How high can the Jays fly?

One more day until Friday! Hang in there everyone.

In the meantime, think of the impending media day events for various leagues. In less than two weeks, The Field of 68 will live stream the Missouri Valley Conference’s event on Oct. 2, starting at 9 am ET. Watch it on Twitter/X or YouTube.

Now let’s get to Wednesday’s news.

1. Does Creighton have enough for a Big East run?

Greg McDermott and the Creighton Blue Jays may be one of the sport’s most interesting teams.

They lost two starters from last year — Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander — who accounted for 44.8% of Creighton’s per-game scoring output. But they added Texas Tech transfer guard Pop Isaacs, Arizona State transfer guard Jamiya Neal and Montenegrin wing Fedor Zugic. Plus, they retained some key players from last year, including three-time Big East defensive player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner.

The talent is there. The question is if it’ll all mesh, or even play. Terrence Oglesby thinks Creighton is right there with UConn as contenders for the Big East crown is Zugic is eligible. Without him, there are still a lot of question marks.

Let’s start with what we know. And that’s the fact that Kalkbrenner is a game changing basketball player.

He will be Creighton’s focal point and be a Big East preseason POY candidate. Kalkbrenner’s impact is undeniable — Creighton’s posted a top 25 defensive efficiency the past three seasons, a far cry from where the program stood before his arrival. He’s Creighton’s anchor, and one of the best in the country. He doesn’t foul. And offensively, he can step out and hit jumpers, making him one of the sport’s most versatile big men. He’ll be huge, but it’s about what Creighton has put around him. And that’s shooting.

The backcourt tandem of Isaacs and senior returnee Steven Ashworth comprises two guys who can fill it up from the outside. Both have had seasons where they shot 37% or higher from deep on 150+ attempts. Zugic is also a sniper, along with returning starter Mason Miller, who shot 45.4% from deep last season.

The potential starting five of Ashworth, Isaacs, Zugic, Miller and Kalkbrenner is scary. You have four elite shooters around an elite big man. That can cause a lot of problems for teams defensively. Add in an experienced guard in Jamiya Neal, three bench pieces from last season in forwards Jasen Green and Isaac Traudt, as well as big man Fredrick King, and there’s a lot to like about this group. And we still haven’t mentioned two top-60 prospects from the 2024 class in power forward Jackson McAndrew and shooting guard Larry Johnson.

But the key is Zugic.

He averaged over 10 points per game playing in the highest league in Germany and has over 200 professional games under his belt. If Zugic doesn’t play, Creighton still has some issues on the wing to figure out, which takes it from a Big East contender to a sure-fire top five team in the league. But if he does play, Creighton could not only win the Big East, they could make a run to the Final Four.

2. College basketball’s opening day gets it marquee game

The people who complain about the start of the college basketball season need some new material. The first day just got a whole lot better.

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