Ricks ready for challenge

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Missouri State senior to face another top Valley point guard tonight.


Although his team has opened Missouri Valley Conference action with two victories, Missouri State guard Nafis Ricks has not been pleased with his play.


Ricks was in foul trouble in both games, as opposing point guards enjoyed big scoring nights.

"I think I've been a step slow," Ricks said Monday. "I'm getting it corrected."

Ricks' toughest assignment could come tonight when he faces Creighton's Antoine Young in an early-season Valley showdown.

Young leads the Bluejays in scoring at 14.1 points per game and is second in the league -- to Ricks --in assist average (4.1).

"It's a head-to-head battle," Ricks said, "but overall, it's all about the team."

The Ricks-Young match-up will be a big factor in which team remains undefeated in Valley play.

Ricks knows his defense must improve after Northern Iowa's Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 25 points and Illinois State's Anthony Cousin 23 against him.

"This is three (challenges) in a row for Nafis," MSU coach Cuonzo Martin said. "I think it's great for him because he's a competitor."

Martin said Ricks is not solely to blame because the Bears' weak-side "help" defensive rotation has been a bit suspect.

"But as a player, you have to accept every challenge," Martin said.

Ricks said he just needs to "buckle down and be in tune with the game." He spent extra time Sunday watching game film and thinks he spotted a flaw.

While not disclosing what that flaw was, Ricks is optimistic that his defense is about to regain traction.

It will need to because MSU faces a Young-led team that packs a terrific inside-outside punch.

Freshman forward Doug McDermott, son of new Creighton coach Greg McDermott, averages 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds. He has been voted league newcomer of the week five times this season.

Center Kenny Lawson Jr., the preseason Valley player of the year, is averaging 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Gregory Echenique, a 6-9, 270-pound transfer from Rutgers, is averaging 10 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks since becoming eligible in mid-December.

"They have guys who can make shots on the perimeter, but they want to beat you on the blocks," Martin said.

"They want to dominate you in the paint."

Young is a big reason the ball gets to the big men. Stopping his penetration will, largely, be up to Ricks.

"I need to contain him and stay in front of him," Ricks said.

Meanwhile, Ricks could give Young and the Bluejays fits, as well. Ricks averaged 14 points. 3.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds in three games against Creighton last season.

MSU is looking for its first victory at Omaha since 2005 and its first 3-0 Valley start since 2002-03.

 

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Jays, Bears jockeying for early supremacy



It?s just the third conference game of the season, but Tuesday night?s meeting between Creighton and Missouri State carries some big-time implications.

Both teams are considered contenders for the Missouri Valley title. Both have started league play with two wins. Both know that there is plenty of basketball to be played, but ...

?Our players know which games are the big ones,?? Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin said. ?They know what?s at stake. As a coach, you try not to make one game bigger than another.

?If you do that, you risk putting your players on an emotional roller coaster. They?ll say, ?Coach, you?re always telling us every game is important.? But the players know the ones that are really important.??

Creighton guard Antoine Young said he and his teammates are taking a similar approach.

?Right now, you just have to play,?? Young said. ?Obviously, it?s a big game, but we just have to take care of ourselves. We have to take care of some things. The big thing right now is enjoying the games and having fun playing with each other and being focused on the task that?s right ahead of us.??

Like most coaches, Creighton?s Greg McDermott stresses protecting the home court if his team wants to be in the title conversation at the end of the season. The 10-4 Bluejays are 9-1 at Qwest Center Omaha this season, with the latest win coming last Saturday against Valley member Drake.

?Our guys know they have to protect their home floor,?? McDermott said. ?For the most part this year, we?ve done that. It?s going to be huge for us tomorrow night to have a lot of energy at the start of that game.??

Missouri State already has claimed one high-profile victory when the Bears opened conference play with a one-point win at Northern Iowa. Missouri State actually has a chance to build a huge advantage on the other contenders if it can find ways to add road wins at Creighton and at Wichita State on Sunday.

Because of the schedule, Valley teams all are in the midst of a demanding opening stretch that will see them play six games in a 15-day period.

?It is what it is,?? Martin said. ?It?s not like it?s only us that is facing this schedule. Everyone has to do this much, and it really comes down to being mentally and physically tough before you even start this stretch.

?You can?t start training them a week before to get them mentally and physically ready. If you try that, it?s too late. And you can?t dwell on it. We?re dealing with young minds, young guys, and if they can find something to use as an excuse, they will.??

The Bears? play this season has kept them from having to rely on many excuses. Missouri State is 10-3 entering Tuesday?s 7:05 p.m. game, with the losses coming away from home against Tennessee, Tulsa and Oklahoma State.

Junior forward Kyle Weems, a preseason all-conference pick, leads Missouri State with a 16.4 average, while the other four starters ? Will Creekmore, Nafis Ricks, Adam Leonard and Jermaine Mallett ? average between 9.3 and 12.3 points per game.

?They have so many weapons,?? Creighton guard Kaleb Korver said. ?They have some great shooters and a great inside game. If you try to take away some of their guys, they have someone else that can beat you.??

Creighton must be at its best to hang with the Bears, McDermott said.

?We will need to bring our ?A? game,?? he said. ?There are not a lot of holes in their game.??

Creighton has closed some of the holes in its game in running off six straight wins, five of which have come since 6-foot-9 Gregory Echenique has become eligible. The Bears figure to provide a formidable challenge to Creighton?s streak.

?They have a lot of what I call sneaky weapons,?? Young said. ?They?re a tough team to play against because they have a lot of guys that can go off. They might not be guys that are getting 14, 15 or 16 points consistently, but they?ll have one guy get 10 and the guy you forget about gets 27.

?They?re definitely a tough team to play against, and we?ll have to talk and communicate on defense. If we do that, we should be OK.??

? NOTES: CU?s Doug McDermott claimed his fifth Valley newcomer of the week award Monday. The 6-7 freshman had 28 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Drake and averaged 17.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Bluejays? two games last week. The Valley also named Missouri State guard Jermaine Mallett the player of the week. ... Creighton leads the series 30-24, but Missouri State has won the past two meetings, including a 67-61 win in last March?s CollegeInsider Tournament semifinals. ... Missouri State will be trying to post back-to-back wins in league road games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.