Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our attempt to um, wrap up the 2009-10 season. Sit back. Relax. Grab some popcorn. Get your read on.

Final Stats (12 games): 16.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.4 spg, 53% FG, 76% FT, 18 TO’s.

To sum up how well Maurice Creek started his freshman season, let’s take a trip back to December 12, 2009. On that Saturday, No. 4 Kentucky came to Assembly Hall. And while the Wildcats won comfortably, Creek made quite the impression on John Calipari.

“How about this Creek kid?” Calipari exclaimed. “We’ve played a lot of good teams, and he’s as good as any player we’ve played.”

On that day, Creek scored 31 points. He showed off his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter (5 of 8 on 3-pointers) and got into the lane and earned points from the line (8 of 8 on free throws). And even after that brilliant performance, Creek talked more about the team’s performance than personal accolades.

“We battled hard, we gave a good effort,” Creek said. “We’ve just got a lot of things to work on as a group.”

Through 11 games, a 6-5 freshman from Oxon Hill (MD) who committed to IU before ever seeing the campus, was emerging as a silent leader of sorts. While many expected Jeremiah Rivers to take the reigns, Creek’s immediate success and competitiveness demanded the respect of his teammates.

And then, on December 28 against Bryant, this happened.

A freakish knee injury in the final tune-up before the Big Ten season. The Hoosiers, already without Matt Roth, were now without Creek for the remainder of the season. (Props to Chris Howell of The Herald-Times for this brilliant photo.)

“He is a very, very special young man,” Tom Crean said. “It’s gut-wrenching in so many fronts when you see a young man like that go down, who works as hard as he does.”

Sans Creek, Indiana finished the season 4-15. Without him, the Hoosiers struggled to find a playmaker capable of consistently getting into the lane or knocking down outside shots.

“Every time I watch the team play it hurts even more, because I can’t help these guys,” Creek said prior to IU’s meeting with Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament. “But you can help them in different ways and that’s what I’ve been able to do.”

The Bottom Line: While it’s difficult to quantify the impact of a healthy Creek to Indiana’s record for the 19 games he missed, his health is of the utmost performance to the program moving forward. We’ve heard no firm timetable on his return to basketball activities, but he told reporters a few weeks ago that he expects to resume running in June or July. Assuming he’s able to return at 100 percent (or close to it) next season, he’s an instant candidate for All-Big Ten-type accolades.

Pile into the girlfriend’s car, I did, (mine’s dead. again.) and trekked over to Southport, arriving just in time for the center-court party following Washington’s 56-37 win over Danville, with Cody Zeller towering over everybody. (Zeller, by the way, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.)

Bunkering down next to Dustin Dopirak from The Herald-Times, I got the chance to take in Purdue signee Terone Johnson and Indiana target D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera as North Central took on Bloomington South killers Jeffersonville.

First, about the game: It was a good one. North Central sped things up early, finishing the first quarter on pace for 100 points. But fouls, and the subsequent 12-5 disparity in made free throws in the first half, let Jeff hang around, though two Johnson 3-pointers right at the half’s end pushed North Central’s lead back up to eight.

The gap stayed fairly consistent through the second half. Jeff would make runs, pushing the lead down to maybe three or four, but North Central would find ways to respond every time, whether through turnovers or offensive rebounds or, simply, feeding their talent.

Johnson had a game-high 13 first-half points, triggering a decision from the Red Devils to switch to a box-and-one defense on the future Boilermaker. Which brings us to Smith-Rivera.

Shooting just 0-of-3 from behind the arc and 2-of-5 overall, the sophomore finished the opening sixteen minutes with five points, four rebounds and five assists. But the switch opened things up for Smith-Rivera, who spent a lot of time in the lane offensively, given that neither the Panthers nor the Red Devils had size above 6-foot-4.

With Johnson pulling his man to one side of the floor offensively, Smith-Rivera had a big second half — and a Michael Oher-sized fourth quarter (I saw “The Blind Side” tonight) — at times beating Jeffersonville by himself. Twenty points in the half and 16 in the fourth quarter made the talented sophomore the game’s leading scorer by the final buzzer. 13 of those fourth-quarter points came during a crucial stretch right after Jeff had cut the lead down to three at 60-57. Over North Central’s next 11 shot-producing possessions, Smith-Rivera hit five field goals, most coming in the lane, and made 3-of-4 free throws, eventually pushing his team’s lead back to eight. The Panthers would eventually win, 82-77.

It was hard to get a real read on Smith-Rivera, as I said, because he was playing out of position. Most of his shots that weren’t layups weren’t from more than maybe 10-12 feet. He showed some savvy on defense, and the five assists came on nice ball movement. He also said after the game that he felt like his rhythm was off at the beginning — sitting in the middle of that zone — and he never took another 3-point shot after those three misses.

