Creighton men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott is one of the most respected coaches in college basketball, particularly on the offensive end of the court. One area in the game that shows his acumen is after timeout (ATO) plays.
Timeouts allow coaches to break out the white board and draw up a play, whether it be reviewing a playbook staple or diagramming something more creative for the specific look they’re expecting. McDermott has been terrific in this area over the past five years, ranking in the 98th percentile in 2021-22 (1.064 points per possession), the 58th percentile in 2021-22 (0.866 PPP), the 93rd percentile in 2022-23 (0.981), the 92nd percentile in 2023-24 (0.990 PPP) and the 85th percentile this season (1.000 PPP) according to Synergy Sports.
One of the most memorable moments of Creighton’s 57-56 win over St. John’s on New Year’s Eve came on an ATO play — though it wasn’t McDermott who drew it up.
Creighton led 45-40 heading into the under-8 media timeout when McDermott turned the huddle over to graduate assistant Mitch Ballock for a bit of white board magic.
This starts as a basic flex action baseline out of bounds (BLOB) play. The offense sets up in a four-low look then the point guard in-bounds over the top above the elbow to start the play. He then steps in-bounds and sets a cross screen for the man in the corner. The first look is to get that guy coming off the screen for a bunny, but in this case Steven Ashworth screened for Isaac Traudt, a 3-point shooter, to cut all the way through to the corner.
The second part of this play is often a pin-down for the point guard (a screen the screener action) to come free for a 3, and Ashworth excels in these situations. The wrinkle here is flipping the action. Instead of Kalkbrenner screening for Ashworth to shoot a 3, Ashworth set a back screen on Kalkbrenner’s man for a lob. Jamiya Neal put the pass on the money and Kalkbrenner got the fans at CHI Health Center Omaha on their feet.
“That was one that Mitch brought to me in practice yesterday, and actually, we talked about it at halftime, and I said, ‘make sure you have it ready if the situation calls for it,’” McDermott said. “He was able to deliver. So it’s pretty cool for a young guy.”
Go watch the play again and pay attention to the bench — Ballock on his feet and players and coaches pointing at him after Kalkbrenner threw down the dunk.
In the previous two seasons, Creighton scored more than twice as many 2-pointers on ATO plays than 3-pointers, but this season that ratio is almost 1:1. This play worked in part because St. John’s was likely focused on taking away 3-point opportunities. You can see defenders hugging Traudt and Mason Miller in the weak side corner (McDermott said Miller got extended run in the second half because of how tight the Red Storm was guarding him on the perimeter and the space that created for Kalkbrenner).
Deivon Smith was also worried about top-locking Ashworth and preventing him from coming free for the 3 and therefore wasn’t in position to switch, so once Ashworth set the screen on Zuby Ejiofor there was no one left to prevent the lob pass.
It was a great call from McDermott and Ballock for the way St. John’s was playing defense and perfect execution from the five on the court. The play also shows the value in a head coach trusting the other members of his staff and empowering them to make an impact. Ballock is in his second year on staff after playing for McDermott for four years. I’m not sure how many head coaches across the country are having graduate assistants draw up plays in huddles of important games, but it’s a credit to McDermott and an indication of the trust those two have developed over the years.
The alley-oop was one of five Kalkbrenner dunks in the game, giving him 11 dunks in the past two games after he managed just 13 of them in his previous seven appearances dating back to the Nebraska game when teams began loading up against Creighton’s 7-footer to minimize his opportunities at all costs.
Getting Kalkbrenner easy looks will be a key for Creighton every time the Jays step on the floor the rest of the season, but opposing teams are aware of that as well. Creighton will have to keep coming up with new wrinkles to free him up, like Ballock’s BLOB play above.
