Alexander, Bluejays Ready to Fly High
By Sean Brennan
Special to BIGEAST.com
Ty-Shon Alexander is more than an elite basketball player. Because of his travel odyssey this past summer, when he needed to catch up with his Creighton teammates on their trip Down Under after he was done playing for the United States in the Pan Am Games in Peru, Alexander became quite the expert on airline movies as well as its fine, fine cuisine.
Internal body clock matters? Well, maybe not an expert there, however.
“That trip was a very, very long trip,” said Alexander, fresh off a 19-point, 11-rebound outing in the Bluejays’ 83-73 victory over Oklahoma in a BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle last Tuesday night. “I think it was about a day and a half of time travel. It was a great experience to be in Peru and represent my country well. But I was also happy to spend time with my guys and enjoy Australia. But it was long. I went from Peru to California, from California to Sydney, Australia and then from Sydney to Cairns, Australia. When I was in the air I was confused as to what time it was because I was still on United States time, but I did wind up watching like six or seven movies though.”
Alexander is confused no more. Instead he and his Bluejays’ teammates are the ones causing confusion for their opponents. While their BIG EAST brethren DePaul and Butler have garnered a lot of attention for their great breaks from the season’s starting gate (the Blue Demons are 11-1, Butler is 10-1 and ranked 17th in the current AP poll), Creighton has been doing solid work as well, although perhaps a little under the radar.
No publicity? No problem, so says Alexander.
“Yeah I think we have been (under the radar) but it doesn’t faze us a lot,” said Alexander, who is averaging 17.3 points a night, second on the Jays behind Marcus Zegarowski’s team-best 19.5 points. “We just come in with a chip on our shoulder every single time. We just come in and play hard and do what we got to do.”
So far this season that attitude has brought the Bluejays a 9-2 record, with a marquee victory over then-No. 12 Texas Tech among those wins. So what did the victory over the Red Raiders do for this Creighton team?
“I think it opened everyone’s eyes as to who we are, especially how hard that we play,” Alexander said. “Just the little things that we do that make us the team that we are now. That win is probably the biggest win of our season and that is going to matter when conference play comes and when other things come (like the NCAA Selection Committee perhaps?). I also think the win (over Oklahoma) was as big as the Texas Tech win.”
As always, if offense and games filled with three-point barrages are your bag, then Creighton will never disappoint you. So far this season the Jays are averaging 78.9 points a game and have already knocked down 110 three-balls in 11 games. Junior Mitch Ballock has nailed 33 three-balls and is shooting 44 percent from behind the arc. Alexander is shooting 43.7 percent with 31 treys while Zegarowski also has 31 makes with a 40.3 percent average from long range.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Alexander said. “We get along with each other, we share the ball within the three of us and we just go out there and hoop. That’s the biggest thing. We have great chemistry going on and we just hoop day in and day out.“
Ballock leads the BIG EAST in minutes played at 35.0 per game with Zegarowski placing second (34.7) and Alexander fourth (33.9). It’s a trio that doesn’t like to leave the court, not when they are having so much fun on it.
“We take care of our bodies and we drink our water because (Creighton coach Greg McDermott) has already prepared us for the minutes we’d be playing this year,” Alexander said. “Obviously it doesn’t affect us because we’re still rolling.”
Good news for the Bluejays - but not so much for the rest of the BIG EAST - comes in the form of Denzel Mahoney, a transfer from Southeast Missouri State. Mahoney made his Bluejays’ debut against Oklahoma and scored 14 points in the win. So what can he bring to the table for Creighton this season?
“He’s going to bring a lot of energy and an extra body as well,” Alexander said. “Denzel is a fantastic player. He’s been preparing for this moment for a long, long time and I’m excited to see what he’s going to become throughout this year and also next year. He’s just going to get better and better and I’m just excited for him.”
Alexander has become a more well-rounded player this season, one that values rebounding and taking care of the ball along with upping his scoring average. He is currently Creighton’s leading rebounder at 6.5 boards a game, making him the No. 1 rebounding guard in the BIG EAST.
“I saw that I wasn’t averaging a lot of rebounds last year and also my assist-to-turnover ratio wasn’t as good,” Alexander said. “I was just worrying about scoring the ball. Now I make sure I’m creating for others and doing the little things and also scoring the ball, which has always been my key thing. It’s just scoring, rebounding and making sure my guys know I have their backs and I’m going to pass them the ball. My dad (Eric) told me I needed to average more rebounds and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do now.”
There are currently seven BIG EAST teams that are either ranked in the AP Top 25 or are receiving votes. Seven. And despite a 9-2 start and wins over Texas Tech and Oklahoma, Creighton is not among those seven. Are the voters just missing the boat on the Bluejays?
“It is what it is,” Alexander said. “People can look at us and say maybe we had a weak schedule and say all this and that. Maybe we just need to win a couple of more games. But we’re just going to keep on playing like we are. We’re not worried about the rankings right now.”
The Bluejays’ non-conference season is winding down with just two games remaining, including this Saturday’s visit to Arizona State. Alexander said he has two goals for that trip - grab another win and immerse himself in some balmy weather.
“I’m just so happy to be able to experience some warm weather,” Alexander said. “When you can just walk outside and say, ‘Now this is some nice weather,’ instead of going outside with layers of clothes on and an extra pair of socks.”
And when the BIG EAST season does get underway for Creighton on Jan. 1 versus Marquette, Alexander expects the Jays to be competing at the top of the conference.
“I think we can wind up a top-three team this year,” Alexander said. “Obviously we’re undersized but that hasn’t stopped us to date. So we just got to keep on hooping and keep getting better and better. I’m looking forward to this conference season just to see how everyone is going to turn out, especially us.”