweet shot of Booker Woodfox.  Like Booker’s sister says from her Twitter–

“All we can do is wait…nba workout with milwaukee bucks june19th..NBA or Overseas? Either way im happy for my bro! Booker Woodfox all day!”

Good luck to Booker tonight.

Basketball Standard Changing in Omaha

The landscape of basketball in Omaha has drastically changed in the past few months.  Have you ever seen the elite basketball prospects in the nation work out in Omaha?  Have you ever seen several NBA players work a basketball camp in Omaha, much less Nebraska?  Well folks, with the opening of the Omaha Health and Wellness Academy, there may be a lot more of this happening here in Omaha.

The Omaha Health and Wellness Academy is providing personal development in the areas of athletic training, skill-set development, education, and nutrition. By incorporating exclusive business procedures with professionally established wellness programs and recreational activities, the OHWA provides the greater Omaha area with affordable opportunities that encourage physical and mental health advancement.  The OHWA works with professional, collegiate, and high school players throughout the region.  In fact, with the new off-season training program that you have been reading about this summer that the Jays have been taking part in, the OHWA is a large part of that program.

Now you may ask, what does this have to do with Creighton Basketball and why am I even posting about it?  It has EVERYTHING to do with Creighton Basketball.  Keep these things in mind:

• Top High School talent will come here to take part in several developmental camps which can help recruiting.  Showcasing their skills in Omaha and bringing the recruits here can let them become acclimated to Omaha and want to come here.
• Continued work with current and professional basketball players. The OHWA works with many NBA players and many have expressed coming to Omaha to continue to develop their game.
• Developing local talent from grade school into high school to develop more potential recruits from Nebraska, thus opportunities for Creighton to keep local talent is increased.
• There are partner programs related to this new one in Omaha located in Texas and California.  So having Nebraska third on the list provides a great opportunity for Omaha.

One of their many upcoming events includes a Midwest Spotlight and Developmental Combine July 21-23.  This combine was supposed to be last week, but due to the overwhelming response, the dates have been changed for this to July 23rd-25th and there is still an opportunity to take part.  Here are the different things that are going on:

Midwest Spotlight and Developmental Combine
(Listen to the radio spot)

• OHWA Midwest Middle School Select Spotlight – July 23-25th where 7th and 8th graders get to work with NBA Legend John Lucas
• OHWA Advanced Skills and Drills – July 23-25th with professional OHWA Staff  Adam Barnes and Kevin Melcher- (Grades 6-11 – Boys) and Professional Consultant and Houston Jaguars Coach Louis Ray / Tiffany Jones (Grades 6-11 – Girls).  It sounds like a couple of Top 100 players will be in attendance which would be a first for Omaha.
• OHWA Advanced Skills Academy for College/Pro Players – July 23-25th.  Creighton players and some NBA players will be taking part in this part of the combine.
• OHWA Dedication Day Camp – July 25th which would be for 1st-5th grade boys and Girls

Then to cap off the day, there will be a Charity All-Star Exhibition at 6:30PM on the 25th at Omaha South High School.  As basketball fans and Creighton fans, you will want to take part in this.  Rosters are being finalized and names of who will be playing will be released over the next few weeks.  It will feature numerous celebrities, professional players, and the area’s top talent.  Spud Webb is confirmed at this point, and there will be former Nebraska and Creighton players also on the roster.  If there are any former Creighton players that will be playing, I’ll be sure to get that out there.   But get your tickets now because I can imagine that the gym will be packed for this one.  Tickets are only $10.

The whole combine will be based at Omaha South, but when the Academy gets their new facility built, the Omaha Health and Wellness Academy will be able to have their programs at their peak level.  This combine is only one of many events that will be brought to the Midwest.  They focus strictly on camps, clinics, small group work, and 1 on 1 development.  Exposure is great, but it means nothing if you don’t have the talent to perform.  This first event is a great opportunity for the people of Omaha and Nebraska to show that we want this type of thing in town.   Plus it is affordable.   I for one welcome it and hope you do too.  Sign up your kids for the combine, get the chance to work with professional players and sit back and enjoy a great night of basketball.   Currently with the relationship Creighton has already made with this organization, in the long run they will have the opportunity to reap the benefits.

Bluejay Banter Recap–6/21/09

If you were not able to hear the Bluejay Banter radio show live on Sunday, here is what you missed:

• Tim and Heath put in their early predictions on the MVC standings for next season.  They each had their own rankings, but here was their consensus rankings:

1. Creighton
2. Illinois St.
3. Northern Iowa
4. Southern Illinois
5. Wichita St.
6. Indiana St.
7. Bradley
8. Drake
9. Missouri St.
10. Evansville

Now, I’m not an expert, but if Bradley really finishes in the bottom half, then Jim Les will be looking for a job.  At this point, Jim Les has the most tenure in the Valley behind Dana Altman and I think Bradley fans are getting a little impatient after slowly falling down since their Sweet 16 appearance.  Sam Singh does get a 6th year of eligibility coming this season, though I don’t think that will necessarily help.

