McDermott’s run ends at Crown

LAS VEGAS — It has been quite a run to say the least.


Ten NCAA appearances. Fourteen years of 20-plus wins. A trip to the Elite Eight. A smooth transition from the Missouri Valley to the Big East.

Not bad for a small Catholic school in Omaha, Nebraska.

Greg McDermott was the guiding hand to Creighton’s basketball success over the last 16 years. Saturday, he coached his final game with the Bluejays, falling to West Virginia 87-70 in the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown at T-Mobile Arena. The Mountaineers will meet Oklahoma for the Crown championship at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The Sooners earned their spot with an 82-69 win over Baylor in the first semifinal Saturday. The winner will receive $300,000 for its NIL collective.

The final tally on McDermott’s ledger — 366-189.  

“I’m going to take a step back for now. I do not think anybody ever says ‘never say never,’ but I am comfortable if I never coach again, I am in a really good spot, with what has transpired here and the relationships I have developed over the last 16 years,” McDermott said last month when he announced his retirement plans.

Saturday, he reiterated those remarks while getting to reminisce about his time on the court and the many special moments he was part of. Perhaps the biggest was getting to coach his son Doug, who became a First-Team All-American and won the John Wooden Award and the James Naismith Award in 2014 as college basketball’s top player.

But even after his son left for the NBA, McDermott was able to maintain a level of excellence with the program for a school whose enrollment is just over 8,400. And that might be the biggest part of McDermott’s coaching legacy.

“When we first talked about the job, it was about the people in the Omaha community and how they’ve been so supportive,” McDermott said. “It’s always about the people stepping up.

“You don’t have success without having good people around you. We were fortunate to have a lot of really good assistant coaches who’ve gone on to have success as head coaches. We also had an administrator that was very supportive and the Omaha community has been tremendous in its support of what we were trying to accomplish. We certainly knocked down some doors getting to Sweet 16s and to the Elite Eight.”

West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said he told McDermott in the postgame handshake line: “If I can have half the success you’ve had it would be a helluva career.

“The consistency he’s had, doing it with class and being a true ambassador having impacted a lot of people,” Hodge added. “He’s had a heck of a run. Sixteen years at one school? That’s incredible.”

Saturday, the Bluejays started slow and were in an early 11-3 hole. But each time Creighton mounted a comeback, West Virginia answered it and managed to extend the lead. The Mountaineers’ quickness coupled with an ability to get to the rim allowed them to stay in front and go wire-to-wire.

West Virginia led 43-37 at the half, extended the lead to 16 (65-49) with 9:17 to play and led by as many as 19 late to earn its spot in Sunday’s title game. Oh, and the Mountaineers (20-14) are getting $100,000 just for advancing.

“We’ll be one of four teams still playing on Sunday,” Hodge said. “Us. Oklahoma. The two teams that won at the Final Four. That’s very special.”

As for the 61-year-old McDermott, he’s likely heading to the golf course where his wife Theresa said he can help her with her swing. Creighton’s basketball future will be in the hands of Alan Huss, who is being promoted from his associate head coach duties.

“it’s not good enough to help anyone else’s,” McDermott said when asked how much he can improve his wife’s golf game.

The Bluejays will have work to do to keep pace in the competitive Big East, where Connecticut and St. John’s currently rule the roost and where schools like Seton Hall, Villanova, Marquette and DePaul are going to be looking to make a push forward.

“You don’t ever want it to end,” McDermott said after Creighton finished 16-18. “This team has been through a lot this season. They were incredibly close and had each other’s back.

“The level of play in college basketball you can argue is the best it has ever been. The level of talent is certainly there. I wish we could figure out a way to restrict the movement a little. I think part of our responsibility as stewards of the game is to prepare the students for the real world. Some of this is not real. It’s not like going out and getting a job that’s 8-to-5 and all that goes with it.

“I love building a program. I think I was good at it. But I’m not sure I want to rebuild a team year after year.”

With McDermott’s exit from coaching, the Transfer Portal and the NIL world appears to have claimed another casualty.