Creighton Basketball

OMAHA, Neb. — On the night before Creighton's Doug McDermott made history, he went out to dinner at Kona Grill with his parents, his older brother Nick and his younger sister Sydney.

The McDermotts have made it a tradition this year for the family to get together for dinner the night before a home game. They try not to talk about basketball, but Nick couldn't help it on Friday night.

"You think you're going to get to 3,000 tomorrow night?" he asked his younger brother, who entered Saturday's game 34 points shy.

"There's no way," Doug told him.

Late Saturday night about an hour after he got there, Doug posed for pictures with his family.

The photographer asked Greg McDermott to hold up three fingers. Doug stood next to his dad with the game ball. Next to Doug, his mom, sister and brother all made zeros with their fingers.

A photo finish to a storybook night.

Not only did McDermott get to 3,000 points—only the eighth (and quite possibly the last) player in NCAA history to do so—he blazed past it.

McDermott scored a career-high 45 points in a 88-73 win over Providence in front of a record-setting crowd that got exactly what it wanted to see.

"It was an incredible night," Creighton coach and proud dad Greg McDermott said afterward.

"That's the most fun I've had watching a basketball game," said an NBA front-office executive on press row in the final minute, speaking for every person in the building lucky enough to witness that performance.

These moments in sports usually don't play out like we want them to.

But McDermott chased down 3,000 like a dream.

He made the game's first bucket and missed his next three shots, prompting teammate Grant Gibbs to say, "I thought he missed a couple easy ones early and couldn't foresee a night like that." But in typical Doug fashion, he scored 10 straight points in a little more than two minutes.

By halftime, McDermott had 22 points. And it wasn't a matter of whether he'd get to 3,000 on this night anymore, but how soon.

Once he got to 32, Creighton's students all held up two fingers and chanted "two more points! Two more points!"

With 11:30 left on the clock, Doug gave them three. 

He dribbled to his left around a ball screen, set himself from 25 feet out and watched the ball go through the net without touching rim. 

Thirty-one seconds later, dad, not coach, called timeout.

Greg stood with 18,868 Creighton fans and clapped his hands as his son walked toward him, and they embraced.

"It was without question a moment of time I'll never forget," Greg said later. 

"I don't think I've ever heard this place that loud," Nick said. 

And then Doug kept going, chasing another record—his previous career-high of 44.

A man on a mission?

"He's on a mission a lot," Gibbs said.

McDermott made two free throws, back-to-back layups, two more free throws on two more trips to the line and then his final layup at the CenturyLink Center to give him 45.

"For him to score 45 and hit the 3,000 mark, career high, on his senior night, to end the season undefeated at home, it's obviously special for him and all of us too," Nick said.

"All the accolades and all the points and the way he's handled it has been incredible, but for me to be able to see every second of it is really, really cool," Greg said. "It's something that I'll carry with me for a long time." 

As Doug watched some of those moments whiz by on a highlight video afterward with the building still packed, Greg reached up and rubbed his son's head. 

Doug finally lowered his head and gave into the emotion for the first time. 

He told his brother on Friday night all he wanted was to win on his senior night. 

"I never really in my wildest dreams thought I'd reach 3,000," he said.

But Doug McDermott, of all people, should believe in fairy tales by now. 

C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR. 

Per the Omaha World-Herald, Creighton Bluejays forward Doug McDermott needs just 34 more points to become the eighth player in NCAA Division I men's basketball history with 3,000 career points.

Sitting at 2,966 points through 139 career games, McDermott also has an opportunity to move up the NCAA's all-time scoring list.

The 6'8" sharpshooter currently ranks ninth in NCAA history and needs just eight points to move ahead of Cincinnati Bearcats legend Oscar Robertson, who scored 2,973 points in a mere 88 games for an incredible average of 33.8 points per contest.

McDermott will likely pass Robertson for eight place in Creighton's regular-season finale, which is scheduled for Saturday against Providence.

How far McDermott goes beyond Robertson will largely depend on Creighton's postseason success, as the senior forward has limited control over the number of games remaining in his college career. He can conceivably catch Bradley legend Hersey Hawkins (3,008 points), former St. Peter's guard Keydren Clark (3,058) and Texas Southern's Harry Kelly (3,066), even if the Bluejays only last one game in both the Big East and NCAA tournaments.

