OMAHA (KMTV) — It didn’t take long for Creighton guard Steven Ashworth to fit in with the Jays.
“It really is a family,” he said. “That’s what the coaching staff and Coach Mac emphasized about the opportunity to come and play here, and it’s been exactly that.”
“One of the things when you come in as a new guy is do the other guys like playing with you,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “I think that’s been a resounding 'yes.' He moves the basketball, obviously he can shoot it, he can score himself but he’s a very willing passer. He’s fit in as well as I could have hoped.”
Ashworth will likely fill the starting point guard spot, which former Jay Ryan Nembhard held for two years.
But Ashworth said he’s not looking to be R2 2.0.
“Coach Mac recruited me to come be Steven Ashworth and that’s exactly who I plan to be,” he said. “I don’t plan to be anybody else, and I think that this team could be something special when every single player is themselves.”
He’s coming off his junior season at Utah State where he shot 43% from beyond the three-point arc and averaged 16 points per game, solid for a guy who’s listed at 6-foot-1 by his former school.
“If the radar is six feet and above, I’m certainly right there at it,” Ashworth said. “As a player I think I have a little chip on my shoulder. And I love that. And coming into this environment, there are some more expectations than I’ve ever had in my career. So exceeding those is something that is one of my goals.”
Ashworth is already making an impression on first-year players like Josiah Dotzler.
“Steven’s a great leader,” Dotzler said. “I definitely look at him every single practice to see what I can learn from and what I can do to help contribute to the team. Even off the court, I definitely ask him lots of questions and he’s super willing to give me answers and give me feedback to help me grow.”
Growth is the goal, not only for Ashworth but for the team as a whole.
“I think that’s the main focus as we’re coming through these workouts this summer: Figuring out how we all like to play, and then playing the way we all like to play,” Ashworth said. “We don’t need to be anybody else. I think if we’re Creighton, it’s gonna be tough to beat Creighton.”
The Jays are preparing for a trip to the Bahamas from Aug. 3-9.
They'll play teams from Lithuania, Argentina and the Bahamas.
