Mitchell Creek is a unique person in the world of sports. Always looking for new challenges, he learned to skydive, draw, make things out of ceramics, and also trains jiu-jitsu and boxing.
Small forward and shooting guard from Cluj is flying to new heights on the basketball court, too. He recorded a career-high 46 points with South East Melbourne Phoenix and this season with Cluj in Eurocup he became only the seventh player in the history of the league to score 40 points in one game. In his first season in the ABA League, he averaged 17.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. All this earned him the recognition for the Ideal five of the ABA League and Eurocup for this season.
Last night Cluj defeated Budućnost Voli on their home court and they are returning to Podgorica for the decisive match of the quarter-final ABA League series.
It was in Podgorica that we talked with him about his career and life.
He described it as a beautiful city.
– The weather is amazing. I've really enjoyed my time here. I was able to stay at the hotel on the river the last few times we were here. Now, being on the other side of the city, it's nice to kind of walk around. There are so many beautiful parks. I found my way into the little creek and the river. I enjoy spending time in nature. Especially after a lot of travel, it's just nice to kind of send yourself back to Earth – Creek says to MNE magazin.
When it was announced he had been named into the Ideal Starting Five of the ABA League, the photograph spoke louder than words. He was pictured holding a hand on his heart.
– It's never something as a player you set out to try and achieve. You just want the team to be as successful as possible. You want to give yourself the best chance to have a better outcome in the game, not just for yourself but for your entire team. It was amazing to see Daron Russell there as well in the Euro Cup team. It's special any time you get a nomination because it shows that your team has performed well, but they've also included you in the process of that success. It's great, but still, nothing beats winning a championship or competing in the playoffs. That's what I'm here to do and that's what I'm most excited for – Creek emphasizes.
Recently, the whole basketball world paid their respects to Duško Vujošević. He was known not only to make basketball players, but to make men out of basketball players. Was there such a coach in his career, to make him a man and a player?
– It definitely started young for me. I had a great mentor in Joey Wright. He was one of my coaches with the Adelaide 36ers. I had an amazing mentor in Ken Cole who recently passed away. Ken was someone who even up until very recently I spent a lot of time on the phone with, had a lot of video chats, a lot of back and forth messaging. Sharing ,,war” stories with each other. I've had some amazing coaches over the past 15-16 years in my professional career. Others would be Kyle Julius, Will Weaver. My time in the NBA, in the Canadian League. But those four guys between Joey, Ken, Kyle and Will have been the people that have helped shape me and helped me understand what it is to leave an impact through basketball that reflects off the court. You can be some tough, aggressive basketball or very talented player, but if you're a bad man, you're still a bad man. You've got to have a personality. You've got to be respectful to all the fans. You've got to compete and you've got to set an example for the people that are watching back home. I always try and make sure that I my mum, my dad and my daughter are watching my games. What kind of example do I want to leave to them? What kind of inspiration do I want to be to them and how do I want to represent them? That's what I try and think about most and I think that's why the way I play and I am as a person, because it's always at the forefront of my mind – he told MNE magazin.
For Creek it is an honour to be part of the Australia national team. He won the gold medal with Boomers at the Asian Cup, played in 2017. in Lebanon.
– I spent a lot of years with the national team at a young age through my mid-twenties. I then went overseas and wanted to pursue more of a professional career. It's very hard because the national team normally falls in windows where you have to give up professional contracts in order to go and pursue the Australian dream of representing your country. It's the greatest honour that you have in Australian sport no matter which one you play. For me it means the same that it did from day one and if it ever means any different you should probably stop wearing the green and gold jersey – says Creek.
The memory led him to the Philippines where the Boomers played their qualification World Cup match against the host in their previous, March window. It was a duel between Australia and the Philippines after eight years and one of the biggest confrontations in the history of basketball.
– The game was played against a very hostile arena. Last time we were there it was eight years ago. There was a huge fight, a lot of animosity leading into it, very high security. There was a lot of pressure that was around that game and we really needed to win it. For me it was an amazing experience, it was great to be a part of it again. I have put my hand up over the last 12 months to say whenever I have time in my professional schedule, count me in. We have some more windows coming up in Australia and I put my hand up for those – Creek emphasizes the significance of playing for the national team.
Creek played with Luka Dončić and Džanan Musa in the NBA, now in Cluj his teammate is Dušan Miletić. We ask him what does he like most about the Balkan spirit and how much does it differ from the Australian one.
