With the announcement of junior guard Maurice Creek's likely season-ending Achilles injury, the IU basketball team learned that it will once again be without their star shooting guard for an indefinite period of time.
It's hard not to feel bad for a kid that just had his third major surgery in the last 22 months. To say he's been riddled with the injury bug throughout his IU tenure would be an understatement.
Though the surgery was unrelated to his prior patella injury, Creek was expected to miss some time in non-conference play for his recovering knee. The coaching staff stressed how they didn't want to rush his recovery and they wanted to make sure he was 100 percent when he came back.
Well, now he's not. So where does that leave the Hoosiers?
Luckily for IU, they have a favorable non-conference schedule to test out different guard combinations. Creek's absence will likely increase playing time for sophomores Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey, both of whom became fixtures in Tom Crean's rotation last season.
That doesn't mean either are likely to begin the year in the IU starting lineup, but their roles just got even more crucial. Neither has shown the ability to match Creek's offensive production, but they'll be relied on for significant minutes at an early stage in their careers.
A possibly overlooked topic of conversation with Creek's injury could be IU's late signing of freshman guard Remy Abell last April. Abell, who committed to IU after withdrawing his letter of intent from Bradley, is another guard who could see a bump in minutes with Creek's injury.
The freshman combo guard was likely to be used sparingly but Creek's injury means that he'll move up a slot in the food chain. His signing appeared to stem from the injury problems of Creek and senior guard Matt Roth, who appears to be healthy this year.
Next to Creek, the best 3-point threat off the bench was Roth. Though he has struggled to log significant minutes and stay healthy during his time at IU, Roth will be relied on to spread the floor even more.
The injury is most certainly a blow to IU fans considering the way Creek lit it up as a freshman. Creek's 16.4 points per game in 2009 left Hoosier Nation wanting more.
But those two years seem like a lifetime ago. You never want a see a kid suffer setback after setback. Unfortunately for Creek and the rest of the Hoosiers, that's their reality. But if this team wants to snap their three-year postseason drought, guys will need to step up in Creek's absence.
What are your thoughts? Can this team still make it to the NIT or even the NCAA Tournament without Creek?
