May 25, 2010
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by Mark Pawlak, Marshalltown Times-Republican (May 9, 2010)
(note: this story originally appeared in Marshalltown Times-Republican)
It was a chance to take four years ago, bring up a freshman to start varsity boys' basketball in the CIML Iowa Conference.
So started the legend of Chanse Creekmur.
The Roundhouse is jam-packed with history, but there's been nothing like the skill set that the future the No. 34 possessed at that time and showcased the following winters.
Four years later the Marshalltown High School senior Creekmur leaves the Bobcat program as the school's all-time leading scorer.
After a senior year in which he was first team all-state with averages of 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game (all team-highs), Creekmur has been named the Times-Republican All-Area Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
"Everybody I've worked with here for the past 26, 27 years that I've been here has been a team-oriented coach and I'm the same way. But with all the kids that we've had and we've had some very good players, I think he's the best basketball player that has gone through," said Marshalltown head coach Ron Ginapp.
"I've coached a lot of good ones and I don't want to take anything away from anybody else, but Chanse is a special kid. Honestly I don't think his best basketball is over yet, he has a lot of room to grow."
The 6-foot-7 swingman Creekmur drew the attention of Division I college coaches from coast to coast.
At the end of the month, Creekmur leaves for the next stop on his basketball journey - Arizona State University.
"First, Chanse's toughness and competitiveness," Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek said drew him to Creekmur, "as well as his high skill level, especially when it comes to shooting the basketball."
Tempe won out in Creekmur's eyes in part to the brand new Weatherup Practice Facility, which opened less than a year ago.
"The campus is real nice, but the thing that set it apart was the practice facility," Creekmur said. "It was amazing, and I got along with everybody there."
The choice of what school to go to took on an added dimension as Creekmur also received Division I interest in football as a first team all-state quarterback. His numbers as a senior as the Bobcats advanced to the state title game put him second in yardage, third in completions and fourth in touchdown passes in a single season in Iowa high school history.
"There was some thoughts of playing football, but basketball's always been my first love," Creekmur said.
Creekmur started really getting into basketball in about the third and fourth grade, he said. His AAU team the Mason City Hawks went undefeated.
His family moved to Marshalltown in the summer of 2003 and the rest has been Bobcat history. Creekmur became the second to score 1,000 career points in Marshalltown history and owns school records including points in a career (1,264), points in a game (42), 3-point field goals in a career (137) and 3-point field goals in a game (9).
The shooting ability that will soon be evident to Sun Devil fans developed over a lot of reps at the YMCA.
"I shot at the Y all the time," Creekmur said. "My parents would have to come into the Y and get me out at night. I always stayed there."
Creekmur's 53 made 3-point baskets this past winter (53-for-135, .393 percent) are third most in a single season in MHS history.
"Just shooting with my dad at the Y," Creekmur said of developing his 3-point shot. "Then getting my confidence up."
"I try to get up 2,000 shots a week and that was my main goal ever since I was younger," Creekmur added. "Just get up that many shots and that's carried over to my game."
Shooting behind the arc is one of the cornerstones of the success Arizona State has enjoyed lately. ASU went 22-10 overall in 2009-10 and finished second in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils led the league in 3-pointers per game (8.2).
"(Creekmur's) an excellent 3-point shooter," Sendek said. "He can really stretch the defense. I've seen him really get on fire and completely change a game."
"They pulled him in to be a scorer and a shooter - he certainly can do that," Ginapp added. "But that doesn't come from a lack of work. He shoots all those shots a day and if you're going to be good, you have to shoot that many."
Sendek first saw Creekmur playing AAU ball during the summer before his junior year.
"He's continued to improve and get better, he certainly has more experiences under his belt," Sendek said. "I think he's determined and dedicated enough to continue on that same path."
When Ginapp brought Creekmur up to the varsity as a freshman, he was not just the first freshman to start in Bobcat history, he was what is believed to be the first ninth-grader to even take the court.
"I think your job as a head coach is to put the best kids on the floor to have your team have a chance to win," Ginapp said. "I thought with his size, length and desire to play the game at that point, it looked like he was going to be one of our better players in the whole program.
"I went with it and it turned out to be a great thing for Chanse. He grew a lot both maturity wise and basketball wise throughout four seasons."
Creekmur scored 8.7 points per game his freshman year. Even with taking out those 189 points he scored in 2006-07, Creekmur still would be the career leading scorer at MHS.
As a sophomore Creekmur hit the winning shot in the closing seconds against Ames to send MHS to the state tournament, one of many buzzer-beaters during his career. The Bobcats were ranked in the state's Top 10 the following two seasons, yet couldn't get back to state.
"I think it was all a good memory," Creekmur said of his senior season. "I had a lot of fun playing with all the guys."