The Creighton Blue Jays may have just had their season saved with the return of 7’1 260-pound big man Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Kalkbrenner announced in a tweet late on Monday simply saying “I am coming back to Creighton for another year.”
I am coming back to Creighton for another year.
— Ryan Kalkbrenner (@RyanKalkbrenner) May 29, 2023
After the Blue Jays were eliminated in the Elite Eight, he declared for the NBA Draft while retaining his college eligibility.
He now returns for his senior season, and will also be playing for his draft stock heading into the next NBA Draft.
So how important is this for Creighton? This is beyond important for this Blue Jays team. Kalkbrenner averaged 15.9 points per game and 6.1 rebounds along with 2.1 blocks each and every night for this team.
When you look to compete in the Big East as Creighton does, you have to have a stout big man that can protect the rim, and get buckets in the post on the other end, and Kalkbrenner is exactly that.
Depending on a team’s size, this guy has to be double-teamed and focused on a ton when it comes to help defense, and that benefits a team with great shooters.
Him and Baylor Scheierman were already making a great duo in Omaha last year, and now they add another elite shooter in Steven Ashworth.
Kalkbrenner allows this team to move the ball more efficiently to these shooters and continues to make Creighton a nightmare to scheme for defensively.
So now a team that was having a rough offseason in terms of its losses with Ryan Nembhard and others, Doug McDermott continues to do such a great job in bringing players in, bringing them back, and keeping them for all four years.
The Blue Jays now remain contenders in the Big East Conference, and Kalkbrenner will be a massive part of their run for a Big East crown.