ifc-page1 10/6/10 2:07 PM Page 2 Qwest Center Omaha Home to Creighton University men’s basketball, C Qwest Center Omaha continues to be the site of record-breaking crowds. The venue has hosted the 62-largest basketball crowds in state history, with a high of 17,954, since opening in the fall of 2003. Creighton has ranked in the top-15 nationally in home attendance each of the past four years. Last year, the club was 15th after it averaged 14,495 fans per home game and drawing 246,419 home fans. ifc-page1 10/6/10 2:07 PM Page 3 Home of Bluejay Basketball Creighton has attracted 1,647,557 fans in the seven years since moving to a venue that’s among the nation’s best, averaging 14,327 fans while post- ing a 97-18 record in that time. Qwest Center Omaha has hosted or will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2008 and 2012, as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012), the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships (2006, 2008) and the NCAA Wrestling Champi- onships (2010). Qwest Center Omaha What Others Have Said About Qwest Center Omaha ATTENDANCE “The support has been unbelievable. Through the ups and downs, we’ve been able to find a way to win enough games that our fans continue to come. We’re very appreciative of the way they’ve treated us. The building has been great. It’s been great for Omaha in a number of ways, but it’s definitely been great for our basketball program and our University.” - Former Creighton coach Dana Altman (Jan. 18, 2008) “Creighton finished 20th among all Division I schools with an average of 13,900 fans per game - a jump of more than 2,692 from the previous season. That's better than reigning national champi- on Florida (10,851) and a host of other major programs, including Texas (13,024), Oklahoma (11,805), Oklahoma State (11,591), Michigan (10,690), Pittsburgh (10,624) and Villanova (9,949).”- Andrew Skwara, rivals.com (Aug. 11, 2006) THE ARENA “Creighton is the league’s crown jewel. It boasts an NBA-caliber arena, the Qwest Center Omaha, where the Bluejays average 14,387 fans.”- Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated (Feb. 20, 2006) THE ATMOSPHERE “The crowd did a great job. And there’s no doubt in my mind that the energy they provided gave us a chance to win the game.” - Former Creighton coach Dana Altman (Nov. 28, 2005) “This building has a lot better atmosphere to it (than the Civic). It’s a great home-court environment. I felt the crowd was really good for them today. You’ve got to give the crowd credit. A lot of crowds throughout the country just go away, and they didn’t do that. It was a very active crowd and a crowd that sup- ports the team and the way they play.” - New Mexico coach Steve Alford (Nov. 16, 2008) "I told our team before the game that this is one of the greatest college venues in the country. The fans are very respectful of the opponent, which I appreciate because we've played in some places that get kind of nasty with the vulgarities that are used. Here, the fans are classy in the way they support their own program and still show respect for the opponent." - George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga (Feb. 21, 2009) “I’m five feet away from (referee) Gerry Pollard calling timeout, and he can’t even hear me. That’s an unbelievable environment, one that’s a credit to what Coach Altman has created here. When you come here, you have to play your best.”- Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery (Jan. 22, 2007) 2 Qwest Center Omaha Creighton’s home for men’s basketball is Qwest Center Omaha. Qwest is paying $14 million over 15 years for the naming rights to The facility is located on a 421-acre site of the former Union Pacific Rail- the arena. road yards, just a few blocks from the historic Old Market and three The 2008 calendar year marked the best one yet at Qwest Center miles from Eppley Airfield. Omaha. The facility hosted the first and second rounds of the 2008 Built for $291 million and finished in the fall of 2003, the facility is NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships in March, the U.S. a key element in the continued renovation and development of Olympic Team Trials for Swimming in July and the NCAA Women’s Vol- Omaha’s riverfront. leyball Championships in December. It will host the second and third Among the amenities at Qwest Center Omaha are seven locker rounds of the 2012 NCAA Basketball Championships. rooms, five dressing rooms and a media interview room. The Creighton The facility has also hosted concerts by bands such as Bruce locker room contains secure, wood-paneled lockers and is located just Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Paul a short walk off the court. McCartney, U2, KISS, Jonas Brothers, Aerosmith, Simon & Garfunkel, Daktronics,Inc. is responsible for the $2.1 million