Creek suffers likely season-ending injury

It was an all-too-familiar scene.

IU sophomore guard Maurice Creek stood on the podium Wednesday in Assembly Hall answering questions about a likely season-ending knee injury.

A little more than a year after fracturing his left knee, Creek spoke about fracturing his right patella Saturday against Michigan and the rehabilitation process he expects in the coming months.   

“It’s been pretty tough,” Creek said. “I have my teammates and family here supporting me. I’m just going to try to keep myself mentally strong and physically strong.”

Creek was injured late in IU’s 80-61 win against the Wolverines. He said he “heard a pop” in his knee as he was back cutting for a long pass from the baseline. Creek managed to drive to the hoop and make a layup, but he felt discomfort immediately
after.

“By the grace of God I caught (the ball),” Creek said. “I just threw it up there and it went in. When I fell back down on it, it hurt even more. When I got back up, I was happy to even walk.”

IU coach Tom Crean put Creek back in the game shortly. Creek admitted he “didn’t feel much pain” but was taken out moments later when it appeared the injury was worse than expected.  

After closer examination on the right knee, the IU medical staff determined he would need surgery on the patella Thursday.

Creek said he and IU men’s basketball trainer Tim Garl spoke to the team Saturday night about the severity of the injury.  

IU junior guard Matt Roth said it was a very emotional meeting.

“It was definitely frustrating to see him step up and talk to us,” Roth said. “At the same time, myself and him went through things last year where we were in the same situation.”

Crean spoke Wednesday about the growing maturity of Creek this season. He felt Creek was only a couple weeks away from getting back to 100 percent on the court.

“I’m really proud in how he has handled this,” Crean said. “His spirit, the way he’s handled this with his teammates, the way he’s handled this just as a person. I can’t imagine how hard it would be, I really can’t.”

Crean said he hopes the NCAA will allow Creek an extra year of eligibility because of the injury. The Hoosiers have 13 games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.

“I don’t know how we would be denied on this, to be honest with you,” Crean said. “He’s basically played one year inside of two. I would hope down the road we would get the leniency on that because this has not been the fault of his own.”

After having surgery on Thursday, Creek admitted that he did not receive any form of time line for his rehabilitation process or what exactly he will be doing.  

He did, however, say that he feels better prepared mentally than he was last season.

“I feel a little bit better about this one just because of what I went through last year,” Creek said. “It will just be another challenge that I will have to tackle.”