CHICAGO – This is their chance. This is their chance to aim their slingshot at Goliath and strike a blow for mid-major schools across the nation.
The Missouri Valley Conference looks to send two teams to the Big Dance’s Sweet 16 for the first time when No. 12 Creighton tries to shock No. 4 Illinois in the Midwest and No. 11 Southern Illinois takes on No. 3 Georgia in the East today at the United Center.
“They’re not standing in line to come to Omaha,” Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “A lot of our players want to find out how they stack up.
“I told our team, ‘Don’t let these opportunities slip by.’ We just don’t get that many of them.”
The Bluejays, who go 10-deep, and the Salukis, who stunned Bobby Knight and Texas Tech with their mental and physical toughness, believe they belong.
“We don’t have the big men other conferences might have,” Creighton star Kyle Korver said, “but we pay a lot more attention to detail. I think we have just as good, if not better shooters. I think we have really good coaches too.”
This is their chance too. It is a chance for Dana Altman (Coach A?) at Creighton and Bruce Weber (Coach Dubya?) at Southern Illinois to emerge from the shadows and into the spotlight.
Here is a look, upclose and personal, at Creighton (First of a series, unless they lose):
Altman, Lon Kruger’s top assistant at Kansas State in the late ’80s, recruited Mitch Richmond. He has taken Creighton to four straight NCAA Tournaments.
Korver, the 6-7 junior who grew up in L.A. and moved to Pella, Iowa in sixth grade, was MVC Player of the Year. He turns 21 today. His mother once scored 74 points at Central College in Pella. His uncle played for the NFL Redskins in 1984. Why wasn’t he heavily recruited? “People just saw me as a shooter,” Korver said.
Terrell Taylor, the hero of the Bluejay upset of Florida, was MVC Sixth Man of the Year. The Bridgeport native is obsessed with Michael Jordan. How did he end up at Creighton when he dreamed about North Carolina? “I got a good look from (pre-Tim Welsh) Providence and (pre-Gary Waters) Rutgers,” he said, “but I wanted to go to a good program.”
Michael Lindeman, the 6-6 sophomore forward, was a walk-on who owns a 6.6 ppg average in basketball and a 3.98 GPA in finance. His father played for the White Sox.
Tyler McKinney, the 6-2 freshman point guard, has a 50-22 assist/turnover ratio and 16-3 record since taking over the starting job.
The backup point guard, 6-0, 185-pound Ismael Caro, looks like Wayne Chrebet and hails from Manchester, Conn.
Brody Deren, the 6-8, 245-pound center, is a transfer from Northwestern who has won 24-of-25 jump balls and owns a 3.62 GPA in exercise science.
Larry House is the 6-4 shooting guard and Juco transfer who averages 7.2 ppg.
DeAnthony Bowden is the 6-1 backup shooting guard and Juco transfer who is the defensive stopper.
Joe Dabbert is the 6-10 backup center from Colorado who is the second cousin of Dan Issel.
Mike Grimes is the 6-7 forward who was named to the MVC’s All-Bench team.
Gentlemen, start your slingshots.