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Who are you? Who, who, who, who?

CSU's 2 returnees really wanna know teammates

By Randy Holtz, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 22, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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Colorado State center Stuart Creason, left, says, "With all the young guys, it was tough, at first, trying to all get on the same page. . . . But it's getting there, slowly but surely."

Photo by Barbara J. Perenic / Laramie Daily Boomerang/Associated Press

Colorado State center Stuart Creason, left, says, "With all the young guys, it was tough, at first, trying to all get on the same page. . . . But it's getting there, slowly but surely."

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Eleven games into the season, Stuart Creason no longer needs to keep a roster handy to identify his Colorado State teammates. But you can't blame the senior center if he needed a cheat sheet.

Creason, a tough and serviceable 7-footer from Texas, is one of only two players to return from fired coach Dale Layer's last CSU team.

First-year coach Tim Miles has only Creason and sophomore center Ronnie Aguilar back in the first year of a major rehabilitation project. And predictably, with all the new faces, there have been plenty of ups and downs in a season that has started 5-6.

The Rams hope to restore some momentum to their elevator ride tonight, when they play host to rival Colorado at Moby Arena (7, the mtn.).

"With all the young guys, it was tough, at first, trying to all get on the same page," Creason said this week, after the Rams lost their third consecutive game, at Nevada. "Nobody on the team besides me and Ronnie had ever played together, and it takes a while to really become a team. But it's getting there, slowly but surely."

Creason and starting guard Marcus Walker battled constant foul trouble in the loss to Nevada, but Miles saw plenty of positives. With three freshmen on the floor much of the game, the Rams hung with a polished, veteran Wolf Pack team. CSU scratched back to tie the score with eight minutes left, but Creason fouled out shortly after and Nevada pulled away for a 74-66 win.

Miles knows his green, impressionable team has little opportunity to win when his senior anchor is sitting beside him on the bench.

"Stu has played pretty well," Miles said of the friendly, ever- improving big man who spent the past three years in the considerable shadow of fellow 7- footer Jason Smith, now a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers. "Stu's a guy who's growing into that go-to role. There have been times when it's evident he's not ready to be the go-to guy, but we need him to be that because our team is so young and so new.

"The most important thing with Stu is avoiding the fouls on things like illegal screens and charges and reaching over a guy on rebounds. A lot of his fouls have been the unnecessary kind. It's a fine line. We want him to be aggressive, but we need him to be in the game."

When Creason has been on the floor, he has been mostly effective.

He scored 25 points in CSU's loss at North Dakota State last week. He had a dominant game in CSU's win against Oregon State in the Top of the World Classic last month in Alaska, scoring 17 points and pulling down 17 rebounds.

But he also has failed to score in double figures in five of the Rams' 11 games and has fouled out twice in CSU's past four.

"Everyone knows that, during a rebuilding year like this, things aren't going to fall in place immediately," Creason said. "But the good thing is, nobody's getting down on themselves. Every game and every practice, it's getting better. When we stay with the team concept, when we 'team up' and play together, we can look pretty good."

Creason has some nice memories from CSU's annual rivalry with the Buffaloes. The Rams have won two of his three previous games against them, and he hopes to complete a 3-for-4 career against the guys from Boulder tonight. "It's a really good rivalry. My freshman year, when I played against CU the first time, I really didn't understand what the rivalry was all about. But as soon as I got out on the floor, I could feel the intensity and the excitement."

ETC.: Creason and CU sophomore reserve guard Dwight Thorne were teammates and roomed together this past summer on a U.S. Athletes in Action team that played a series of games in Germany. . . . Miles hopes to continue getting strong play from true freshman forward Andre McFarland, who scored a career-high 17 points while hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers in the loss at Nevada. McFarland turned in the best performance of his brief college career in his home state. He's a native of Las Vegas.

holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com

Colorado men at Colorado State

* When: 7 tonight.

* Where: Moby Arena (8,745 capacity), Fort Collins.

* Records: Colorado, 5-5; Colorado State, 5-6.

* TV/radio:  the mtn.; KKZN-AM (760).

* Leaders: CU - Richard Roby, 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds; Marcus Hall, 3.4 assists. CSU - Marcus Walker, 15.1 points; Stuart Creason, 6.6 rebounds; Willis Gardner, 3.5 assists.

* Stat that matters: CSU is trying for its first three-game win streak in the series since 1961. CU leads the series 85-33.