Passing the aforementioned players would leave McDermott in fifth place, but he'll need a strong run from his team to move any higher. He's currently 199 points behind fourth-place Alphonso Ford (3,165), 251 points behind third-place Lionel Simmons (3,217) and 283 points behind second-place Freeman Williams (3,249).

"Pistol" Pete Maravich, the all-time leader with 3,667 career points, is far out of McDermott's reach.

Doug McDermott strengthened his already ridiculous resume for National Player of the Year on Sunday night with a season-high 39 points in Creighton's 101-80 win over Villanova in Omaha. 

In his team's 21st win of the season, McDermott passed Larry Bird on the all-time Division I scoring chart and put a stronger grip on the player of the year title. 

In 25 games this season, the 6'8" senior has had just one bad game. That's right, only one bad game: a seven-point showing in a loss to George Washington back on December 1. 

Other than that, there has been very little criticism about the play of the son of Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott. 

The younger McDermott's resume starts with his outstanding point production, as he has scored at least 20 points in 21 games and netted 30 or more on nine different occasions. 

No one in the nation, not Tyler Ennis, Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, Joel Embiid or any other player labeled as dominant has been that consistent in the scoring department. 

Combined, that group of five players has scored 20 points in a game in 33 outings and produced just two 30-plus-point performances all season.

While that is a small sample size, it gives you an idea of just how impressive McDermott's single-game performances have been compared to the other National Player of the Year hopefuls. 

His season totals are quite astounding as well, as he leads the nation in scoring with 25.9 points per game. To go along with his scoring numbers, McDermott averages seven rebounds per game and shoots over 50 percent from the field. 

McDermott's intangibles are what separate him from the pack. He can play both inside and outside, pass the rock and be an emotional leader all in one.  

McDermott is also terrific at defending, which is something some prolific scorers do not do well. The best example of his versatile defensive prowess on Sunday came with about 16 minutes left in the second half when he stayed in front of Villanova guard Ryan Arcidiacono and forced a shot clock violation without fouling the sophomore point guard.

Most defenders in the college game would lose discipline at some point during that sequence, but McDermott held his ground, kept his hands up and made a play that will go unnoticed in the box score. 

It is little things like that that make the senior forward a joy to watch every time he steps on the court. 

With a perfect skill set for the college game, McDermott deserves to be honored for his four years in Omaha with the National Player of the Year award when the season concludes. That should be the case no matter how well anyone else plays for the rest of the year. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Doug McDermott casually glided up the court. In one of the most frantic moments of the Creighton Bluejays' season, he reached the mid-court line and began tiptoeing, as if he were a mid-40s YMCA player exhausted from one too many times up and down the floor. It was perhaps the least athletic gait you'll see in all of college basketball this season.

And then McDermott sprung to action. With his hands cocked at his side in perfect catch-and-shoot position, McDermott waited for Austin Chatman to pound the ball up the floor and hand it off to Jahenns Manigat, who dribbled toward the break and then send a pass back his way. Catching the ball with a defender flying over a screen and toward his shot, McDermott fell to his back as he launched a 25-footer.

All net.

McDermott's shot came with 2.5 seconds remaining and served as the game-winner in Creighton's 63-60 win over St. John's on Tuesday night. It was the second time McDermott has hit a clutch shot to clinch a win this season, but the first time he's done so before his home crowd. 

"At home this is the best feeling I've ever had," McDermott said, via the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "That Saint Joe's one was pretty good, too. This tops it."

The senior forward had a season-high 39 of his team's 63 points, but the occasion rarely felt colossal until that final shot. All of it was merely in a night's work for McDermott, the nation's second-leading scorer and quite possibly the front-runner for the National Player of the Year Award.

Sure, McDermott is far from new on the college basketball scene. As a senior who has exhausted every last bit of his eligibility, the college basketball world is well versed in what Doug McDermott has to offer—if you've taken the time to pay attention.

McDermott is in his third straight season of averaging at least 20 points and seven rebounds. He's shot better than 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc since arriving in the small Catholic university of less than 8,000 situated in a city perhaps most famous for being a pre-snap call from Peyton Manning. 

So McDermott is far from new. Why is it now, four years into the making, he's finally seen as some transformative figure in college hoops?

For some, perhaps it's the dichotomy between him and the players who were supposed to be putting up McDermott numbers this season. Andrew Wiggins. Jabari Parker. Julius Randle. It's the same fearsome freshman class that was supposed to render the old models leftover from last season obsolete and send NBA general managers into full-scale deconstruction mode.