There was a big discussion about who was bringing back the most talent.  Northern Iowa looks to have most everyone coming back according to Heath, but Tim thinks Creighton and Illinois St. will have the most.  They didn’t discuss this, but it is possible that Lucas O’Rear might actually leave Northern Iowa if he gets a better opportunity with Baseball.

• A great interview with Chad Millard–Pitino vs. Altman, who is the tougher coach to play for?  I don’t want to mince words, so you can listen to the podcast.   But a lot of great insight.
• A bunch of quick hitters on other topics of discussion–Like the Nebraska non-conference schedule, Nick Bahe, Booker Woodfox nba workout, P’Allen Stinnett chasing Rodney Buford, .
• There was a nice plug to this site.

Bluejay Banter for 6/21/09

On the Bluejay Banter radio show this week, Tim and Heath will be focusing largely on Bluejay basketball.  Check out what they are talking about.

• Chad Millard will be on the show to talk about the offseason and how workouts are going.
• A preview of the 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference and some early predictions.
• They will be taking your phone calls and e-mail with your predictions as well.
• Cavel Witter may also make an appearance

Be sure to check out the show on Sunday at 10AM locally on 1620 AM or or listen live at 1620thezone.com .  If you miss the live broadcast, you can access the podcasts from bluejaybanter.com or use the links located in the right column here.  Go Jays!

Around the Rim–6/17/09

There have been a lot of speculation by many sites this week on the different teams in the Valley.  Take a look at all the opinions.

• A Bradley fan that writes for the Examiner is having his own Fantasy draft of MVC players.  He took P’Allen Stinnett #1.  He evaluated the Valley coaches and gave Dana Altman the only A grade with Jim Les on the same level as Gregg Marshall.  He also conducted a survey on Valley favorites.  Now after reading all of this, I am getting the feeling he might be a Creighton fan hiding behind that Bradley cap.
• A new Southern Illinois fan website is around now and they took the Valley coach evaluation and took it a step farther by including the whole coaching staffs.  Dana Altman and his staff come out on top there while their own Chris Lowery and his staff come in at 6th.  They are about to put up a post on ranking the Valley basketball facilities/arenas.
• Creighton and Nebraska may be looking at Elliott Eliason from Chadron, but Tubby Smith and Minnesota are trying to lure him to the Gophers as well.
• Looks like Kenton Walker is headed to St. Mary’s.
• 3 new rule changes for next season.  It will be interesting to see how this affects all the charges Creighton players take.
• Will Kyle Korver’s record go down?  Well, kickball record that is.
• We all may know that Omaha is submitting a proposal to again host the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Tournament for one of the seasons in 2011, 2012, or 2013 well Wichita is now throwing their hat into the ring.

Tolliver Gets Another Opportunity

Former Bluejay Anthony Tolliver is getting another opportunity to live out the NBA dream.  Tolliver took part in a 2-day mini-camp with the Dallas Mavericks.  20 players were invited to take part on Thursday and Friday this past week.  On day one Thursday there were only 10 of the 20 players on display due to inclement weather with all 20 expected to take part on Friday.

A 6-9 center forward (I don’t know why they still consider him a center), Tolliver has played in parts of the last two seasons with the Iowa Energy in the NBA Developmental league. He joined Iowa this season after starting the 2008-09 campaign with the Spurs, and then went on to receive a Call-Up from the New Orleans Hornets with a 10-day contract. Tolliver then finished the season in Turkey with Galatasaray, one of Europe’s top teams.  In the 2007-08 season, Tolliver just missed making the Cleveland Cavaliers opening day roster.

The mini-camp with the Mavericks is just the first step for Anthony to make it back on the roster of an NBA team.  If he makes the cut here he will then participate in a summer camp with the Mavs and go on from there.

