I am sure that most Indiana fans are well aware of the injury history for Hoosier shooting guard Maurice Creek. After a fantastic start as a freshman in 2009, Creek went down with a broken left patella in a December blowout over Bryant. The game was the Hoosiers last before the start of conference play and with the game well in hand, Creek was probably just minutes away from coming out for good.
The injury required surgery and after a long and difficult recovery, Creek made his way back onto the court last season as a sophomore. He was timid for much of the non-conference schedule, still getting the rust off and getting used to playing on his surgically repaired knee. However in January Creek suffered another knee injury, this time to his right patella. While less severe than the first injury, Creek needed surgery and was out for the remainder of the year. The injury came as Creek was just starting to get back into form and playing a full-speed.
Having two surgically repaired knees requires some serious mental toughness. The body may recover, but the mind needs to move past it, as well. All reports from this offseason pointed to Creek getting stronger, both on the court and in his basketball mindset. Hoosier fans had high hopes for Maurice this season, in what would be his third season as a Hoosier and hopefully his first injury-free campaign. However, that hope was dashed this past Friday in a “freak accident.”
