Creighton star guard Ty-Shon Alexander declared for the NBA Draft yesterday and is likely to stay in the draft. Alexander had his best season this past year, scoring 16.9 points per game, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 2.3 assists and having 1.3 steals per game. Alexander did all of this shooting 43% from the field, 39.9% from beyond the arc and hitting 86% of his free throws. Due to his efforts, Alexander was named to the All-Big East First Team and named to USA Today’s All American 3rd team. Creighton had a historic season, winning a share of their first Big East regular-season title. However, the dream season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the dream season is left with questions of what if. Now Alexander stands at a crossroads. Does he go to the NBA and fulfill a lifelong dream? Or does he return for a shot at a national title?
What Does Ty-Shon Alexander Bring to the Next Level
Ty-Shon Alexander is one of the best scorers in the country. He can consistently score from all three levels, is deadly from beyond the arc and is great from the line. As a result of being on Creighton, there is a part of his game that is severely underrated; his defense. Alexander is a strong defender, using his solid length and height to take on some of the Big East’s best. He stands at 6’4, 195 lbs and as previously stated has some solid length. He will likely be a shooting guard at the next level. His scoring ability is his strongest strength and he has shown some ability to create his own shot. Overall, Alexander is a really good all-around player and will likely fall in the second round.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go?”
An interesting twitter thread last night from Fox Sports and Big East Media personality John Fanta caught my eye. It was a recounting of Ty-Shon Alexander addressing the media and some of the quotes make it seem like Alexander is not 100% sure he’s leaving. Here are some of the comments that stood out to me the most. John wrote an article afterward detailing this press conference.
Ty-Shon Alexander says NBA Draft folks are telling him he could be a mid-to-late second round pick, or go undrafted. #Jays
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) April 11, 2020
Ty-Shon Alexander just clarified, and this is big — if he did sign with an NCAA-certified agent, it would be a 70% chance that he would return for his senior season with @BluejayMBB. It would be a 30% chance that he would stay in the NBA Draft. Interesting. #Creighton
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) April 11, 2020
Creighton’s Options if Alexander Leaves
If Ty-Shon Alexander does indeed leave for the NBA Draft, Creighton will still be a top 10 or 15 team in the country next season. They essentially return every single player who played major minutes this season. Will have rising senior big Jacob Epperson back who was out this season due to a preseason injury. In addition to Epperson returning, they add 4-star big man Ryan Kalkbrenner and Duke transfer Alex O’Connell (pending wavier.) The most important three players for Creighton next year will be Marcus Zeagrowski, Mitchell Ballock, and Denzel Mahoney. These three will be crucial for Creighton’s successes next season. Zegarowski had a breakout season, scoring 16.1 points per game, pulling down 3.8 rebounds and had 5.2 assists per game. He will likely be Creighton’s top scorer next season and I think he is going to compete for Big East Player of the Year. This will still be a very good Creighton squad next year even without Alexander. Only time will tell how this situation plays out.
