Bahamas Blog Day Five
8/15/2011 11:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Creighton men's basketball team departed for the Bahamas on the morning of Aug. 11, where they will play four games before returning on Aug. 17. While away from Omaha, sports information director Rob Anderson, video coordinator Nathan Wieseler and graduate manager Brian Kooienga plan to keep those who couldn't make the trip informed on the various activities with a daily diary, video and photos.
August 15, 2011 (Day Five)
We hate to brag, but chances are we've had a better Monday than you. Without a game until 7 pm, the guys have had all morning and afternoon to do as they please. It's been the hottest day so far, probably 95 degrees or so, and the beach is relatively empty since many travelers headed home once the weekend ended.
For Derek Sebastian, it meant waterskiing, which was available for no charge. Earlier Sebastian and Will Artino tried their hand at kayaking, with little success. Somehow they tipped their kayak, and had trouble getting back in without submerging it in the process and then sinking. Minutes later, freshmen Avery Dingman and Will Artino also tipped their kayak and couldn't get back in from the ocean. Luckily a boat that was in the area was able to pick them up and bring them back to shore. Maybe some day those guys can meet up with Creighton crew coach Dan Chipps and get some lessons on staying afloat and working in tandem a little better.
Still others elected to go parasailing, where a boat pulls you high above the water with a parachute behind you to catch the wind and keep you aloft. The boat captain, Freddy, has been in business for 32 years and got each participant in the air for about 8-10 minutes. After being clamped into a device similar to a swingset, they instructed us to sit down and lean back. The boat would take off and almost instantly pull you up in the air. Once airborne, it was unreal. Extremely calm, it felt you like you weren't even in motion, and that the boat was just moving and turning beneath you. From up high, we were able to see all over the island, including the Atlantis, and the large futbol/track stadium described in the blog the other day.
At the end of each person's turn, captain Freddy was able to reel them in and depending on each person's preference, could dip you in the water if you needed, or if you had a cast on your ankle like Jeff Vanderloo, he was able to keep it dry the entire time. We hope to have a video of it on Tuesday.
Guys still found time to hang out around the pool, play some volleyball, make funny faces, and just work on their tan. You can check out some pictures in the day five photo gallery.
Tonight, we play at 7 pm against a team called the Mailboat Cybots. We haven't heard a whole lot about them, and unlike a regular-season contest, there's very little in the way of a scouting report for the guys since coaches Lutz and DeVries were in the pool. Right now, coach McDermott is focused on our own team's execution, and making improvements on the defensive end. The guys know that coaches are going to have two months to watch and re-watch film from these games, and these first impressions can go a long away in determining what role each person will play this winter.
Don't forget, we'll have score updates on our Twitter site again tonight at http://www.twitter.com/gocreighton, and a full recap with stats at GoCreighton.com much later tonight once the game concludes. As you read this, chances are Nathan Wieseler and Brian Kooienga are hard at work on another video recapping the day's activities.
Go Jays!