Wiggins, anointed as God himself in a basketball uniform before ever setting foot in Lawrence, became the second freshman in history to be named to the Associated Press preseason All-America team. He and McDermott joined Michigan's Mitch McGary as the forwards selected. Randle replaced McGary on CBS Sports' All-American roster. Sporting News gave a nod to Parker.

It's a bit ironic that Parker, playing the best of the triad, was probably given the least accolades coming in despite his high profile. And it's equally amusing that Kansas center Joel Embiid, absent almost entirely from the preseason hubbub, would probably be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft if the season ended today.

When it comes to college basketball, though, McDermott has separated himself head, shoulders, knees and toes as the best and at times most entertaining player in college basketball.

Among the highest-usage players in the nation—those who represent at least 28 percent of their team's offensive possessions—McDermott has the fifth-best offensive rating in basketball. Parker sits at 21st, and UConn's Shabazz Napier is just barely excluded from the conversation due to his 27.8 percent usage rate. (Napier's offensive rating is below McDermott's regardless.)

Ken Pomeroy's normalized Player of the Year rankings have McDermott dwarfing Parker and the field. Only 10 best scores are publicly made available, but third-place Nick Johnson is closer to Cleanthony Early than to McDermott—and that woefully undersells the chasm. Only Parker, who is currently going through a miserable shooting slump, can even begin to compare.

More than anything, McDermott is the ecosystem by which perhaps the nation's best offense revolves. McDermott is a dead-eye three-point shooter and a vastly underrated post player who does damage from anywhere at any time. Teams have to account for his presence no matter where he stands on the floor, which makes St. John's defenders crashing toward Chatman all the more perplexing.

They say great players make good players elite and replacement-level players good. The proof has certainly been in the numbers for Creighton this season. 

The Bluejays are averaging 125.0 points per 100 possessions in Pomeroy's adjusted offensive rating, just behind Duke for tops in the nation. The Blue Devils win out because they've played a tougher schedule, but Creighton's move to the new Big East has quelled all those "ain't played nobody" criticisms once and for all.

Though, after Creighton dropped a 96-68 curb-stomp on then-No. 4 Villanova in Philadelphia last week, that probably went without saying. The Bluejays hit a Big East record 21 three-pointers in the contest and led by more than 40 before 'Nova had a late run. Ethan Wragge was the star on that night, tying a school record with nine three-pointers.

But even in a supporting role, McDermott had 23 points and five rebounds, knocking down five of his own from beyond the arc and earning effusive praise from Wildcats coach Jay Wright. 

"I think he's the best player in the country, I really do," Wright said, via ESPN's Jeff Goodman. "I respect that our players respect him. I'm very impressed that our players like his game. I love his combination of skill and intelligence. It seems like he rarely takes a bad shot."

McDermott has 17 games where he's scored 20 points or more already this season. Wiggins, Parker and Randle have combined for 23. He's been a better, more consistent outside scorer than either Wiggins or Parker and at times an even more lethal post threat than Randle, a talented but frustrating player who has a propensity to be a black hole.

Granted, it's patently unfair to foist the same expectations on all four men. McDermott is a 22-year-old man. He's been through this grind before on three previous occasions. Randle, Wiggins and Parker are barely old enough to buy a lottery ticket on their own, their talents more tantalizing for who they could be rather than who they are at the moment. 

Still, you can forgive the McDermotts of the world for being a little tired of it all. The attention given to the yearly wave of freshmen—especially ones as talented as these—often overshadows the already accomplished. The guys whom we already know. The ones like McDermott, talented and breathtaking on the collegiate level but consigned to get the national scraps while everyone fawns over at the kids' table.

"In the back of my mind, it motivated me," McDermott said. "Did people forget I'm still around? I'm still here."

Rest assured, no one is forgetting now. McDermott, at the top of his game and finally getting some deserved credit, is the best player in college basketball. Maybe he doesn't have the future of NBA All-Star Games, mega shoe contracts and perhaps even Hall of Fame potential of these freshmen.

That's fine. For now, McDermott will just have to settle for being plain old better.

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For those of you who thought the Creighton Bluejays were a one-man team led by Doug McDermott, you were proven 100 percent wrong by his supporting cast on Monday night. 

Led by an absolute assault from beyond the arc by Ethan Wragge, Creighton defeated No. 4 Villanova in Philadelphia, 96-68. 

