4-star recruit Creek energizes team

It was just a preseason scrimmage, but freshman guard Maurice Creek was pressing.

You could see him trying a little too hard. He took shots that weren’t really open and forced passes that weren’t really there.

As a player who waited for academic clearance until Aug. 31, he was trying to make up for lost time on every play.

It contributed to his showing in IU’s early intrasquad games and extended into his first exhibition game as a Hoosier.

“I came out in the first game, and it really wasn’t what I expected it to be,” Creek said. “I had a real long talk with Coach. He said, ‘You’ll make it through. You’re going to play better even though you’re just getting used to it so far.’”

In the second game of his college career, everything seemed to come more easily for Creek. He began IU’s 95-67 win against St. Joseph’s on the inside and stayed there. He made layups on broken plays before he took his game to the fast break and took only two shots from beyond the arc.

“I thought he looked comfortable,” Crean said. “I thought he’s really buying into the defensive energy setting the tone for his game. He’s picking up what we’re trying to do better.”

The freshman showed what people expected from his four-star recruitment rating. He gave IU fans a glimpse into facets of his game that his inexperience hadn’t allowed him to showcase beforehand.

Creek scored 16 points despite being only 4-of-5 shooting.

He changed his approach in the game. He took eight free throws because of it, and buried seven of them.

He said the improvement in his game came from the energy of his team, which jumped out early on St. Joseph’s and had a 20-11 lead halfway through the first half.

“Rhythm just comes by the energy and effect from the teammates,” Creek said. “Teammates bring the energy and that’s what brings the motivation.”

A large part of his improved performance came directly from his ability to block out distractions and enjoy the game he came to IU to play.

Creek ran the floor with enthusiasm, and treated every play as if it mattered. The past few weeks gave him the foresight to realize that his coach rewarded effort and looked at the ability to score to be an added benefit.

Crean said the time in the summer and preparation for fall workouts might have stinted Creek’s ability to physically prepare for the season.

“He missed the entire summer of being up here with us and getting his body beat on, getting in that weight room with the other guys,” Crean said. “You gotta come in and you gotta get your body ready every day, and it’s a while for his body to start to feel any sense of normalcy.”

Another portion of the game Creek excelled in was rebounding. IU missed half of its 2-point shots in their last preseason game, the majority of which were layups.

Freshman forward Christian Watford and sophomore forward Tom Pritchard missed close shots, and there wasn’t anyone there to clean up the mess.

Creek had seven rebounds Monday, and two of them were offensive. Crean said after the game he was “really impressed with how aggressive he was on the backboards.”

His rebounding led to easy shots, and an easy shot is said to loosen up the most nervous of players. That was true of Creek on Monday.

“For Creek, it’s just a better comfort level for him,” junior guard Jeremiah Rivers said.
“He wasn’t as anxious, nervous the second time around. He knew what he didn’t do well last Wednesday, and he really applied what he’s learned over the last few practices and had a pretty good game.”