* Etc.: Each team enters with a three-game losing skid. . . . It's the first game in 10 days for CU, which hasn't played since a 67-65 home loss Dec. 12 to New Orleans. . . . CU's Hall has averaged 39 minutes during the past five games and played 161 straight during one stretch. . . . Roby is 77 points from sixth place on CU's all-time scoring list. . . . CSU is playing only its third home game. . . . Creason fouled out in only 15 minutes Wednesday in the Rams' 74-66 loss at Nevada. . . . Freshman Andre McFarland scored a career-best 17 points in the loss. . . . The first 200 students attending the game will receive free pizza and soda.

Creason game by game

CSU center Stuart Creason's up-and-down season:

Opponent (result) Points Rebounds Blocks Fouls

at Montana (L 75-39) 10 4 2 0

*Oregon State (W 69-56) 17 17 2 3

*Tennessee State (W 87-69) 9 2 0 2

*Portland State (W 64-63) 17 10 2 3

at Stanford (L 73-53) 8 4 2 3

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (W 73-48) 16 9 1 1

at Northern Colorado (L 72-59) 14 2 2 3

Denver (W 44-40) 8 3 2 5

at Minnesota (L 91-74) 4 11 0 3

at North Dakota State (L 83-69) 25 8 3 1

at Nevada (L 74-66) 4 3 1 5

* Season averages: 27.3 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks. *Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska.

Colorado Christian men at Air Force

* When: 2 p.m. today.

* Where: Clune Arena (5,858 capacity), Colorado Springs.

* Records: Colorado Christian, 5-4; Air Force, 7-4.

* TV/radio: No television; KVOR-AM (740) in Colorado Springs.

* Leaders: Colorado Christian - Brian Stammer, 18.8 points, 9.0 rebounds; Jordan Long, 6.7 assists. Air Force - Tim Anderson, 13.2 points, 3.5 assists; Andrew Henke, 5.0 rebounds.

* Stat that matters: AFA has gone 37-for-46 at the free-throw line in its past two games.

* Etc.: This is the state rivals' first meeting. . . . The streaky Falcons won their first five games, lost four in a row, and have won their past two. . . . AFA has won 62 of its past 65 home games. . . . Anderson needs five steals to tie former teammate Antoine Hood for seventh place on AFA's all-time steals list. . . . The Falcons began the week ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense (54.1). . . . Colorado Christian had a four-game winning streak snapped by an overtime loss one week ago at Adams State. . . . AFA returns to action on Dec. 30 at Wake Forest.

North Texas men at Denver

* When: 4 p.m. today.

* Where: Magness Arena (7,200 capacity).

* Records: North Texas, 8-2; Denver, 3-6.

* TV/radio: No television; KCKK-AM (1510).

* Leaders: North Texas - Josh White, 18.6 points, 3.8 assists; Quincy Williams, 7.6 rebounds. Denver - Joe Jackson, 9.8 points; David Kummer and Nate Rohnert, 4.7 rebounds; Adam Tanner, 2.7 assists.

* Stat that matters: North Texas' 8-2 start is the third best in school history.

* Etc.: This is the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. . . . North Texas swept the Pioneers last season and leads the series 9-7. . . . Williams averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds in two games against DU last season. . . . The Pioneers have averaged only 48.3 points in the past six games. . . . DU freshman Xander McNally leads the Pioneers in steals (13) and blocked shots (11). . . . The Mean Green has won its past three games. . . . DU will play Santa Clara on Friday in the first game of the Cable Car Classic.

North Texas women at Denver

* When: 1 p.m. today.

* Where: Magness Arena (7,200 capacity).

* Records: North Texas, 5-7; Denver, 4-5.

* TV/radio: No television; KCKK-AM (1510).

* Leaders: North Texas - Amber Jackson, 13.5 points; Jo Hall, 6.1 rebounds; Kelli Buckley, 2.9 assists. Denver - Nnenna Akotaobi, 13.4 points; Sara Benham, 5.4 rebounds; Brooke Meyer, 3.8 assists.

* Stat that matters: DU sophomore Ashly Robinson matched her career best with seven rebounds in the Pioneers' 67-61 win against Dartmouth on Wednesday.

* Etc.: This is the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. . . . DU has won its past five games against North Texas and leads the series 9-5. . . . DU's Alisha Godette scored 20 points in the Pioneers' home win against North Texas last season. . . . The Pioneers have recorded all four of their wins at home. . . . North Texas has lost five consecutive games. . . . DU will be idle until it plays Dec. 30 at Nebraska.