Creighton Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Bluejays

Key Reserves

Tyshon Alexander

The Oak Hill Academy product is another player in the long line of Creighton guards who can shoot. Alexander at times seems to score at will. Oak Hill is one of the best high school basketball programs in the country producing the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Josh Smith, and many others. Alexander was well-coached and will be ready for the college game. He will see some minutes this year, but his minutes will really uptick once Marcus Foster graduates.

Ronnie Harrell

Harrell is the defensive specialist for the Bluejays. Harrell is not a great offensive player, but he can play pressure defense and is a good rebounder. He doesn’t play a lot of minutes at a time, but when the Bluejays want to dial up the pressure and start creating some turnovers, Harrell usually enters the game. He has quick hands and good defensive positioning, which allows him to force a lot of turnovers while not committing many fouls.  When Coach McDermott puts Khyri Thomas and Harrell on the floor at the same time, it is closing time for Creighton and it is usually game over for the opponent.

Manny Suarez

Suarez, a graduate transfer from Adelphi University in New York, is an old-school center who makes his living in the post. Suarez loves to live in the paint and he protects the rim with the best of them. He is also a good rebounder. Creighton is hoping that Suarez is able to adjust to Power-5 basketball quickly. It is a given that the opponents and big men he will face in the Big East are unlike any other players he faced at Adelphi. If Suarez can adjust, that just makes Creighton deeper and tougher to beat.

Jacob Epperson

Epperson was a top-100 prospect out of La Lumiere Academy.  Epperson is originally from Australia and has been well-coached throughout his entire young life. Epperson’s father Ken is one of the best players in Toledo Basketball history and scored over 2,000 total points. La Lumiere Academy was the No. 1 ranked team in the country last year and has been a factory for placing kids at high D-1 schools. Jaren Jackson and Brian Bowen were the stars on the team this year and both of those players were highly ranked and went to blueblood programs in Michigan State and Louisville. Epperson should be able to see minutes early because he will be college ready like Ty-Shon Alexander.  Epperson could develop into one of the premier big men in the Big East before he graduates.

Mitch Ballock

Ballock is a shooter and Greg McDermott is going to love him. McDermott loves the players he can run out onto the floor and have them catch-and-shoot for numerous threes. Ballock is one of those players. Ballock is not just a 3-point shooter, however, as he was a top-60 prospect coming out of Kansas. Ballock also chose Creighton over home state school Kansas. Ballock should get plenty of minutes out of the gate and should score with ease. Ballock is a deadly 3-point shooter and was invited to many premier camps before last summer.  Ballock could be the next in the long line of guards to have success at Creighton.