COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Doug McDermott has found that playing for his father at Creighton comes with its perks.
The 6-foot-7 forward led the Bluejays in scoring and rebounding, with coach Greg McDermott right there on the sideline to share in his Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year campaign.
And if by chance he ever needed to send laundry home to mom? Doug joked there is always the option of dropping it off to his dad.
Of course, there are pitfalls as well when dad is the head coach.
“The opposing crowds are all over me,” Doug said. “I’ve heard a lot, like ‘you’re grounded’ at the free throw line.”
In fact, Greg nearly did ground his son last season. Doug’s fabulous year, in which he became the first freshman to be named to the all-MVC first team since 1952, might have never happened had fate not intervened.
Baby-faced Doug and his dad were discussing the possibility of redshirting this past season up until the start of practices, when injuries at the position made the decision for them.
“I definitely didn’t want to redshirt,” Doug said. “I think he was throwing it at me so I would continue to work hard over the summer, put on weight and get in the gym more. I think that was part of it, and it really helped. I felt like I was ready to play.”
Doug also might not have gotten an opportunity to star in Omaha had Northern Iowa refused to let him out of his letter of intent. He had signed with the conference rival and his father's alma mater, but wanted his release after his dad left Iowa State to take the Creighton job vacated by Dana Altman. UNI coach Ben Jacobson, who had previously coached under Greg McDermott in Cedar Falls and is the godfather to his daughter, understood the unique situation.
Doug had spent his childhood in North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa while going wherever his pops made his coaching stops. Greg was now going to be coaching his son for the first time.
Doug, who played on back-to-back undefeated state title teams at Ames High alongside North Carolina star Harrison Barnes, made the quick adjustment. He started all 39 games, averaging 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range to lead Creighton to a 23-win season and the CBI championship series, which it lost to Oregon.
The Bluejays are now in position to put an end to their NCAA tournament drought after missing it for the past four years. They return starting guards Antoine Young and Jahenns Manigat while Gonzaga transfer Grant Gibbs becomes eligible. McDermott, who along with center Gregory Echenique were among the league’s top newcomers this past season, was named a finalist on Sunday to make the USA Basketball U19 world championship team.
So getting acclimated to the college game has clearly gone well, and so has growing accustomed to playing for his father.
“Sometimes he gets on me a little more than other guys, but I think it’s for the best,” Doug said. “I have him in my phone as ‘Coach,’ not ‘Dad’ anymore.”
The moments Doug will remember most from his first season with Coach came after some of his worst moments on the court. There were the pictures of Greg getting in Doug’s face that ran in the newspaper that Doug laughs about now. And there where times when he’d miss a shot or clank a free throw after which Greg put an arm around his shoulders and told him he’d learn from those failures going forward. Was that Greg being a coach or a dad?
“I think it was both,” Doug said.
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