One of the bright spots in a rare season to forget for Creighton is a hustle play worth remembering.
Late in the first half of mostly meaningless game between two teams fighting to stay out of last place in the Big East, Creighton senior Ricky Kreklow dove across the baseline and skidded out of bounds to save an errant pass. Kreklow then quickly got up, sprinted to the corner and buried a wide-open 3-pointer to help the Bluejays post a 77-70 victory over visiting Marquette on Saturday.
The effort Kreklow showed is a sign it probably won't be long before Creighton gets back to performing at the level it has become accustomed to.
The Bluejays are still doing all the little things it takes to win the way they have previously. They just simply don't have the talent necessary to win in the Big East after losing a vaunted senior class featuring national player of the year Doug McDermott and fellow standouts Ethan Wragge, Grant Gibbs and Jahenns Manigat.
Creighton (12-14, 3-10) is shooting only 41.1 percent from the field as a team and has nobody averaging more than 10.3 points per game, but coach Greg McDermott told reporters in Omaha that Kreklow's attitude has helped keep the Bluejays upbeat and working hard.
The journeyman who previously played for Missouri and Cal turned down scholarship offers from other name-brand programs to walk on at Creighton as a graduate transfer. He has averaged 7.7 points per game and made a huge impact with his outside shooting against Marquette, scoring a team-high 19 points and sinking six threes.
"Ricky has been incredible," McDermott said. "I'm not sure how our locker room would have survived without him. I think those guys would have continued to move forward, but he's got such a positive spirit about him that he's kind of uplifting in that way.
"He decided to walk on here and we're having a tough year, yet he approaches practice every day like he's having the time of his life. He's loving every minute of it. It's a great lesson for all of us to learn when we start feeling sorry for ourselves."
Kreklow's work ethic and attitude was on display Saturday — and he received a loud ovation from the 17,000 fans in attendance.
It was a great hustle play under any circumstances. It was even more impressive coming at the end of a lost season.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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