CREEKMORE BAGS PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD

Will Creekmore’s dominant start to the season has seen him claim the BBL Player of the Month for October having helped guide Worcester to the top of the league.

The 24 year-old described the award as a ‘huge honour’ but also paid tribute to his ‘amazing team-mates and coaches’.

Creekmore is currently averaging 19.3 points per game as well as 13.3 rebounds which has helped earn him the reputation of being a double-double machine. He has already put in some big performances this season setting the tone on his BBL debut with a 32 point haul before a massive 28-22 showing against Cheshire.

The American has formed a dominant partnership with compatriot Zaire Taylor, who also had an impressive month by showing creativity with 4.2 assists and 3 steals a game to compliment 21.3 ppg, efforts appreciated by his partner in crime.

Creekmore said: “I thought Zaire Taylor was deserving of the award this month as well, but I’m sure he will have plenty of awards by the time the season is over.”

The 6’9″ centre was also full of praise for head-coach Paul James and believes the play-caller is behind his strong start.

“I think one of the main reasons I’ve been able to start well and have early success is due to my coach and teammates. Playing for Coach James has been a huge blessing to me. He took a chance on me after I had a poor season and he has put his faith on me and given me every chance to succeed.”

After a difficult start to his professional career, things seem to be falling in to place for Creekmore and the award recognises his strong start to life in the BBL.

He said: “It is definitely nice when you see your hard work pay off. My first two seasons as a pro didn’t go as planned so it’s really cool to finally have something to show for the work that I’ve put in.”

The Oklahoma native is not about to rest on his laurels and is already looking at areas to improve his game despite his early dominance.

“Overall, I’m happy with my numbers but there’s definitely room for improvement, especially in my shooting percentages. I definitely feel like I can do more. I still haven’t had a game where I’ve shot extremely well, and we are working hard everyday to improve so I think myself and my team will only continue to get better.”

Worcester are currently flying in the league with a perfect 6-0 record whilst progressing to the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup, something which has a greater significance for Creekmore.

“When it comes down to it, I’m much more excited about our undefeated record than my individual accolades,” he admitted.

The league leaders enhanced their title credentials by triumphing over defending champions Leicester and also defeated Newcastle in their recent outing, to the delight of Creekmore.

“The victories over Newcastle and Leicester were huge for us. It’s so important to get off to a good start and not to dig yourself a hole and knowing that we can play with and defeat two of the top teams in the league is a great feeling.”

He added: “If we just keep playing defense and working hard, I think good things will continue to happen.”

The next test for Worcester is the visit of Plymouth in the league before they travel to Leicester for a massive Cup quarter-final clash as they look to keep their unbeaten start to the season in tact and continue their journey in search of silverware.