Creighton University - Bluejay Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

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MEN ' S BASKETBALL Below: The Jays take the floor against Bradley. Right: Swain shoots against In- diana State. Conference Schedule Begins Fortunately, Southern Illinois was next, and Creighton had no trouble putting away the Salukis, 66-54. Mor- ris went 11 for 13 from the floor while scoring 25, and Johansen had his best game as a Bluejay, scoring 15 and blocking four shots. Tulsa was coming, however, and it didn ' t look good for Creighton with Evans in street clothes. Barone com- pensated by moving Swain to for- ward and starting Edwards at guard. Things stayed close until Creighton went on a 13-3 spurt that was capped off by an Edwards drive down the lane, good for a three point play that put the Jays ahead 23-13. With Wyville Wood spelling Morris off the bench, the makeshift lineup took a 28-16 lead into the locker room, to everybody ' s surprise but their own. It was the same story in the second half as Creighton led by no less than eight points until a Tulsa three point play made the score 40-35 with 4:53 left. But when a third Tulsa starter fouled out with 1:36 remaining and 140 Creighton up by six, it looked like the Jays ' game to win. Or lose. Two free throws, a jump- shot, a steal and a lay-up later, Tulsa had tied the game at 46 with :44 left. Once again, it took a Renard Ed- wards ten-footer with three seconds left to seal the 48-46 upset for Creighton. The team took their back-to-back victories to Bradley for a rematch against the 13th-ranked Braves. But with Evans back in Omaha nursing his injury, the Bluejays were no match for the flawless play of the MVC leaders, who rolled to a 79-59 win. It was back to the Civic to meet Drake, the second place team in the MVC. Evans was back, but he never quite got into the flow and finished with just six points. Meanwhile. Bulldog forwards David Miller and Melvin Mathis combined for 28 points and 17 rebounds, bolstering Drake to a 65-52 conquest. Creighton bounced back with a 64-51 defeat of Indiana State, as Gary Swain pumped in a career-high 21 points. Then it was De Paul ' s turn. The Blue Demons had been lethargic all year and were coming off an embar- rasing loss to Louisville. A Creighton victory would be trebly satisfying- the game was being televised on na- tional cable, and Barone was play- ing the premier team from his hometown. Chicago. Creighton wasted no time in jump- ing out to a 10-1 lead. The trend con- tinued as the Bluejays burned the nets for 70 percent in the first half, with most of the shots being screamers from the perimeter. De Paul couldn ' t accomplish anything on offense, and went into the locker room reeling from a 44-29 deficit. The Demons finally got back into it when a three point play from for- ward Dallas Comegys sparked a seven point run that closed the gap to 50-40. Things looked worse for Creighton when Johansen fouled out with 10:16 left. Yet the Bluejays still shut De Paul down inside. To top it off. the Blue Demons shot an un- forgivable 9 for 22 at the line for the game. Appropriately, the 13 misses accounted for the final margin in a convincing 74-61 upset. The confident Jays faced West Texas State next, and after trailing the entire game, squeezed out a 48-47 win when Renard Edwards - who else ? - swished two free throws with seven seconds left in the final home game of the vear.

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VERNON MOORE Old Player, New Coach B Eunice S es Whether it be the people of Omaha or the echoes of past victories, Ver- non Moore, former Creighton basketball star, is back-but this time as part-time assistant basket- ball coach to the Bluejays. Leaving Creighton with an im- pressive scoring, rebounding, and assist record, Vernon returned to Creighton to give back what it has given to him. I came back to finish up with schooHng to get my degree in marketing, he said. Because Creighton is taking care of the tui- tion, I offered myself in order to compensate for that. Even though Vernon had not played college basketball for a year, the fever still burned. There were times, he said, that he wished he could get up, forget he was assistant coach, and go change into his uniform. It ' s different to be watching from the bench and not being able to play ; nor being able to do anything with the guys in a tight situation. Coaching is such a totally different environment. But what do the players think about their former teammate being a coach to them? Barone made it clear to them: Vernon is Coach Moore and is to treated as such. To be called coach has to be quite an accomplishment after four years of superb college ball. Vernon said that even after being away from his hometown New York City, he feels at home here in Omaha. Willis Reed, former Bluejay coach, recruited me; he was the main reason I came, he really push- ed me a lot. Omaha and its people have realK made me feel comfortable here-and they still are. Vernon says that he doesn ' t know where his future will be with basket- ball. I ' ve got to go wherever those marketing jobs are; you just aren ' t too sure about jobs nowadays. From Coach Reed to Coach Barone, Vernon said that Barone is a very emotional guy, but an excellent motivator. He ' s really hard on the guys; I think that he could have really helped us toward the end of last year when we lost six in a row. Barone ' s hard coaching will even- tually be good on the players, Venon said. It will really help them on and off the court. Vernon ' s future with the pros almost seemed certain until last summer. After he was drafted by the Washington Bullets, trained with the pros and became accustomed to a rigorous daily training schedule, Moore was waived by the Bullets. Pro ball is a lot different than col- lege ball, he said. The competi- tion is a lot more intense; more physical. I gained a lot of experience with them (the Bullets). It was a hard team to get on, but I really got an all- out effort with this group in trying to make the team-it was a memorable experience. Vernon looks away and adds, ...and my experience with Creighton basketball, the coaches- past and present-and the team- mates, are all memorable ex- periences. 139

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Left: Johansen controls the tip. Top: The captain and the coach discuss strategy 141