After going 12-17 last night and putting up 29 points despite never going to the foul line, freshman guard Maurice Creek once again proved he is the driving force of the Hoosiers' offense.
Just ask North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Moton.
Oh my goodness, I wish he had an exam today or something. The kid can flat out shoot the basketball and he's dangerous. The sky's the limit for that young man. He's incredible. I think if there's such a thing as a quiet 29, he had a quiet 29. He's real smooth. I love him and he's a good kid. He's playing for a great coach, so I'm sure he'll prosper in the system.
Looking at Creek's stats over the season, it's clear that his offensive efficiency is key to IU.
Creek has taken more shots than anyone on the team (122) and has the highest field goal percentage of the members of the group with 50 or more shots. He has the most minutes thus far of any freshman. He has also put up 61 3-pointers and hit 27, giving him the highest three-point percentage of all players on the roster who have shot more than 10 three's. He has also been efficient from the line in his 37 visits (third-highest on the team), with his free-throw efficiency second only to freshman forward Christian Watford among players who have shot more than 10 free throws. And let's not forget his team-high average of 18.5 points per game.
On the defensive end, Creek is also one of the best, with a team-high 14 steals.
For a player who IU coach Tom Crean claims has "barely scratched the surface" of his in-game abilities, those are some staggering numbers.
Just how good can Creek be? Hopefully for the Hoosiers, we'll all find out sooner rather than later.