The win was a statement by the Bluejays that they are not only the best team in the Big East Conference, but also a multidimensional squad that can punch you in the gut from every angle of the court. 

Wragge came into the game known for his three-point shooting and exited it as a legend in the Creighton record books. 

The senior made his first seven shots from downtown and ended 9-of-14 from three-point range, and he failed to attempt a single two-pointer all night long. 

In the process of deflating the morale of the fourth-ranked Wildcats, Wragge tied a school record for most threes in a single game, a record that is held by Kyle Korver, who made plenty of threes on the same court at the Wells Fargo Center for the Philadelphia 76ers.

While Wragge got the party started in a major way in the first half, it was McDermott and Jahenns Manigat who continued the streaky shooting when the big man cooled off a bit. 

If there is such a thing as a quiet 23-point performance, McDermott had that, as he let his teammates bask in the spotlight while he continued to make buckets. In the process of scoring those 23 points, McDermott passed David Robinson for 23rd place on the all-time college scoring list. 

Manigat came out of nowhere to net 19 points for the Bluejays, 12 of which came from three-point range, as the Bluejays set the Big East Conference record for most threes in a single game. 

The three-point shooting success of Creighton will be the headline from Monday's monster victory, but the Bluejays also did the little things right as well. 

After they were well ahead in the game, the Bluejays continued to make the extra pass on offense to the open shooters, which was the opposite of what Villanova did, as the hosts chucked up early shot after early shot during their unsuccessful comeback attempt. 

If you dig even deeper into the game, you will notice small, but noteworthy contributions from the bench players as well. 

During the middle of the first half when Wragge went to the bench, it was Isaiah Zierden who hit two threes in a 90-second span to keep the momentum going for the Bluejays. 

The Bluejays also showed plenty of resilience as they weathered a late Villanova run in the first half that cut the lead to 13 points. 

Led by a strong group of seniors, something that is rarely seen in today's collegiate game, the Bluejays bounced back in a magnificent way and made sure the game was over by the halfway point of the second half. 

As if this performance was not enough to get you excited about the potential of Creighton in March, they were playing without sixth-year senior Grant Gibbs, who is out four to six weeks with a dislocated kneecap.

Creighton should get Gibbs back right in time for the final push toward the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and he brings another dimension to the court as a skilled distributor, something that the team will need as the competition heats up.

If Gibbs can return and deliver the performances he is capable of on the court, this Creighton team could become even more deadly than it was against Villanova.

Gibbs may not produce much in the points department, but he brings a set of intangibles to the court that any team would love to have. 

Adding Gibbs to the product we saw on Monday night in Philadelphia could make the Bluejays a team that no one wants to play when it matters most in March.

Joe Tansey writes a weekly piece on the Big East for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.

One of the most productive players in the country since 2011, Doug McDermott's NBA projections have been all over the map.

Now averaging 24.3 points a game after averaging 23.2 as a junior and 22.9 as a sophomore, McDermott has pretty much mastered the college game. Though he's the focal point of every opposing defense, nobody seems to have an answer for him.

But it doesn't take long to recognize what's kept him from generating can't-miss draft buzz.

McDermott isn't the same caliber of athlete as most of the NBA's scoring wings. He plays a below-the-rim, finesse brand of ball at a position that's loaded with lengthy, explosive forwards.

Despite all of his college production, many question just how well his game will translate, and what spot in the draft his ceiling is worth reaching for. But let's start with the basement floor and work our way up.

McDermott has been one of the most accurate three-point shooters in recent memory, and at the very least, he'll provide a team with a long-range specialist and floor-stretcher.

Take a look at his career three-point numbers as of January 9, 2014:

His accuracy and consistency are both off the charts—the guy never has two poor shooting nights in a row. And at 6'7'', he shouldn't have any trouble getting off clean looks on the NBA wing. 

When talking about McDermott, you can't help but think of Kyle Korver, another former Creighton star who recently signed a $24 million deal. Worst-case scenario, McDermott can serve as a Korver type of contributor in a specialized role as a sniper.

 
Creighton Athletics

But the real question isn't about his jumper—it's whether or not McDermott's scoring repertoire will translate from one level to the next.

You don't average 20-plus points a game for three straight years with just an outside shot. McDermott has a complete offensive game. Give him the ball and watch him work or run him off screens away from it—he's a scoring threat in every phase of the game.

