Creighton Basketball: Projecting the starting lineup

PG: Kaleb Joseph, Junior

Creighton has a few different options at PG, but Kaleb Joseph looks like the early frontrunner. Joseph is a former top 50 recruit who transferred from Syracuse after two seasons. The 6’3’’ PG is most known for being thrust into the starting lineup when Tyler Ennis unexpectedly entered the NBA Draft after just one season at Syracuse. Joseph averaged 5.9ppg and 3.8apg as a freshman but struggled with his outside shooting (20% from three).

Unfortunately, Joseph’s sophomore season was an absolute disaster. He lost his starting spot to converted PG Mike Gbinije, who led Syracuse to the Final Four and performed well enough to be selected in the NBA Draft. Joseph was relegated to a bench warmer role and made the wise decision to transfer to Creighton where he will see much more playing time.

While Joseph is the frontrunner, he won’t be handed the reigns automatically. Sophomore Davion Mintz will also compete for the starting job. Like many Creighton freshmen, Mintz was used sparingly for the first half of his first season in Omaha. When Maurice Watson went down with a season-ending injury, Coach McDermott had no choice but to let Mintz play through his rookie mistakes.

Mintz showed flashes but ultimately could not bring some much-needed stability to the PG position. He will definitely be a rotation piece and play 10-15 minutes per game, but he may need more time before he can run a potential NCAA Tournament squad.

Tyler Clement also deserves a mention as Coach McDermott used him over Mintz for stretches of last season. Clement is a walk-on but was a trusted backup PG who played in 30 games last season. Hopefully, Joseph and Mintz play well enough that Clement does not need to be used, but the walk-on is serviceable nonetheless.

Kaleb Joseph will get the first opportunity to be the starting PG, but he could have a short leash if he struggles with Mintz waiting in the wings.