Former Creighton coach Tony Barone was at Disney's Milk House on Thursday to watch the Bluejays play Michigan in the Old Spice Classic.
Now the Memphis Grizzlies' director of player personnel, Barone said he was impressed with Creighton's effort in the 83-76 overtime loss.
"They played hard,'' Barone said. "Michigan is a difficult team to play against because it is so organized on offense but I thought Creighton played well. They made a few mistakes and took a couple of bad shots at the end but otherwise, they had a chance to win that one.''
Barone is one of a number of National Basketball Association officials scouting the tournament.
"Just trying to squeeze out a few more wins for the Grizzlies,'' he said.
Barone coached the Bluejays from 1985-86 through the 1990-91 seasons. He took Creighton to the 1989 and 1991 NCAA tournaments, and also got the Bluejays to the National Invitation Tournament in 1990.
Barone left Creighton after the 1990-91 season to become the head coach at Texas A&M. He coached the Aggies until 1998, then joined the Grizzlies' front office in 2000. He served as the team's interim head coach from Dec. 28, 2006 until the end of the 2006-07 season.
Although he has not seen the Bluejays play in Qwest Center Omaha, he has been in the facility.
"It's a great facility,'' he said.
Barone said he spoke at a golf outing in Omaha a year ago, and received a tour of Creighton's campus from Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen.
"The place has really changed,'' he said.
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