Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
Looking for a way to heat up now that the polar vortex is gripping what seems like half the country? You may want to hang around Ty-Shon Alexander and bask in his one-man heatwave as there is no one hotter than the Creighton super sophomore these days.
Last week the 6-4 Alexander helped put the brakes to the Bluejays’ four-game losing streak with a 26-point performance over Georgetown in the nation’s capital. Yes, not even that pesky government shutdown could slow Alexander down as he dropped six three-pointers on the Hoyas that night.
Alexander then followed that performance up with a 19-point gem in a home win over Butler in the Jays’ most recent outing last Friday night. It was a week that saw him average 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a 2-0 week for Creighton. It was a pair of performances that not only earned him conference Player of the Week honors, but just may also have been his coming out party as one of the BIG EAST’s new talents on the rise.
“It’s six degrees here right now,” Alexander said Tuesday afternoon from Omaha. “And tomorrow it’s supposed to be negative-three.”
That’s when St. John’s will come to town for a date with the Bluejays at the CHI Health Center. The Johnnies may be hoping the brutal cold gripping the Midwest cools Alexander off a bit by game time. But maybe they shouldn’t hold their breath in that regard as Alexander has lit up brand-name programs all season long.
A few examples: in an early-season game against then-No. 16 Clemson in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic, Alexander poured in a career-best 36 points and was named the tournament’s MVP. Ten days later, against then-No. 1 Gonzaga, Alexander dropped 27 points on the Zags in a narrow defeat. There was also the 23-point outing against then-No. 21 Marquette and a 22-point night vs. defending national champion Villanova and, well you get the point.
“Just trying to do my best to help my team and get us some wins,” Alexander said simply.
When Creighton lost both Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas to graduation and the NBA, respectively, following last season, Alexander knew he was going to be asked to play a much bigger role for the Bluejays this season. So how did he prepare? By picking the brains of both Foster and Thomas, of course.
“Me, Taz (Thomas) and Marcus talk a lot,” Alexander said. “Taz has really helped me. He told me I needed to get a lot bigger and stronger and Marcus helped me out just by guarding him every day in practice last year. They helped me out with so much that I feel I’m better prepared and getting a lot better than I was last year.”
That help has led to Alexander seeing his scoring average balloon from 5.5 points a game last season to 17.6 this season, tying him with Butler’s Kamar Baldwin for sixth place in the BIG EAST. Alexander is also second in the league in 3-pointers made with 66, trailing only Marquette’s Markus Howard (76).
But despite all his preparation coming into the season, did Alexander see this jump in production coming so soon?
“No sir, I did not,” Alexander said. “I had no idea this would happen to be honest.”
Creighton heads into its game with St. John’s averaging 83.5 points a game, tied for 21st in the nation. And it’s the Bluejays’ run-and-gun style that is not only entertaining, but plays right into Alexander’s shooting strengths.
“It’s fantastic because knowing that your team is going to help you get shots and also all the shots and the 3-pointers and everything that we do, it’s just the best feeling in the world,” Alexander said. “And to play like that every night in front of 18,000 people. It’s just fantastic.”
Alexander hopes to be playing in front of large crowds, NBA crowds, at some point down the line. And to that end he said he has regular conversations with former Creighton and current Indiana Pacers star Doug McDermott.
“Talking to Doug and Coach Mac (Greg McDermott) and knowing the things they tell me that I have to do and the things I have to correct to get better at is the best feeling ever,” Alexander said. “Just knowing that NBA guys like Doug and Taz are talking to me, saying I need to do this, like drop my turnover ratio and get more rebounds and do everything possible to get better to hopefully make it to the NBA someday is really the best.”
In a conference that boasts an array of elite guards such as Villanova’s Phil Booth, St. John’s Shamorie Ponds, Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Marquette’s Howard to name but a few, is it time to start adding Alexander to the conversation?
“That’s a great question but I honestly don’t know,” Alexander said. “Twitter and social media say a lot about that kind of stuff but I don’t let that phase me. I just go out there and play.”
Alexander said he watched film of McDermott from his Bluejays’ days and was amazed at some of the brilliant scoring nights the former Creighton star enjoyed. He has heard how Bluejays Nation embraced McDermott and hopes to build a similar following during his time in Omaha.
He’s off to a stellar start, and one that he’ll look to continue building on against St. John’s Tuesday night (FS1, 8:30 p.m. EST).
“We’re starting to get our mojo and flow back again,” Alexander said. “It’s just good to get better every day and not be known as one of the softest teams in the BIG EAST. Now we’re being known as one of the hardest-working teams in the BIG EAST. Teams know we’re going to play hard and we’re going to score the ball every night. But we need to get better every day as well and keep playing the way we have the last two games.”
There just may be no cooling off the scorching sophomore right now. Polar vortex or not.