However, McDermott's lack of athleticism, which limits him as a leaper and driver, and his below-average lateral quickness, which limits him as a defender, have weighed heavily on his draft stock. That's a potential major barrier to McDermott, who could have a tough time separating offensively or not being a defensive liability.

Realistically, McDermott will never evolve into a plus defender given his dull physical tools. But he does have the chance to emerge as a guy who can go out and get his team a bucket—and those guys hold value.

All he really needs is room to let it go, and of course, a green light from the sidelines, which he has at Creighton. McDermott can shoot it off the dribble, pulling up or stepping back, and he has the confidence and instincts to knock down shots with hands in his face. If he can eventually earn the freedom to work a little one-on-one, his ceiling would rise another story or two. 

Via ESPN

Though not elusive off the bounce as a shot-creator, McDermott can still separate into clean, balanced looks. He's got a shot or counter move for every spot or angle on the floor.

McDermott has also had to expand his game each year to adjust to the different defensive looks from teams trying to take him away. Check out how quickly he picked up the patented Dirk Nowitzki one-legged fadeaway that's become so popular among NBA pros. 

Via ESPN

McDermott's supporters are likely to point out his unteachable offensive instincts, high IQ and advanced offensive game as reasons why he'll succeed. And if he does succeed, they'll be right. 

Some guys just have a knack for putting the ball in the hoop, regardless of their competition or place in a lineup. You wouldn't call McDermott a post scorer, but he seems to always find a way to convert with his back to the rim.

Fox Sports

McDermott just has a natural feel for the game, with the ability to improvise and make shots he's never taken before.

The best ceiling comparison I've heard for McDermott so far has been former (one-time) All-Star Wally Szczerbiak, who at 6'7'' with similar limitations went on to average 14.1 points a game for his career. 

The guy just knew how to get off the shots he wanted, and he made them with enough consistency to be effective. That's the game plan for McDermott, who certainly has the skill level to follow in Wally's path.

But the odds are against him.

There aren't too many small forwards in the pros who take on full-time or starting duties without some sharp physical tools. With guys like Kawhi Leonard, Luol Deng and Paul George, long, 6'8'' physical athletes, starting at the 3, chances are McDermott will be mostly limited to spot-up and catch-and-finish scoring chances.

Still, his basement floor as a shooter and high-IQ presence could be first-round worthy depending on what your team is looking for. A playoff team drafting in the 20s might have McDermott circled on its board as we speak.

"I never thought I'd be in this position," McDermott told Ed Barmakian of the Associated Press (via The Republic), regarding the NBA scouts who have flocked to his games. "To have those guys come and watch is pretty cool. I've come a long way since early in my career. The NBA has always been a dream of mine. To be in a position to maybe make that happen is pretty cool."

I wouldn't bet on any All-Star invitations, but I'd put my money on McDermott developing into a valued, complementary scorer off an NBA bench.

Updates from Wednesday, Jan. 8

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has the latest on Doug McDermott's injured shoulder:

Original Text

Creighton forward Doug McDermott will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of a left shoulder injury suffered during the Bluejays' 81-62 victory over DePaul on Jan. 7.

McDermott suffered the injury after a collision with DePaul forward Peter Ryckbosch with 1:24 remaining in the first half, but only left the game for a little over a minute before returning. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, but went an uncharacteristically poor 6-of-16 from the field and tied a season-high with four turnovers.

Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, who is also Doug's father, told Brian Hamilton of Sports Illustrated he expects his son to be fine going forward:

Greg McDermott did not say whether Doug would be available when the Bluejays host Xavier on Sunday, and his status will likely depend on what the MRI says. Creighton's victory over DePaul on Tuesday brought McDermott and co. to a 3-0 start in their first season in the revamped Big East, and the team could reenter the Top 25 by moving to 4-0 against the Musketeers.

A victory would obviously be more difficult without McDermott, a potential first-round NBA draft choice who has been one of the nation's best scorers three years running. McDermott is second in the nation at 24.7 points per game, flashing an elite stroke from beyond the arc and a solid post game that works well for someone his size.

McDermott also leads Creighton with 7.5 rebounds per game. Should he be forced to miss an extended period of time, the onus will likely go onto second-leading scorer Ethan Wragge to step up. Wragge is averaging 12.1 points per game—less than half of McDermott's total.

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Creighton received great news this week when the NCAA granted Grant Gibbs a sixth year of eligibility. 

