Sports // Buck Harvey

Harvey: Too good for S.A., kid leans on old-man game

SAN ANTONIO — Doug McDermott thinks Creighton is a lot like his favorite team. The Spurs.

“For one,” he said, “we're old.”

In this era, a college team that starts four seniors and a junior is ancient. So give him that.

“We also play an old-man game,” McDermott continued, and somewhere Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are blushing from all the compliments.

But college basketball's leading scorer this season says his admiration is sincere, and he offers proof. When he plugs in to play “NBA 2K,” he says his “go-to” choice is the Spurs.

He will try to plug into this Sunday, too. McDermott is 6-foot-8, and his post partner is 6-7, and they will be going against a Baylor frontline that starts 7-1 and 6-9.

How can Creighton beat that?

McDermott has seen how — on television.

McDermott saw the AT&T Center for the first time this week, and he enjoyed the tour. The championship banners impressed him, as did the rims.

“The Spurs' rims,” he said, “are friendly.”

Most of them in America have been friendly to McDermott. He's the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history, and he tossed in another 30 points Friday.

But the way he beat Louisiana-Lafayette went against the image of a record-setting shooter. This gets back to the Spurs, and the other big man in Creighton's starting lineup, Ethan Wragge, played along with it.

Asked about the Spurs, Wragge said, “We're also not pretty.”

Another Creighton player, sitting nearby in the locker room, cracked, “Aww, we think you're pretty.”

Wragge corrected him. “Not in that way. We might not be explosive. But like the Spurs, we get it done.”

They got in done Friday with Wragge making more 3-pointers than McDermott. Shadowed by a talented junior guard, Elfrid Payton, McDermott spent his day moving without the ball, scoring with cuts and passing out of double teams. He remained both patient and in motion.

And after Louisiana-Lafayette came back in the second half, briefly taking the lead, Creighton pulled away as if Gregg Popovich had drawn up the action. With two minutes left, they ran a familiar play, with Wragge setting the pick, freeing McDermott for a three.

He isn't Larry Bird, and he's the first to say that. But he's the first three-time, first-team Associated Press All-American since 1985, and he's a complete player. Friday, for example, he impacted with a dozen rebounds.

His game should also translate to the pros; wing shooters with range are always an asset. But despite that, the NBA has been relatively cool to him. A year ago, he likely would have fallen to the bottom of the first round, and this year scouts think he might go in the 10-to-15 range.

With the wrong team, maybe McDermott's value would be that low. But what if he were drafted by a team such as the Spurs, one that shares the ball and looks for corner shooters?

“I wouldn't complain,” McDermott said, smiling.

The feeling is likely mutual. Spurs' officials were on hand Friday afternoon to watch someone made for their system.

But they also know they have little chance of drafting him. The only way the Spurs, with the league's best record, can draft McDermott is to trade up as they did to get Kawhi Leonard.

Yet when reminded the realities of the draft order, and how unlikely it would be for him to land in San Antonio, McDermott still didn't give up being a Spur.

“Maybe someday,” he said.

So McDermott will likely be in San Antonio next season as he was this weekend. As a visitor. But if he can't be a Spur, at least he can play on Sunday the way they do.

How can Creighton beat taller Baylor?

By playing an old-man game.

Twitter: Buck_SA