College basketball is right around the corner.
Creighton practice officially begins Wednesday. Six weeks out from the Nov. 5 opener against South Dakota, the Bluejays formally start their quest back to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in six years.
So an eventful, program-defining offseason in Omaha is now over.
This summer, the Jays replaced a program cornerstone, Alan Huss unexpectedly returned to his alma mater to eventually succeed coach Greg McDermott and CU reloaded with one of the country’s top transfer classes.
Here are five storylines to watch this season:
Man in the middle
Creighton’s top offseason priority was replacing 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who joined Patrick Ewing — Patrick Ewing! — as the only players voted the Big East’s best defender four times.
For the record, whether it’s his elite rim protection or the way he represented the Jays during his five years in Omaha, there isn’t a one-for-one replacement. Kalkbrenner anchored a KenPom top-25 defense three of the past four seasons.
But the Bluejays had to fill a seismic void, and they did so by landing one of the best transfer bigs available in former Iowa center Owen Freeman.
However, he missed summer workouts after needing meniscus surgery.
“He’s probably going to be out until late September, sometime into October,” McDermott said July 16.
Freeman’s progression is key.
Creighton’s first-year players take time to settle into an intricate system, and Freeman’s surgery delayed that acclimation process. He’ll have a lot of ground to cover in the month between his return and the season opener.
In the meantime, and even when Freeman is healthy, expect junior Jasen Green and international prospects Kerem Konan and Aleksa Dimitrijevic to help man the middle.
Hometown hero
Josh Dix was one of the most sought-after players in the portal.
On the heels of a breakout junior campaign at Iowa, where Dix played his first three seasons, the Council Bluffs native was the 17th-best transfer according to On3 and 19th in 247 Sports’ rankings. Kansas wanted him. Illinois, too. Dix even mulled a Hawkeye reunion.
He ultimately became the crown jewel of a highly touted transfer class.
For Creighton to reach its full potential, Dix has to deliver.
Those are lofty expectations, but that’s what the Jays expect of Dix, especially considering the resources CU spent to land him, and that’s what Dix expects of himself.
With Kalkbrenner, Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal gone, the door is open for Dix to become the go-to guy.
He averaged 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 2024-25. All career highs. He started 32 of 33 games for the Hawkeyes, who finished 17-16. Dix — a career 42% 3-point shooter — attempted more shots as a junior (355) than he did his first two years combined (264).
Dix is a do-it-all playmaker. A bona fide scorer. An NBA hopeful. And he’s motivated by the fact that he gets to take his farewell tour minutes from where he grew up.
Depth
Having top-to-bottom talent was an emphasis as McDermott and his staff built the roster.
Multiple times during this offseason, the 16th-year coach said he wants more players to play more minutes, a staple through the early part of his CU tenure. A big part of the “Let it Fly” revolution was having fresh legs to run the floor.
It’s bigger than that, though.
The past two seasons have ended with Creighton losing to an SEC team that was far more thoroughly talented than Creighton
In July, McDermott said March’s NCAA tournament loss to Auburn, which wore down CU through the second half of a game the Jays led at the break, showed the importance of quality depth.
The same thing happened against Tennessee in the 2024 Sweet 16.
That’s why Creighton reloaded with a well-regarded transfer haul, a couple of promising international prospects and four-star freshman Hudson Greer, and it returns key pieces from the past two seasons.
How many pieces will McDermott utilize on what should be one his deepest rosters?
It will look different in November than it does in January, and it might look different in January than it does in March. Everything changes once Big East play begins, and historically, that has applied to McDermott’s rotation, too.
Sophomore stardom
Jackson McAndrew came to Creighton as the highest-rated recruit in program history, and he delivered on those expectations, even higher now following a summer full of hype.
At one point this offseason, McDermott said McAndrew, a 6-foot-10 forward who hit 35% of his 3-pointers a season ago, will be an NBA player sooner than later.
It will certainly be sooner if the way McAndrew closed his freshman season is any indication of what’s to come.
He started 2024-25 as a role player before becoming the starting power forward three weeks in.
McAndrew, increasingly improved as a defender, scored double figures in nine of his first 16 games, but he didn’t do that from Jan. 11 to a slump-snapping 17-point performance at Seton Hall on March 4.
Then he took off.
McAndrew dropped 14 points on Butler in the regular-season finale, another 14 on St. John’s in the Big East tournament final, 11 on Louisville in his NCAA tournament and 12 in the season-ending loss to Auburn.
With extra weight added onto what was once a wirey frame, and as one of the lone returning starters from last season, McAndrew is primed for a breakout sophomore season.
How quickly can CU come along?
First-year players take a second to settle in at Creighton. It doesn’t matter if that’s a transfer who spent years elsewhere or a freshman. Look at Ryan Hawkins and Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander and McAndrew.
McDermott’s system is intricate, especially offensively.
Defensively, it won’t be as daunting, considering CU’s entire philosophy on that end of the floor will change without Kalkbrenner.
On a 16-deep roster featuring nine first-year players, how quickly the pieces come together is going to decide the Bluejays’ NCAA tournament fate.
With the Big East as top-heavy as it has been the past few years, there aren’t many marquee opportunities for Creighton to build its resume past December. That’s why nonconference play is so crucial. (See last season.)
Two games in, the Jays hit the road to play Gonzaga. Two weeks later, they’ll play Iowa State and Baylor, along with a third quality opponent to be determined, at the Players Era Festival.
McDermott has a history of winning in January. His teams get better as the season progresses.
But it’s imperative that Creighton finds its footing early.
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