One of the minor, for now, concerns in the early days of Creighton’s basketball practices is that the Bluejays are missing in action far too much.

The Creighton staff charts shots made during all scrimmage-type situations and the Bluejays haven’t been making enough, especially from beyond the arc, to satisfy coach Greg McDermott.

Josh Jones has been fairly consistent in his 3-point attempts but the rest of his teammates have been consistently inconsistent for shooters that were part of a team that finished third nationally in 3-point percentage (.424).

McDermott acknowledges that part of the problem is that his shooters have some tired legs after four straight days of two-a-day practices. Still, that hasn’t kept McDermott from suggesting to his assistants that the players need to get into the gym on their own time to get some shots up.

One staffer, perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, suggested that Creighton’s early emphasis on improving its defense might be a reason for the missed shots.

Creighton’s shot-making ability last season helped the Bluejays compensate for a defense that ranked in the bottom third nationally in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.

“We have to defend better because I don’t think you can expect that,” said McDermott, referring to Creighton’s offensive accuracy. “Our 3-point numbers and field-goal percentages were off the charts last season.

“I’d like to think that we will be a good shooting team. I say that because I think we have good shooters and they understand that they need to take good shots. Can we do it again? I sure hope so, but I would also like to think that our defense will be a little bit better — that it can carry us when we’re not making shots.”