– I think the effect that the Balkan spirit has had on me is it's a very different world. The way that each country was formed and shaped through its histories, through its experiences. What my grandfather and great grandfather and mother had to live through compared to what some of my teammates have had to live through is very different. Not to say that anyone's is better or worse, but it's just experience. When you sit with someone you actually get to hear in how they speak about it, what it actually means to call yourself Serbian or Croatian or Bosnian or Australian or American. Just to hear Musa's story or Luka's story when I was there or Mile's story here. Mile and I spent a lot of time together on this team, we're very close, as everyone knows. He obviously loves me more than I love him, it's very obvious – he speaks with a smile.
Creek calls their connection a mateship, which is the Australian version of brotherhood, as he explains.
– It's something that I strongly believe in and I think when you really care for someone that the bond that you create with that person is a mateship – he adds.
He says that the most inspiring player that he got to guard and play against was Dwyane Wade and it was in his last NBA game ever, which was very special to Creek. His favourite basket was his first one in the NBA because the situation was very different. He was sitting on a bench, not planned for the game, someone was getting fouled, they got injured, he got subbed in by the opposing coach because they thought he was going to be nervous and be really bad. He made one of his free throws and that was his first ever one in the NBA. Creek describes this experience as a very unique one and he is happy to have been a part of it.
Sportsmen are people who have different, specific character. The ones that need to adjust to all circumstances, the changing of the club, surroundings, teammates, push themselves game after game, through winnings and losings. How does he rebuild his character with each club and surroundings?
– I think character is something that's formed throughout your entire professional career until the current day. If you have to rebuild who you are or fit into a scenario, then that place probably isn't for you. There's an old saying, you can't fit a square peg into a round hole but it depends how big the round hole is. If the square peg is small enough, you have to shrink yourself and that's sometimes not what is necessary. There's a funny video that just comes to mind. People with ADHD will say, here's a pair of scissors and a piece of paper. Someone says, what I want you to do is to put it to the side and you're going to use this. And they're like, oh no, that's kind of how it feels to join a team. Sometimes you think you have to fit in and be a part of the programme and immerse yourself and do everything and be everyone's best friend. But for me, I just want to be myself. I want to go out and I want to find a coffee shop. I want to go and walk in the park. I want to go and swim in the river and people might think I'm crazy for doing other sports or doing other hobbies, but for me, it's just who I am. And if I change myself to fit in, then I'm not going to be genuine and I'm not going to be real. And that means that someone's going to look at me and say, well, this guy's been this way his whole life, but now he's very different. Some people call it maturity. I think it's fake and that's not me. So you either like me or you don't. And either way, I don't care. It's just I'm happy. I'm happy with my family and my circle that I have. And I just want to keep trying new things and I want to keep doing what makes me feel comfortable in this world. And if that means that I've got to be a little more isolated because people don't really like who I am, then that's OK. Maybe I just don't fit into that crowd – straightforward is Creek.
He considers the way he plays to be very unselfish.
– I think it's a good balance of caring enough about others, but also making sure that you're getting what you need out of things as well, because you can't leave yourself empty handed – believes Creek.
What does he insist on in the upbringing of his daughter, Mia?
– The most important thing I want my daughter to understand is that when she sees me as a role model, she knows that I went about things with intent to get the best out of the situation. I want her to pursue things that makes her feel happy and safe. She has to see that her dad is fulfilled in what he does and provides the factors that every man and woman need in this world, which is safety, security and love. And if you have those things, you don't need anything else. Everything else comes with it. Abundance of any of those three, you're doing pretty well. So, I've got to try new things. I've got to experience. I've got to find out what I like and what I don't like. And that's going to make her curious enough to pursue whatever it is she wants to do. She may be slightly, you know, coerced into some things by me, but if she likes it, I've taken it – explains Creek.
He emphasizes that he is a big believer in combat sports to be able to protect yourself and other people.
– For me, it's more important to be able to protect my family. I would like knowing that I have a daughter that is capable of being able to protect herself. But I think that just comes with the territory of having a little girl. I'm her dad and I'm her superhero and I'm someone that loves her no matter what happens in this world, unconditionally. So, yeah, she'll know these things. She already does. And every moment we get together is special. So I just never take it for granted – says Creek.
Bojana Radonjić