By Heath Gunderson
This week's edition of "Take Your Pick" matches up two former Jays big men: Brody Deren and Kenny Lawson.
Brody Deren, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound center from Harlan, Iowa, came to Creighton as a transfer from Northwestern in 2001. He started 89 of the 95 games he played in as a Bluejay and was very consistent production-wise. For his career, he averaged 9.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. Deren was a bruiser down low and most effective when he was posting up. In all three seasons as a Jay, he shot over 50 percent from the field. One of the things that may have kept him off all-MVC first teams was his free throw shooting - while he finished his career as a 53 percent shooter from the field, he was only 50 percent from the free throw line.
Deren was a part of some historic Creighton teams. In 2002, the Jays upset fifth-seeded Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after a Terrell Taylor 3-point buzzer beater. The next year, Creighton won a school-record 29 games behind All-American Kyle Korver and earned a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They were upset by Central Michigan. Deren's senior season ended with a disappointing loss to Nebraska in the NIT after the team started 12-0.
Kenny Lawson came to Creighton from Vista High School in Oceanside, California. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound center started 107 of the 143 games he played for the Bluejays and averaged 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over his career - remarkably similar numbers to Deren. Lawson had a breakout junior season, posting 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He shot 53 percent from the field and an impressive 82 percent from the free throw line that season, but he followed it up with what some would consider a disappointing senior season where his averages slipped 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. However, this was Doug McDermott's freshman year, and we all know he was already breaking out into the star he became. Lawson's field goal percentage dipped to 47 percent, and his free throw percentage dropped to 75 percent during his final year. Some think that Lawson's drop in production his senior year had to do with his newfound love of the 3-point shot - coming into his senior season, Lawson had only attempted 13 3-pointers in 104 games, but he shot a whopping 90 times from behind the arc his senior season.
Lawson and Deren had very similar career numbers in points, rebounds, and blocks. They were also very similar in size, so picking which center you prefer in this matchup is really about which style of player you want on your team: a back-to-the-basket bruiser in Deren or a better jump shooter and free throw shooter in Lawson.
Vote and tell us why you voted for who you did below.
This week's edition of "Take Your Pick" matches up two former Jays big men: Brody Deren and Kenny Lawson.
Brody Deren, a 6-foot-8, 250-pound center from Harlan, Iowa, came to Creighton as a transfer from Northwestern in 2001. He started 89 of the 95 games he played in as a Bluejay and was very consistent production-wise. For his career, he averaged 9.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. Deren was a bruiser down low and most effective when he was posting up. In all three seasons as a Jay, he shot over 50 percent from the field. One of the things that may have kept him off all-MVC first teams was his free throw shooting - while he finished his career as a 53 percent shooter from the field, he was only 50 percent from the free throw line.
Deren was a part of some historic Creighton teams. In 2002, the Jays upset fifth-seeded Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after a Terrell Taylor 3-point buzzer beater. The next year, Creighton won a school-record 29 games behind All-American Kyle Korver and earned a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They were upset by Central Michigan. Deren's senior season ended with a disappointing loss to Nebraska in the NIT after the team started 12-0.
Kenny Lawson came to Creighton from Vista High School in Oceanside, California. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound center started 107 of the 143 games he played for the Bluejays and averaged 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over his career - remarkably similar numbers to Deren. Lawson had a breakout junior season, posting 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He shot 53 percent from the field and an impressive 82 percent from the free throw line that season, but he followed it up with what some would consider a disappointing senior season where his averages slipped 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. However, this was Doug McDermott's freshman year, and we all know he was already breaking out into the star he became. Lawson's field goal percentage dipped to 47 percent, and his free throw percentage dropped to 75 percent during his final year. Some think that Lawson's drop in production his senior year had to do with his newfound love of the 3-point shot - coming into his senior season, Lawson had only attempted 13 3-pointers in 104 games, but he shot a whopping 90 times from behind the arc his senior season.
Lawson and Deren had very similar career numbers in points, rebounds, and blocks. They were also very similar in size, so picking which center you prefer in this matchup is really about which style of player you want on your team: a back-to-the-basket bruiser in Deren or a better jump shooter and free throw shooter in Lawson.
Vote and tell us why you voted for who you did below.