Defensively, he was also a down-low player against the zone, but he did look active. I guess what I’m trying to say is, Smith-Rivera will likely be easier to judge as a college prospect, at least at the high school level, after Johnson leaves and North Central becomes more his team.

Still, kid looked good, seemed willing to be a teammate, not just an individual, and was basically the reason North Central held off a couple of furious Jeffersonville rallies in the final quarter. His game clearly stepped up in the fourth quarter, and his play loosened things up in the lane for the Panthers.

Also, sorry, but Terone Johnson is pretty good. Just sayin’.

Elsewhere around the state

Class 3A at Lafayette Jeff: Branden Dawson, the 6-6 do-it-all forward who many feel is a Purdue lean, scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Gary Wallace past Ft. Wayne Elmhurst 57-47. The win was the 10th straight for the Hornets, setting up a battle with Zeller and Washington for the state title next Saturday. Hugh Kellenberger of The Herald-Times reported that Illinois coach Bruce Weber was in attendance.

Class 2A at Seymour: Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, who was recently offered a scholarship by Indiana, scored 24 points to lead Park Tudor past Forest Park 47-45 in four overtimes. The Panthers, who were once 4-8, will face 26-1 Wheeler at 12:45 pm on Saturday.

Class A at Huntington North: DeJuan Marrero picked up a technical foul, but scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Bowman Academy past Monroe Central 89-79. The Eagles will face Barr-Reeve for the state title at 10:30 am on Saturday.

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

+ Eamonn Brennan writes that after a long journey, Xavier guard Jordan Crawford has arrived. (ESPN.com)

+ Dave Curtis points out that Crawford found inspiration in a former teammate, Ohio’s Armon Bassett. (The Sporting News)

+ Bassett tells Stu Durando that he tries to take it all in stride and learn from everything he’s been through. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

+ Columnist Bob Ryan writes that so far, Ohio University’s long-range plan has been a hit. (Boston Globe)

+ Ben Allen says the fan support at Indiana was great, but he’s never regretted leaving for St. Mary’s. (Contra Costa Times)

+ Michael Vega writes that other programs shouldn’t try to out-recruit St. Mary’s in Australia. (Boston Globe)

+ KJ breaks down Michigan State’s opening round win over New Mexico State. (The Only Colors)

+ Eamonn writes that Ohio State’s supporting cast stepped up during an off-night for Evan Turner. (ESPN.com)

+ Trevon Hughes says that experience got the Badgers through their first round scare against Wofford. (Madison.com)

+ Jeff Washburn writes that Purdue put a dent in President Barack Obama’s bracket with a win over Siena. (Lafayette Journal and Courier)

+ Tubby Smith says he’s looking forward to returning to Minnesota. (USA Today)

I’m not sure how many of y’all are familiar with John Hollinger’s player efficiency rating (PER) for the NBA. So let’s go to a quick explanation of the metric from the man himself before we get started:

The player efficiency rating (PER) is a rating of a player’s per-minute productivity.

To generate PER, I created formulas — outlined in tortuous detail in my book “Pro Basketball Forecast” — that return a value for each of a player’s accomplishments. That includes positive accomplishments such as field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals, and negative ones such as missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls.

Two important things to remember about PER are that it’s per-minute and is pace-adjusted.

Because it’s a per-minute measure, it allows us to compare, say, Jordan Farmar and Derek Fisher, even though there is a disparity in their minutes played.

I also adjust each player’s rating for his team’s pace, so that players on a slow-paced team like Detroit aren’t penalized just because their team has fewer possessions than a fast-paced team such as Golden State.

Make sense?

Well, Hollinger, for the first time, has busted out PER for the college ranks — something he released last week. They revealed some interesting things. For instance, DeMarcus Cousins’ PER of 35.45 — league average PER is 15.00 in the NBA, and I’d assume that would follow for the NCAA — ranks No. 1 in the country. Teammate John Wall, the surefire No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft?

He didn’t crack the Top 100.

Now, this doesn’t mean Wall’s isn’t a phenomenal talent. It doesn’t mean he won’t still be drafted first overall. But what it does mean is this: He’s being touted as the first pick because of his out-of-this-world athleticism, ability to see the floor and poise in key situations time and time again  — not for how efficient he’s been this season.

Wall still isn’t that great a shooter, and he doesn’t shoot a high-enough percentage around the rim yet, either. But his college numbers are similar to Derrick Rose’s and Tyreke Evans’ — both guys who are killing it in the NBA this season. He’ll be more than fine at the next level.

