Jays coach says 'season has already been a success'

But soon plopped down five bodies behind as many name tags as Ball Arena’s media room had seen all Thursday. If any team was going to find five players with something to say, why not Creighton’s entire starting lineup?

It’s difficult to decide whose words bear more weight between five players each averaging double figures in scoring. Of the five, four have already seen an NCAA tournament.

“I feel like everybody knows the focus that it takes going into the tournament,” sophomore Trey Alexander said before CU’s open practice at the Denver NCAA tournament site. “Everybody has been here before, so we know what it takes to be able to win a tournament game.”

All but one among those that sat atop the podium. The lone ranger? Sophomore guard Ryan Nembhard.

Nembhard has had a few firsts over the past couple weeks. The Bluejays’ trip to New York marked his first Big East tournament after a broken wrist ended his freshman season prematurely. Now he gets his shot at the big dance.

“First March Madness, obviously a dream come true,” Nembhard said. “Wanted to play in this for a long time so I’m super excited to get going and ready for tomorrow.”

Plenty of his first week prepping for an NCAA tournament game has revolved around two other guards: NC State’s Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner.

Both have seemingly unlimited green lights. Behind their wild shotmaking, both threaten CU’s chances of advancing.

“Yeah, they’re obviously some great players,” Nembard said. “They shoot with range, they’re quick at getting inside the paint.

“At the end of the day they’ve got to guard, too. We’ve got good guards over here, they’ve got good guards over there, so we’ll play our best basketball and see what happens.”

Handling the two will make for as tall a task as Alexander and Nembhard have dealt with all season. When asked for a Big East with any similarities in the backcourt, Alexander’s mind went to DePaul. The difficult of shots. The amount of them.

He admitted that NC State scores easier, but in terms of usage, the Blue Demons and the Wolfpack’s backcourts aren’t so distant.

Thursday’s practice marked No. 100 for these Jays. McDermott mentioned he and Nembhard joked that it seems like just yesterday that the team returned from Maui. It perfectly captures the essence of the college basketball season. Every version of Creighton — and there have been many — have lumped into a blur.

“We’ve had some tough times together,” McDermott said, “but we’ve also had some great times together during the course of the season, and none greater than being back here.”

Creighton has the potential to add to its tournament history, perhaps furthering its legacy. With history comes bad memories, too. And with the Jays slated to play NC State, McDermott was asked about a team just up the road.

“Yeah, Ethan (Wragge) lives here in Denver, but I won’t tell the Carolina fans where,” McDermott said when asked about CU’s 2012 matchup with UNC. “… It’s unfortunate that they had an injury. We’ve certainly had injuries at the end of the season that have impacted our ability to move forward in the tournament.

“But I get a few emails every year still from a couple Carolina fans that haven’t forgotten.”

One thing is for certain: No matter the results of Friday’s game, this Creighton team will be a significant piece of program history — for better or worse. Perhaps even subject to a case study.

Plenty will debate just how far the Jays’ path in the tournament must go before considering this season successful. Just leave McDermott out of it.

“The season has already been a success,” McDermott said. “I’ll never apologize for wearing a white jersey in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“… I think it’s short-sighted to look at it that way. Yes, there were some huge expectations, and every team is different. There were some teams across the country that were expected to be successful like we were, and they fell short, as well.

“But I think winning 14 games in the Big East and being a sixth seed in the NCAA Tournament — if that’s an unsuccessful season, then we maybe need to look in the mirror and check ourselves a little bit.”