Omaha has been home to Greg McDermott for the last decade and a half. He’s led the Creighton men’s basketball program from the Missouri Valley to the Big East and helped elevate the program beyond what anyone could have expected when he first arrived.

At 60 years old and with interests outside the game he wishes to pursue, the end of McDermott’s coaching journey is approaching. He’s accomplished so much during his tenure that the school named a building after him and his family, but for McDermott, what comes after he retires will mean as much to him as all the wins and accolades the program earned with him in charge.

That perspective set in motion the events of this offseason, when McDermott — with the blessing of Creighton president Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, S.J. and athletic director Marcus Blossom — brought Alan Huss back to Creighton as associate head coach and coach-in-waiting.

“It’s just a reality in this day and age, a coach gets fired, if a coach retires, the program gets decimated,” McDermott said. “[Darian DeVries’] example of the Indiana job’s a pretty good job, and four days after taking the job, he didn’t have anybody on this roster. I guess maybe his son was even questioning if it was a good idea. So when the time comes, I don’t want that to happen to this program. I’ve invested too much in it, and it means too much to this community, and if we could figure out a way to get one of our own back here, it seemed like a no brainer to me.”

McDermott said he first broached the topic with Hendrickson a couple months ago, then brought it to Blossom as well around the Big East Tournament. Those conversations centered around McDermott’s desire to see one of Huss or DeVries (known as D-Rock) succeed him. Creighton’s leadership was on board with and helped facilitate Huss’ hire.

“I’ve had a lot of great assistants that have gone on,” McDermott said. “Steve Lutz is at Oklahoma State, does a terrific job, but D-Rock was here 20 years, so this was home, and Al played here and was here as an assistant. So those two guys had probably more of a connection to the place organically than anybody else that came and worked for me. In my mind, I think any head coach would love to see that happen when the time comes to have one of your own take over for you. And in this case, it’s not just one of my own, it’s one of Creighton’s own. He got his degree from here, and I think he’ll tell you this place is home to him.”

The Decatur, Illinois, native played at Creighton under Dana Altman from 1997 to 2001, helping the Bluejays reach the NCAA Tournament three times. He coached under McDermott from 2017 to 2023, giving him direct ties to the two most successful coaches (and eras) in program history.

“It’s amazing,” Huss said. “If you’d have told me when I was a freshman high school basketball coach back in 2005 that I’d be back at my alma mater, and then we’d be somehow in the Big East basketball conference, and at some point I’d be in charge, I would have laughed. I was sitting there trying to figure out a way to win freshman basketball games. It’s amazing.

“The two guys have both been incredibly impactful in my life. Coach Altman taught me that I wasn’t a very good player, which is a great life lesson; I knew I needed to learn other things. Coach Mac taught me how not only to run a program, but how to treat people and how to be a part of something bigger than myself. In certain ways, both of them taught me those lessons in different ways. It hasn’t even set in yet, just how fortunate I am to be here. I can’t wait for my opportunity to continue to lead this place forward.”

McDermott saw DeVries rise up the ranks quickly, from Drake to West Virginia to one of the most storied programs in the country in Indiana. After two terrific seasons for Huss at High Point, and with Ryan Miller departing to lead his own program at Murray State, McDermott seized the opportunity to bring Huss back into the fold.

“Timing is everything,” McDermott said. “He ends up at a high-major job, it’s hard to probably pull him out of there … My guess is probably there’s not another place in the country he would have agreed to this. It certainly shows, I think, how much Al cares about this place, and how much it means to him that, that he would come back and be my associate head coach until I decide that’s it.”

Huss said he was humbled and honored that Creighton chose him. He took a self-deprecating tone throughout much of his conversation with local media on Monday. McDermott was more than happy to sing Huss’ praises, however — and there’s plenty to talk about. The Panthers went 27-9 in his first season at the helm, finishing as CBI runner-up. He followed that with a 29-6 season this year, leading High Point to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. He went 27-5 in conference games during his two seasons.

Huss also played a significant role in Creighton’s recruiting efforts and offensive evolution during his previous stint as an assistant. The Jays made runs to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight with Huss on staff, and now he’s back in the fold.

“I’ve always thought you need to hire people that are smarter than you,” McDermott said. “With me, that’s not that difficult, actually, but he’s one of the more intelligent people I’ve ever been around. Honestly, our readiness with the NIL when it hit was all due to him. He had me prepared for that. He had steps ready to put into place. That first year when Nembhard and those guys were freshmen, we did a little deal and gave them a $25,000 check or something, and they thought they died and went to heaven. He was on the forefront of that.

“He’s just an outside-the-box thinker. He’s one of the best offensive minds I’ve ever been around. I think everyone saw what he’s capable of when he went to High Point. He’s a terrific, well-rounded head coach, and he’s going to be very successful for a long, long time.”

McDermott said he has not decided yet how much longer he’ll coach. However, putting the succession plan in place has provided him comfort as he heads into the final stretch of his tenure at Creighton.

“When the time came, it would have been very difficult to walk away not knowing what was going to happen to the program,” McDermott said. “Having said all that, Marcus and Father, they would have hired a great person, but having the person that I think bleeds Creighton ready to go in that position makes me feel pretty good.

“Obviously, when I’m done, I’ll do everything I can to try to help him succeed and put him in a position that he continues to achieve this same success that we have and then some, which I think he is very capable of doing.”