[h=1]Balancing books, baskets: CU coach Greg McDermott realizes finals week is a tough time to maintain focus[/h]
[FONT="][FONT="]After his team had survived a sloppy performance at the end of finals week last season, Creighton coach Greg McDermott sat down for his postgame press conference and shook his head as he riffled through the stat sheets.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]But he insisted he was not at all surprised.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]His players had exams and tests during the days leading up to their final nonconference home game as they wrapped up their fall semester. Practice times shifted. Sleep patterns were altered.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]?It?s just a different week,? he said following the Jays? 66-65 scare against Oral Roberts.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]That?s always been the case, according to McDermott. Any time you change the routine ? but certainly during the most taxing academic stretch of the season ? the players tend to fall short of their standards as they face off against their next opponent.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]And that?s OK, McDermott said. The Jays just have to be ready for anything Friday, just in case they have to play through mistakes and grind out a win.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]?It?s always hard to play at the end of finals week,? McDermott said before practice Thursday. ?I?ve seen everything happen. We?re doing our best to make sure that we can be as focused as possible, but the reality of it is, the guys? minds are anywhere else than where they should be on the basketball floor ? and for good reason.?[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Senior Marcus Foster joined the team midway through warmups Thursday after finishing school work. Sophomore Martin Krampelj said he has one test before the game Friday. Junior Ronnie Harrell had to finish an assortment of end-of-semester projects.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]And they?ll all feel that sense of relief when their exams are all completed. But they?ll have to quickly reset in time for tipoff Friday.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]?We?ve just got to keep each other going,? Harrell said. ?We know we have a lot on our minds with finals and stuff going, but once we knock those out, we can specifically focus on basketball. And just focus on taking those steps of getting better as a team.?[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]They won?t exactly have a marquee opponent coming in Friday to help catch their attention.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Maryland Eastern Shore (3-8) has already lost two games by 53 points apiece ? once at Maryland and another at Virginia Tech. St. Bonaventure beat the Hawks by 48 points. Georgetown won by 26. UMES has a minus-23.9 scoring margin, which ranks second-worst nationally.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Regardless of the opponent, though, Creighton would like to start building some momentum. It certainly has learned some valuable lessons these past few weeks ? there were three straight games against ranked opponents, there was a tough road test at Gonzaga and there was that emotional showdown with rival Nebraska.[/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Now it?s time to find a groove before league play begins. The Jays will play three times in six days ? all inside the CenturyLink Center.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]?You want to tap the breaks a little bit and at least get back into the friendly confines of your home arena,? McDermott said. ?We?re excited to be home and hopefully we get some good crowds out here the next week or so to finish this off before we start conference play.?[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]After his team had survived a sloppy performance at the end of finals week last season, Creighton coach Greg McDermott sat down for his postgame press conference and shook his head as he riffled through the stat sheets.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]But he insisted he was not at all surprised.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]His players had exams and tests during the days leading up to their final nonconference home game as they wrapped up their fall semester. Practice times shifted. Sleep patterns were altered.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]?It?s just a different week,? he said following the Jays? 66-65 scare against Oral Roberts.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]That?s always been the case, according to McDermott. Any time you change the routine ? but certainly during the most taxing academic stretch of the season ? the players tend to fall short of their standards as they face off against their next opponent.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]And that?s OK, McDermott said. The Jays just have to be ready for anything Friday, just in case they have to play through mistakes and grind out a win.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]?It?s always hard to play at the end of finals week,? McDermott said before practice Thursday. ?I?ve seen everything happen. We?re doing our best to make sure that we can be as focused as possible, but the reality of it is, the guys? minds are anywhere else than where they should be on the basketball floor ? and for good reason.?[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Senior Marcus Foster joined the team midway through warmups Thursday after finishing school work. Sophomore Martin Krampelj said he has one test before the game Friday. Junior Ronnie Harrell had to finish an assortment of end-of-semester projects.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]And they?ll all feel that sense of relief when their exams are all completed. But they?ll have to quickly reset in time for tipoff Friday.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]?We?ve just got to keep each other going,? Harrell said. ?We know we have a lot on our minds with finals and stuff going, but once we knock those out, we can specifically focus on basketball. And just focus on taking those steps of getting better as a team.?[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]They won?t exactly have a marquee opponent coming in Friday to help catch their attention.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Maryland Eastern Shore (3-8) has already lost two games by 53 points apiece ? once at Maryland and another at Virginia Tech. St. Bonaventure beat the Hawks by 48 points. Georgetown won by 26. UMES has a minus-23.9 scoring margin, which ranks second-worst nationally.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Regardless of the opponent, though, Creighton would like to start building some momentum. It certainly has learned some valuable lessons these past few weeks ? there were three straight games against ranked opponents, there was a tough road test at Gonzaga and there was that emotional showdown with rival Nebraska.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Now it?s time to find a groove before league play begins. The Jays will play three times in six days ? all inside the CenturyLink Center.[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?You want to tap the breaks a little bit and at least get back into the friendly confines of your home arena,? McDermott said. ?We?re excited to be home and hopefully we get some good crowds out here the next week or so to finish this off before we start conference play.?[/FONT]
