Creighton-Kentucky Photoblog

I know in class we just discussed EB's photoblog she posted of Nebraska (sorry I don't have a link) and Dr. Hanson said this is something we shouldn't do on an everyday basis. But before we even mentioned this, I had the idea to take a bunch of pictures from the Creighton Bluejays - Kentucky Wildcats NIT game and post them in a special photoblog, for those who a) didn't see the game or b) didn't get to see the game from my perspective on the court.

This game was my first time photographing a Division I basketball game and I must say, the game moves at such a faster pace with players who havemore athleticism than DII players. The pace at which the players moved in their half-court offensive sets almost made it impossible to known where the ball was going. The game featured star SEC player Jodie Meeks, who is likely going to be drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft this year. Meeks scored 54 points in a game earlier this year against Tennessee (a NCAA Tournament team) and that broke the school's all-time single game scoring record. At a program like Kentucky, that's a pretty big deal. So without further adu, I bring to you some pictures of my view from on the court.

The game began with the "Blue Crew" running out the flags before the game. This guy stood in the middle of the arena waving so much this giant flag as the crowd went wild. Shortly after, the Creighton Bluejays ran onto the court to begin their pre-game warm-ups.





After the conclusion of introducting the starting lineups, the Bluejays huddled together in a circle to get pumped for the battle they were preparing to fight with Kentucky. In the middle is guard P'Allen Stinnet, showing the pure emotion that had built up the week leading up to the game. In the background is center Kenny Lawson (25).




Center Patrick Patterson, one of the top centers in the SEC, threw down some monster dunks against a slighlty overpowered Creighton team. This was his first dunk of the game before sitting out the rest of the first half after collecting two fouls in the first five minutes of the game.





Junior forward Justin Carter (1) of the Creighton Bluejays drives the ball around No. 5 for Kentucky, Ramon Harris. Carter played huge for the Bluejays scoring only 8 points, but collecting a career-high 14 rebounds against a very tall Kentucky team. For most of the night Carter was flying all over the place grabbing rebounds from between the trees that the Wildcats have for players. However, it was Carter that missed two free throws with 36 seconds left that would have made the game 65-62, instead of keeping it 63-62 and having Kentucky win the game with a three-point play with 10 seconds left.





Another shot of Justin Carter (1) putting up a fairly uncontested shot, one of my better and clearer pictures of a Bluejay taking a shot. The lighting in this building was so much better than the Health and Sports Center here in Kearney.










Center Kenton Walker (41) of Creighton puts up a smooth low post hook shot that found nothing but the bottom of the net late in the second half against Kentucky. He fired the shot over Kentucky's Patrick Patterson (54), who Walker had the task of covering throughout the night, along with Bluejay Kenny Lawson.











We once again find the rowdy "Blue Crew" who pumped up the Qwest Center all night long. This was taken after a turnover and a media timeout late in the game with Creighton winning. You can sense the rush of pure energy going through these students as they cheer their team on. Take note UNK students...





This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. After Creighton guard Booker Woodfox missed a game-winning three point attempt and Kentucky star Jodie Meeks came up with rebound, the horn sounded and game over, 65-63 Kentucky. He ran down the court and was pointing to somebody, almost looks as though he is pointing to the next round of the NIT. Perfect picture for a future NBA player to autograph.



Freshman guard Antoine Young (30) shows the disappointment after losing the game to Kentucky 65-63, in a game that Creighton controlled most of the night. Young is just a freshman and played some big minutes for the Bluejays, but went 0-5 from the field after scoring 12 points in the Bluejays first round NIT victory.






Well there ya have it, some pictures I selected to show you all from my camera at the game. Below are some more images in smaller size, I believe you can click them and make them larger, but I hope you enjoyed the view from my eyes that I had on the court last night.