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By the most conservative of estimates, Matt Dorwart, Derek Sebastian and Ross Ferrarini have combined to put in more than 4,000 hours of practice with the Creighton basketball team the past four seasons.

They've played a grand total of 141 minutes.

A fair trade-off? Absolutely, each player says emphatically.

“It's been a lot of work,” Sebastian said. “But at the end of the day, when you can be a part of a team like we have this year, it's a blessing.”

Tuesday, Creighton will honor Dorwart, Sebastian and Ferrarini as they join Antoine Young for senior night activities after the game with Evansville at CenturyLink Center. Young, Dorwart and Sebastian are the Bluejays' seniors, while Ferrarini, a junior athletically, will participate in the activities because he's set to graduate this spring.

Young is a three-year starter. The other three are finishers, but normally only after the outcome has long been decided. Most of the court time Ferrarini, Dorwart and Sebastian have logged has been in practice as members of the scout team.

Their contributions to the program, Creighton coach Greg McDermott said, have been every bit as valuable as any of the players in the regular rotation.

“And I hope they've enjoyed their experiences as much as we've appreciated them,” McDermott said. “You're only as strong as your weakest links. And if the weakest link happens to be on your scout team, you're in trouble.

“Those guys have embraced their roles. They've never complained, and they work extremely hard every day.”

Dorwart, a 6-foot-9 forward from Sidney, Neb., has spent the past four seasons trading body blows with the Bluejays' other big men. He and Sebastian, a 6-5 guard-forward from Loveland, Colo., joined the program during the 2008-09 season as walk-ons.

Sebastian had averaged 15 points a game as a high school senior. He also was an all-state player in baseball, the sport in which he earned four letters

“This has been a learning experience,” Sebastian said. “My freshman year, I can't say that I didn't want to play. Everyone does. But over the four years, you learn to embrace your role and take pride in being on the scout team.

“The bottom line is whether the team is winning or not. And I can feel good when I know I'm doing everything I can to help in that regard.”

Dorwart, who ranked first in his class when he graduated from high school, had played basketball, golf and run cross country at Sidney. When he enrolled at Creighton, he wasn't ready to give up athletics in favor of becoming what he called a “normal student.”

Ferrarini joined the program during the 2009-10 season after spending the previous season as a walk-on at Nebraska. He had been honorable mention all-state as both a junior and senior at Omaha Westside, where he once scored 31 points in a game.

Heading into Tuesday, the 6-foot-3 guard has scored 17 points in 23 games for the Bluejays.

“I think what it comes down to is that all three of us love basketball,” Ferrarini said. “When you're coming out of high school, you think about going somewhere that you can play a bunch. Everyone wants that.

“A lot of guys think they're good enough to play, but I don't know if they realize what it takes to play.”

Greg McDermott and his coaches expect nothing less from the No. 17 man on the roster as they do from the No. 1 guy.

“My expectations for every guy in this program,” the coach said, “is to show up on time and be ready to work.”

McDermott took over the Creighton program in the spring of 2010 after Dana Altman left for Oregon. McDermott initially said he would not guarantee a roster spot to the walk-ons but would allow them to go through offseason workouts before deciding whether to keep them on the team.

He quickly changed his mind.

“When I had my first meetings with each guy, it became obvious to me how passionate they were about this program,” McDermott said, “and how appreciative they were with their role on the team.”

Several times this season, the scouts' contributions have earned the praise of their teammates.

“That's been awesome when they've said that,” Sebastian said. “It's our jobs to prepare the team as best as we can. At the end of the day, if we get a victory, then I personally feel like we've done our jobs.”

Each player has gotten a couple of “meaningful” minutes during his career but the bulk of their limited time has come at the end of games. Their feature moment of this season came in Creighton's Jan. 21 home game against Indiana State.

Season-ticket holders get free pizza when the Bluejays score 75 points or more, and the players were well on their way to treating the fans to a free meal when they quit scoring with about eight minutes to play.

With less than a minute to go, Creighton had 67 points and a big lead. Taylor Stormberg, another scout team player, made a basket with 46 seconds left. Dorwart hit a 3 from the corner to get Creighton to 72 and, after Indiana State missed a shot, Ferrarini buried a 3-pointer with four seconds left to get the Bluejays to the magic 75-point mark.

“The guys on the bench were cheering as much for us as we do for them,” Dorwart said. “That makes it worth it.”

Said McDermott: “Those guys are going to be successful in whatever they do. The examples they've set for freshmen that show up on campus and see how much those three guys invest has been invaluable.

“You might argue that they haven't gotten a return from their investment, at least in being rewarded with playing time. Their reward comes in other ways. And they might not be captains in name but their leadership has been very valuable to this basketball team.”

Contact the writer:

402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

twitter.com/PivOWH

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