March Madness has come and gone, but the drama of college basketball season is still in full swing.

Last week brought the announcement of freshman point guard Andrew Bock’s decision to leave Creighton after a disappointing rookie year. Bock saw some limited time early on, but as the season progressed, Bock’s playing time did not. This seemingly fueled the highly-touted freshman to take his game elsewhere.

The status of P’Allen Stinnett still resembles that of a loose tooth hanging by a thread, leaving the Bluejay coaching staff with the decision to either yank it out of their mouth or leave it sitting to dangle in uncertainty. Stinnett did not play the second half of the year, leading many to speculate that he would not be a member of next year’s team.

Junior center Kenny Lawson Jr. surprised Bluejay fans when he entered his name for consideration in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. It is highly likely that Lawson Jr. will return to Creighton for his senior year, but it is hard to be entirely sure of much regarding the Bluejay roster.

These possible departures may be part of an ugly trend Jays fans do not want to see continue. In the last couple years, the Bluejays have had problems keeping the roster and coaching staff consistent. The coaches have recruited more nationally, bringing in talent from coast to coast, however the problem is not getting them to come to Creighton; it is getting them to stay.

Last offseason, the Bluejays lost forward/center Kenton Walker to St. Mary’s (CA) after his second season as a Bluejay. In previous years, other recruits have made it even less time. Tom Whitehead came and went before he ever took the court in a Bluejay uniform, as did a hyped junior college prospect, Ty Morrison. Isacc Miles and the Bluejay staff split ways after the guard’s freshman year. Other examples can be found in recent years, and if Creighton is continually looking to replace players every year, consistency will be hard to achieve.

The list of players isn’t the only place the Bluejay team has experienced changes. Assistant coaches have changed almost yearly. Creighton has recently lost three assistants who decided to take jobs elsewhere. Kevin McKenna, Mike Maker and Todd Eisner have all recently left Creighton to become head coaches.

For whatever reason, the Creighton basketball program has struggled to keep a consistent group of players and coaches around for long enough to build a team capable of making the post-season runs Creighton fans are used to. This is something that needs to be fixed if the Bluejays are going to be making post-season runs in the coming years.

Playing consistently is a product of putting experienced players on the court who are used to the stage on which they are playing, and know what is expected of them. With people leaving unexpectedly each year, the coaches must go find another recruit to replace the one that has left, which leads to continually blending new rotations and could be a reason for Creighton’s recent struggles.