scoreboard Prince, Jessica Simpson, Miley Cyrus, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Cher, Britney which hangs from the arena center. The scoreboard is more than 16 Spears, Justin Bieber,Alan Jackson, Elton John and The Who. feet in height and approximately 38 feet in diameter. Daktronics, Inc.’s More than 1,700 new seats were added to the upper deck on the integrated system includes a custom eight-sided scoreboard with north side of the building during the summer of 2006, moving capaci- ProStar® video displays, two large ProAd® digital advertising and infor- ty to 17,260 for basketball. mation displays, auxiliary scoreboards, two-sided shot/game clocks, Construction is well under way for TD AMERITRADE Park Omaha, locker room clocks, and ticket window displays. the future home of the College World Series, with completion set for Twelve permanent concession stands and 20 free-standing kiosks this April. That venue will be located just west of Qwest Center Omaha help feed crowds of up to 17,260 for basketball and 18,300 for concerts. in the former location of Parking Lots C and E. Qwest Center Omaha provides more than 194,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the Exhibit Hall can hold dinners for up to 15,000 people at once. Downtown Omaha’s 40-story First National Bank Tower 219 220 221 222 223 could be laid down inside the length of the exhibit space. 218 224 217 225 Attached to the facility via a skywalk is the eight-story, 450-room 219 220 221 222 223 218 224 Hilton Omaha hotel. That $71-million building opened in April 2004. 119 120 121 122 123 124 225 216 217 226 Money for Qwest Center Omaha came from private donations, 118 125 227 taxes and projected revenue from the facility. 215 118 119 120 121 122 123 125 116 126 Qwest Center Omaha Facts 214 228 114 CREIGHTON OFFICIAL TABLE OPPONENT 127 Cost .......................................................$291 million 114 127 Seating Capacity ................ .18,300 (Concerts), 17,260 (Basketball) OMAHA 113 113 128 128 229 Architect .................................................. .DLR Group 213 CREIGHTON Square Footage ................................. .1,100,000 square feet 112 129 MEDIA SEATING 112 129 230 Arena Height .................................................. .90 feet 212 Adjoining Hotel .............................Hilton Omaha (450 rooms) Construction Timeline .................. .March 2001-September 2003 110 101 231 Luxury Suites ...................................................... .32 211 109 108 106 105 104 103 102 102 Parking ......................... .4,978 parking spaces on the premises 109 201 232 210 209 108 107 106 105 104 103 208 202 F irst Private Event .......................Grand Funk Railroad (Concert) 207 206 205 204 203 First Public Event ......................... .River City Roundup (Rodeo) 209 201 First Basketball Game ......... .Minnesota vs. Atlanta (NBA Exhibition) 208 202 207 206 205 204 203 First Regular-Season CU Game ........... .Creighton 79, San Diego 44 3 Table of Contents Greg McDermott Table of Contents Publication Credits General Information 2009-10 Season Review The 2010-11 men’s basketball media guide is a Qwest Center Omaha IFC-3 2009-10 Season Recap 74-75 production of the award-winning Creighton Table of Contents 4 2009-10 Game-by-Game Leaders 76 2010-11 Roster and Quick Facts 5 2009-10 Final Statistics & Results 77 Sports Information Office. 2010-11 Preseason Notebook 6 2009-10 Production Notes & Miscellaneous Stats 78 Interior design, writing and editing by 2010-11 Season Outlook 7 2009-10 Superlatives 79 Media Information 8-9 2009-10 Plus/Minus Chart 80 Sports Information Director Rob Anderson 2010-11 Schedule 10 2009-10 Game-by-Game Comparisons 81 using an iMac with QuarkXPress 6.1 and Adobe 2009-10 MVC Review 82-84 The Coaching Staff 2009-10 Game-By-Game Box Scores 85-92 PhotoShop CS3 software. Head Coach Greg McDermott 12-14 2009-10 Honor Roll & Awards 92 Editorial assistance provided by Associate Assistant Coach Darian DeVries 15 Sports Information Director Rob Simms, intern Assistant Coach Steve Lutz 16 The Record Book Assistant Coach Steve Merfeld 17 Team Records & Last Time It Happened 94 Shannon Pivovar, Associate Athletics Director Director of Basketball Operations Erik Crawford 18 Single-Game Records 95 Kevin Sarver, Creighton Marketing & Public Diversity & Inclusion Officer Len Gordy 19 Single-Season Records 96 Basketball Support Staff 20 Career Records 97 Relations and the Creighton basketball staff. Athletic Training and Strength & Conditioning 21 1,000-Point Club 98-102 On the front cover, from left: S eniors Wayne Athletics Staff Directory 22 All-Time Bluejay Roster 103-105 Annual Results and Statistics 106-107 Runnels, Casey Harriman, Kenny Lawson Jr., The Players All-Time Coaching Ledger 107 Kaleb Korver and Darryl Ashford.