The move makes the Bluejays a legit contender for the Big East title, because not only do they get Gibbs, but they also get a better Doug McDermott. They get a better Ethan Wragge. They get a better Will Artino.

Gibbs makes everyone on the court better, and he was a key figure in making Creighton one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball last season.

Gibbs’ impact cannot be quantified by hard numbers. Those are impressive. Gibbs averaged 8.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game last season. He had a 34.3 assist rate, which ranked 42nd nationally, according to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers (subscription needed).

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, because Gibbs is a much better passer than the 42nd-best in college basketball.

More than just the assist numbers, it’s how he gets those assists. It’s the types of passes he delivers.

Gibbs’ passing made the game a lot easier for several of Creighton’s most important players, and obviously, if you’re talking Creighton, everything starts with McDermott.

Creighton does a good job of putting McDermott in scoring situations. It’s not a game of just “throw your star the ball and let him go one-on-one.” His amazing shooting numbers—57.3 percent inside the arc and 49 percent outside—come from good offense and his teammates understanding where to get him the ball.

No one does a better job of putting McDermott in scoring situations than Gibbs. He assisted on 84 of McDermott’s baskets last season, and most of Gibbs’ passes lead to either threes or layups.

These numbers—using play-by-play data—show McDermott’s baskets that Gibbs assisted on.

Gibbs’ specialties are his ability to hit shooters right in their shooting pocket, and the ability to deliver pinpoint post-entry passes—which is a lost art in basketball.

McDermott obviously benefited from both types of Gibbs’ passes. Wragge, Creighton’s three-point ace off the bench, had 23 of his threes set up by Gibbs last season. But the player who was rewarded the most was Gregory Echenique.

Echenique lived on the blocks. According to Hoop-Math.com's numbers, 73 percent of his shots came at the rim—and Gibbs set him up often. Gibbs assisted on 48 of Echenique’s 138 baskets last year, and all of those points were scored in the paint. Echenique was an expert at sealing in the post so he could simply turn and finish.

It takes a good passer to lead to those easy buckets, and Gibbs probably deserves some credit for Echenique’s stellar 76 percent shooting at the rim.

This is good news for Artino, who is 6’11” and will be the biggest question mark for Creighton heading into the season. Artino will likely be the lone newcomer to the starting lineup now that Gibbs is coming back.

Artino, much like Echenique was, will be depended on to score from the blocks and be another weapon to take some of the attention off McDermott. Artino averaged only 7.9 minutes per game in 2012-13 and obviously did not get to play as much with Gibbs. But when he did, Gibbs made him better too. The big man had 12 of his 53 buckets assisted by Gibbs.

Several months ago, Creighton did not know if McDermott would return for his senior season, and most thought that Gibbs had already finished his collegiate career. The Bluejays were looking at a potentially rough first year in the Big East.

Now, on paper it’s easy to make an argument for Creighton as the preseason favorite in the league. And Gibbs does a lot more than just make his team better on paper. 

Doug McDermott will return to Creighton for his senior year, according to ESPN.

McDermott, an All-American this season, will likely be the overwhelming favorite for every player of the year award in his senior season.

The Bluejays forward averaged 23.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG in an average of 31.6 minutes each contest. 

McDermott said of his difficult decision, “I've had enough of this. I'm ready to make this decision. This is where my heart is. The NBA can wait. I feel like I can play there someday, but this is an opportunity I can't pass up."

For a player of his magnitude to return is surprising at the surface level, but considering that he is not the type of athlete that projects to improve in the NBA, it is understandable that he would return to school.

The NBA Draft is a futures market, and players are, more often than not, selected based on their potential and not their skill level.

McDermott will likely not improve his draft stock by returning to Creighton, and he will likely not hurt his chances either.  

Eamonn Brennan of ESPN wrote of McDermott’s decision, “Doug McDermott isn't going to wow NBA scouts so much that he'll be a lottery pick. At that point, aside from the ever-present injury risk all athletes face, the question changes from "why stay" to "well, why not?"

Why not indeed?

Doug McDermott clearly has the ability to dominate the college game, and he will likely receive more awards and attention at the college level than the pro level.

With little risk of losing out on a first round draft position and little ability to push up into the hallowed realm of the lottery, why not be a superstar just one more year?

Creighton will enter the new Big East this season, and they will do so behind the strength of their returning star.