In 2010, Greg McDermott became the 18th head coach in the history of Creighton University’s men’s basketball team. Before taking over at Creighton, McDermott was the head coach at Iowa State University. When McDermott left Ames, Iowa for Omaha, Nebraska he brought some extra luggage with him; namely his son Doug McDermott. Coming out of high school McDermott didn’t get that many offers to play college basketball. McDermott originally signed a letter of intent to attend Northern Iowa University. But once his father took over at Creighton, McDermott reversed course to join his proud papa.
Each year that McDermott has played at Creighton his play has improved. As a freshman, McDermott averaged 14.9 points in helping Creighton reach the final round of the College Basketball Invitational. In the past two seasons McDermott has averaged 22.9 and 23.2 points per game in helping Creighton reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons. This season Creighton currently has an overall record of 22-4 while they are 12-2 in the Big East Conference which has them sitting in the catbird’s seat within the conference. McDermott is leading the nation in scoring at 25.8 points per game. McDermott’s play this season has him in the running to win the coveted John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s top college basketball player. McDermott is also in the contention to be a first-team All-American for the third consecutive year. McDermott would be the first player to be selected as a three-time All-American at the Division I level since Patrick Ewing at Georgetown from 1983-1985.
The three-time All-American factor is a lost art in college basketball as so many players in this day and age will tend to forgo their final two or three years of college eligibility in favor of the NBA Draft and earning a paycheck. McDermott is an example that a four-year player in college basketball is not a dinosaur.
This season McDermott has put Creighton on his back. In all but one game this season McDermott has scored in double figures and he has also saved his best performances for some of the nation’s better teams. On November 29, McDermott poured in 29 points in a losing effort against San Diego State at the Wooden Legacy. On January 12, McDermott went off for 35 points and 7 rebounds in a 95-89 win over Big East Conference foe Xavier. All season long Villanova has been in contention with Creighton for the top spot this season in the Big East. McDermott has saved his best for Villanova as for both games he scored a combined 62 points. Creighton won both meetings against Villanova this season by a combined margin of 49 points and it could prove to be the difference in Creighton winning the Big East Championship.
This is Creighton’s first season in the Big East after moving from the Missouri Valley Conference and it has not fazed McDermott.
Individual accolades aside McDermott is looking to help Creighton not only win the Big East Championship in their first year in the conference, but he is also looking to help the school advance deep into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1974 which was their last trip to the Sweet 16. At this point Creighton is a lock for the tourney and barring a setback down the stretch they should receive a high seed.
McDermott could have left school early for the NBA, but he chose to return to Omaha and add to his already stellar collegiate career. More than likely McDermott will be a first-round pick in this summer’s NBA Draft and he can be a valuable scorer off of the bench that can stretch a defense in the pros with his offensive game. In the meantime McDermott is just enjoying the ride in college with his teammates and he also appears to be having a blast playing for his father at Creighton.
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