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Indiana Basketball: What if Maurice Creek was never injured?

By Trevor Gersmehl

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 15: Maurice Creek #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court against the Sam Houston State Bearkats during the game at Assembly Hall on November 15, 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers won 99-45. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 15: Maurice Creek #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court against the Sam Houston State Bearkats during the game at Assembly Hall on November 15, 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers won 99-45. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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What if former Indiana Basketball star Maurice Creek was never injured?

Welcome to the beginning of a new series called “What-if Wednesday,” where I pose a what-if scenario concerning Indiana hoops and discuss it. The first what-if was prompted by watching The Basketball Tournament.

You may know through watching the tournament yourself or from reading Indiana basketball news that two former Hoosiers — Maurice Creek and Remy Abell — played for team Sideline Cancer, the runner-up squad.

Both Hoosiers played very well and were fun to watch. It got me researching and thinking about Creek’s career as a Hoosier. Creek came to IU in 2009 as the RSCI #58 recruit in the country, and he outplayed his already impressive ranking.

Creek had an outstanding start to his freshman season. He averaged 16.4 on an outstanding 53% shooting clip in his first 12 collegiate games. This included a 31-point outburst versus Kentucky. It appeared as if Tom Crean had found himself an absolute stud.

However, things got derailed from that point on. Just three games after his tremendous performance against Kentucky, Creek suffered a fractured knee and was out the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, he was never able to return to his level of play those first 12 games. The following season, Creek sustained another broken knee. To make matters worse, the former freshman sensation slipped on the stairs of his apartment and tore his Achilles tendon while recovering from his second fractured patella. A once-promising career had been forcefully taken from Creek and his admirers in cream and crimson.

Creek ended up transferring to George Washington University after three years in Bloomington. Fortunately, he was able to stay healthy the whole year, averaged 14.1 points per game, and led his team to the NCAA Tournament. After his college days were over, Creek became a professional player overseas in Europe and Israel.

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