The other invitees to mini-camp were:

Player Pos. Ht. Wt. From

• Hassan Adams G 6-4 220 Arizona
• Blake Ahearn G 6-2 190 Missouri State
• Andre Brown F 6-9 245 DePaul
• Shan Foster G 6-6 200 Vanderbilt
• Sundiata Gaines G 6-1 195 Georgia
• Mickael Gelabale F 6-7 215 France
• Mike Green G 6-1 180 Butler
• Brandon Heath G 6-4 198 San Diego State
• Herbert Hill F 6-8 240 Providence
• Quinton Hosley F 6-6 215 Fresno State
• Trey Johnson G 6-5 215 Jackson State
• Mike Jones G 6-5 210 Maryland
• Jeff McInnis G 6-4 190 North Carolina
• Austin Nichols F 6-6 220 Humboldt State
• Richard Roby G 6-6 200 Colorado
• JaJuan Smith G 6-2 195 Tennessee
• Trent Strickland G 6-5 210 Wake Forest
• Yuta Tabuse G 5-9 165 BYU-Hawaii
• Chris Taft C 6-10 260 Pittsburgh
• Anthony Tolliver F 6-9 240 Creighton

Some other interesting things about the camp:

• 10 of the 20 players have some sort of NBA experience.
• This guy does a comparison of the D-League guys in camp against the non-NBA guys that were invited.
• friends.mavs.com has a video on Day 1 of the camp
• The Dallas Morning News alluded that they were going to keep people in the loop on the mini-camp, but nothing yet.
• No word so far on how Anthony did at camp as it is already over, but we wish him luck.

UPDATE: According to a blogger on the Mavs Social Network site, it sounds like there may not be a decision for a while on whether any of the attendees at this past week’s mini-camp will be selected or invited to summer camp:

While a lot of prospect came out of the camp, it was not set in stone that a selection would be made, instead noting that while there was a lot of energy flowing through the invited roster of players, but a second camp would more than likely be extended in the near future, perhaps as quickly as next week.

“it is hard to make a decision in a two day period but the guys came in and did a good job,” commented Coach Dwane Casey

So it is the wait and see game.  The other bad part is that weather kept a lot of the 20 invited players from participating in both days of the mini-camp.  No word on whether AT was one of those.

Woodley Leaves Jays Program

When Zach Duval was hired as Creighton’s new strength and conditioning coach, there was much speculation on what would happen to Andy Woodley who was hired for that position just over a year ago.  Well now we know that he has now been hired in Des Moines by Orange Planet, a “premier Iowa athletic club that focuses on hoops and health.”

Woodley will be the Director of Basketball and Player Development for Orange Planet. Though there were some rumors that the parting from Creighton wasn’t very smooth, the press release on Woodley’s hiring by Orange Planet uses some testimonials from some at Creighton:

“Andy Woodley has a great passion for teaching the game of basketball. His ability to analyze a player’s skill set and then develop an individual workout program to improve their game is very impressive. His track record of success as a high school coach is very impressive. Players of all ages in the Des Moines area will really enjoy working with Coach Woodley because of the pride he has in teaching and coaching the game of basketball. He will make you a better player!” –Todd Eisner, Creighton University Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

“Coach Woodley helped me improve my all around game. When my defense was slacking he showed me the proper techniques to make corrections. Coach Woodley and I worked endless hours in the gym developing my mid range game. In the long run, I received the player of the year award in the Missouri Valley Conference, honorable mention All-American, participant in the college three point contest and numerous NBA tryouts.” –Booker Woodfox – Creighton University- Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year ‘09

It was interesting that Woodley was hired at Creighton over a year ago for a position that he didn’t seem to fit.  Maybe it was to help get some recruits that didn’t pan out as expected.  Or maybe it was to possibly become an assistant coach on the bench if another assistant were to leave this offseason when Coach Brian Fish was in the running for the North Florida head coach.  When neither of those things happened and it became apparent that the Jays needed to bulk up a little more and become more tougher physically, Woodley appeared to be the odd man out.

Good luck Andy Woodley.  We hardly knew ‘ya.

Other Notes: Former Creighton Star Ryan Sears will be playing in the Capital City Summer League in Des Moines this summer.  The teams for the Des Moines summer league contain current players from Drake and Iowa St. and many local high school players as well.  The league runs from June 17th through July 12th.

St. Joseph Series Coming back

This past Sunday, the Bluejay Banter radio show had Joe Lunardi on.   Joe is ESPN’s Bracketologist, but also does broadcasts for St. Joseph athletics and is really tied into the program.  On the show it was mentioned by Mr. Lunardi that the Creighton/St. Joseph’s series will be starting up again in the 2010-11 season.  The games from the past two seasons have been fun and can benefit both teams come Selection Sunday.

Joe went on to say:

It is off this coming season 09-10, but has been renewed for 2 more years beginning the following season of ‘10-11 and ‘11-12, so I’ll be looking forward to a great steak dinner in Omaha in about a year and a half.

So it sounds like the series will start again in Omaha in 2010-11 and in Philly in 2011-12 at the remodeled Michael J. Hagan ‘85 Arena.

Creighton won both games from the past two game series during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.  I think Creighton enjoys playing the A-10 teams as St. Joes and Dayton have been on the schedule the past few seasons.

Former Jay Nick Bahe was on the show as well and had a lot of insight on the new guys coming in and the offseason workout program.  It still appears he is really involved in the program.