But Cousins — who’s also being projected as lottery pick? He’s as efficient as they come in the college game. But he gets less touches and less minutes in Kentucky’s system, one that has several pro prospects.

As such, his per-minute work is sensational, even if his traditional numbers — 15 points, 10 boards –  don’t wow you. (Though, of course, they are still quite good.)

Now guys: Think fast. What player on this year’s Hoosiers squad did we talk about as contributing a lot, making heady plays and not turning the ball over much  … even though he saw a limited role at times this season?

Take a bow if you’re thinking Derek Elston.

And guess what? It plays out with PER. Hollinger also broke it down by conference, ranking the Top 100 in the Big Ten.

Here’s where IU’s players stack up in regards to the conference:

Yup, there’s Elston coming in at 28th — tops for any Hoosier this season. He’s IU’s Cousins — albeit on a smaller scale. Elston is followed closely by VJ3, another guy that can stuff the stat sheet and do it without chucking up a million shots and turning the ball over a ton.

Some other things of note here: Rivers and Dumes — two guys that are turnover prone and have had trouble shooting the ball — rank near the bottom of the league.

Now, PER is far from the only thing we should be using in which to evaluate players. But it does a nice job of summing up a lot of what a player does on the court in a single number.

And it also confirms the eye test on three of IU’s players.

A source tells Inside the Hall that Abraham will likely visit Indiana this coming Tuesday, March 23. It will be the 6-9 forward’s fourth official visit. Abraham has already visited Georgetown, Maryland and Tennessee.

The Progressive Christian Academy forward is also expected to play in next month’s Derby Festival Basketball Classic at Freedom Hall in Louisville, an event Inside the Hall will cover. Victor Oladipo is also expected to participate, but rosters for the event have yet to be officially released.

Current Hoosiers Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls and Maurice Creek participated last year.

The event is two days, with the Night of the Future Stars on April 9 at Bellarmine University and the Classic the following night at 7 p.m. Ticket information is available here.

Related: Steve Yanda of The Washington Post also has an update on Abraham.

We’ve also, thanks to our friends at Yardbarker, added a widget below which allows you to track scores as well as a link below to the March Madness On Demand Player. So sit back, minimize that spreadsheet you’ve been working on all day and let the games begin.

Click here to launch March Madness On Demand Player

Armon Bassett (yes, that Armon Bassett) went absolutely wild for Ohio in the Mid-American Conference tournament last week, scoring 25, 38, 28 and 25 points over four games to lead the Bobcats to a MAC title and an NCAA appearance.

Asked in the build-up to the NCAA tournament during yesterday’s media session about his checkered past, Bassett had this to say:

“I just got to thank God just for blessing me. I know I had some hiccups, but I managed to come out of those and weather the storm. I’m just happy to be here again.”

Not really sure I have anything to say about this per se, it was more just a little tidbit I thought I’d bring you. I know many of you probably still feel as though Bassett is one of those Hoosiers who bore a certain amount of responsibility for everything that happened in 2007/08, and you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. I just thought I’d put this up here, and let you digest it as you wish.

With offers from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Xavier, 2012 Broad Ripple guard Ron Patterson is quickly becoming a top priority for high majors in the midwest.

The 6-3, 195-pound Patterson averaged 16 points and seven rebounds and led Broad Ripple to a 16-7 record, the most wins for the school since the 1985-1986 season, and a city championship. Inside the Hall caught up with Patterson on Wednesday for a brief Q & A:

On Broad Ripple’s season and his injury down the stretch:

“The beginning of the year went great. When we got the end, I got a couple of injuries. Teammates got fatigued and I tried to put the team on my back, but I had a back injury. It was real sore and bruised from when I fell on it.”

On playing for a Hall of Fame coach in Basil Mawbey and the change in Broad Ripple’s style of play:

“It was a lot different because Coach likes to run a lot of plays and set screens a lot. He changed our game from last year, because we were a run and gun team last year. He changed some of that up. In some games it was part of our success and in some games we could have used the run and gun.”

On Indiana’s recruitment and his relationship with Tom Crean:

“Last time I talked to Coach Crean was after the Lawrence Central game. I like IU. It’s a great facility there to be in, great fans. He thinks I’m one of those players that can come in and play right away.”

Patterson, as many of you know, is a 6-3 guard from Broad Ripple in Indianapolis that just completed his sophomore season. He’s a prospect we followed closely during AAU last year and we’re planning to do the same this year.

If this video is any indication, he’s come a long way since last summer and is certainly a prospect that fits a need Tom Crean talked about recently: A playmaker that can get into the lane.