Creighton's Martin Krampelj
First the good news for the Creighton Bluejays - Martin Krampelj looks no worse for wear after missing the second half of last season with a brutal knee injury. In fact, he was counting the days to Opening Night - Nov. 6 versus Western Illinois - as he talked about the upcoming season last week at the league’s media day at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m doing pretty good,” Krampelj said as he flashed a huge smile. “I’m ready to go. One hundred percent.”
Krampelj appeared on his way to a special season last year as he was averaging 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds when he went down with the injury. It was the second straight season in which a cornerstone player of the program was shelved with a devastating knee injury after former point guard Maurice Watson suffered the same fate in the January 2017. In an ironic twist, both injuries occurred in the 19th game of the Bluejays season each year and almost on the exact same date- Watson on January 16, and Krampelj on January 17.
If you’re wondering, the Bluejays’ 19th game this season will be at Georgetown on January 21. It might behoove head coach Greg McDermott to drape his team in bubble wrap for that encounter with the Hoyas.
And then there’s the not so good news for the Bluejays, which comes in the form of talented departures, as in Marcus Foster, Khyri Thomas and Toby Hegner. Foster took his 19.8 scoring average and his 95 three-pointers last season with him, ditto Thomas and his 15.1 points and Hegner’s 8.4. Thomas was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. That’s a lot of firepower McDermott will have to replace. But the ever-optimistic Krampelj thinks there are enough in-house options to keep the Bluejays flying high this season.
“I think we’re going to be really good,” Krampelj said. “It’s going to be tough to replace all those guys and all the leadership that they showed us. But I still think we have a good chance to be a team at the top of the BIG EAST.”
Creighton returns unsung junior guard Davion Mintz to the backcourt and all he did last season was lead the BIG EAST in assist-to-turnover ratio. The sophomore trio of Mitch Ballock (7.3 points), Jacob Epperson (6.3 ppg.), who gave up a redshirt year after Krampelj’s injury, and Ty-Shon Alexander (5.5 ppg, 32 3-pointers) also return. But Mintz is also excited about the new blood Creighton has this season.
“Our freshmen look really good and I’m happy with the direction they’re going,” said Mintz, who averaged 6.1 points along with 102 assists to just 36 turnovers. “And our forward Damien Jefferson (a 6-5 sophomore transfer) is doing really well, too. He’s meshing in, he’s a very physical wing and he has a very versatile game. We also brought in a point guard, Marcus Zegarowski, who is a young, talented point guard who can come in and do good things. Sam Froling (a 7-0, 230-pounder) is a super finisher and (6-7 forward) Christian Bishop is a very springy type of guy. So I’m very proud of that group.”
Krampelj also had his own scouting report on the new baby Jays.
“Sam Froling is showing good ability under the rim,” Krampelj said. “Christian Bishop has a little of my style of playing, pick-and-roll, shoot a little bit. And we got Marcus Zegarowski, a point guard with really good vision, pass before score.”
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Mintz was also stoked to have Krampelj back in the fold for this season.
“It’s very important we have him back,” Mintz said. “Martin Krampelj is a guy that brings a huge presence to the paint and a leadership role. So it’s one of those things where you need him on the court and around the team.”
Mintz said he put in a lot of work since last season ended and is ready to run a Bluejays team that was picked ninth in the BIG EAST Coaches Preseason Poll.
“I set a lot of goals and one of those is to win big games for my team,” Mintz said. “I know that I have a bigger role this season and I’m looking forward to that. I put in the work last summer but the biggest thing is that my teammates believe in me that I can get the job done and I know I can do that as well. I’m looking forward to making a lot of improvements in my game and to show the rest of the country as well.”
Krampelj said he doesn’t think about his injury much anymore, saying, “It’s been out of my mind already for month. I’m still doing some rehab stuff to maintain it but once that horn goes off I’m going to be ready.”
And Mintz thinks the Bluejays’ challenging non-conference schedule, one that features games against Ohio State, in-state rival Nebraska, Gonzaga and Oklahoma along with a trip to a tournament in the Cayman Islands, will have the Jays battle tested once the conference season tips off.
“Of course, that’s what it’s for, to get us ready,” Mintz said. “I think we’ll be just fine. I have no worries because of the way the coaches are preparing us and the route that we’re going to take. I’m very excited to start the season.”
Krampelj was also excited about Creighton’s non-conference schedule, with one portion in particular.
“The Cayman Islands,” he said with a large grin. “Not a bad deal.”