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Creekside taps Menendez’s Adam Holmes to fill basketball vacancy

After leading Menendez’s boys basketball program for the past three seasons, Adam Holmes is moving again.Holmes has been named the new head coach at Creekside High School.”When you’re trying to build culture and you’re trying to continue traditions you have had — we’ve had a lot of success with our last two coaches — he just felt like the right guy,” Creekside athletic director Luke Marabell said Friday.Holmes, a Bartram Trail grad and former Creekside assistant, is

Source: Creekside taps Menendez’s Adam Holmes to fill basketball vacancy – Sports – The St. Augustine Record – St. Augustine, FL

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Creekside Knights Basketball put on showcase at MidKnight Madness

As winter sports season quickly approaches in the high school world, a spotlight is on the reigning state runner up, Creekside Knights basketball team.
Coming off a very strong year, the Knights fell just short of the school’s very first state title in basketball.  However, a motivated Knights team, coached by William Mayer, looks to continue their winning ways.  The road will be tough though, after losing 8 seniors to graduation including star point guard, Jay Plummer. Going into this season, the Knights are a young team with only 2 seniors on the squad. With the new look Knights, there is still plenty of Division 1 talent on the team. Perhaps the most talented prospect, Junior Michael Phillips, has asserted his role as a leader on the team. Michael is being recruited by the University of North Florida along with several other schools. With this type of talent on the team, they have a good chance to have another superb season.
This team will have to play harder than ever before to stay as one of the elite basketball teams in the state.  But with the grit and determination, anything is possible. When Coach Mayer was asked what his expectations were for the season, he said, “I think by February we could be a pretty good team… but due to the team being so young, we’re going go through some growing pains at certain points in the year”.  This is normal for a team trying to rebuild. But with Coach Mayer at the helm, the ream team will be ready to reach their goals, which are no different than previous years. Mayer asserts that he “wants to play in the District Championship Game which could give us a chance to win a championship.” The Knights look to continue playing entertaining, hard fought basketball games this season and with the coaching and dedication exemplified by the team, there’s nothing that’s going to get in their way!
In addition to the Boys Basketball team, the Lady Knights are coming into the season with many returning players and high hopes for their squad. Led by Senior Anna Rose Epting and Sophomore Taylor Gardner, the team looks to be on their way to a great season with much experience and numerous leadership figures. A team with confidence like this looks to take on the challenges this season after a disappointing performance last year.  The Lady Knights went 10-17 in 2017-2018 after having a 20-win season and a trip to the FHSAA playoffs the year before.
“I think we have the talent to win districts and that’s what our main goal is,” said Taylor Gardner about her aspirations for the team. The Lady Knights will be ready to take on any and all challenges and the will to win will get them a long way. The Lady Knight should put on a show offensively as they have a very good core group shooting around the perimeter as well as their uncanny ability take the ball to the bucket. This will prove to be very difficult for teams to stop and result in more in the win column!
This season is going to be very entertaining for both girls and boys basketball teams and they each have the potential to perform at very high, competitive levels. The teams will be showcased at Midknight Madness tonight starting at 5:30pm.  In this exciting opportunity, both teams will have intrasquad scrimmages along with performances from cheer and dance as well as food, fun and games!  Come on out to support your Knights Basketball teams!
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National Signing Day 2018 – J’Michael Plummer provides a candid look at what led him to his next destination

J’Michael “Jay” Plummer, a senior point guard for the Creekside Knights basketball team, is of the 2018 college signees. As a 4 year starter, he is the only player in Creekside history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark in his career.  But he is ready to take on the next big challenge in his life… College Basketball.

Jay made the tough choice of committing to Embry Riddle University in January. Jay explained that Embry Riddle “really did feel right” for him and “they were different” from the other teams that were showing interest.  Coach Steve Ridder told Jay that the team needed someone who could come in and be a floor general.  When he got to visit and watch a game, Jay realized that is exactly what they were missing.  This has prohibited the Eagles from taking the next step as a team. He felt that the honesty shown by the coaches on the recruiting campaign led him to Embry Riddle.  It showed the character of the coach and who he is as a person. 

Another aspect that Jay looked at very seriously was the distance from home. His mother said that it is such a big part of his life, so he really wanted to be somewhere where she was able to come and see him play. When asked about the biggest influence in his life to get to this point, Jay responded that many different influences carried him through his basketball journey. From all the coaches, fellow teammates, friends, family members, however, the largest would be his mother, Ornett Jackson.  She has always been his biggest fan and had the foremost support for his career.  She has contributed a large part in his work ethic to become the best ball player he can be. Having Jay in close proximity to her will no doubt mean she will be at his college games, supporting him just as she always has.

While the step from high school ball to college may be tough for many student athletes around the country, Jay feels that he is prepared for a smooth transition.  His teams at Creekside High School have been dominant in recent years by making it deep into the State Playoffs. Experience in big time games that have increased tempo and having everything out on the line is great for him going forward. J’Michael said, “the good thing about Embry Riddle is that I will be able to go over and take some summer classes and be able to get into the flow.” Getting into the flow will be an enormous advantage over other incoming freshman athletes as he will be adapted to the college world and begin to focus on basketball as well as his academics.

J’Michael Plummer is well suited to take on this challenge as he looks to continue to grind and advance his game. He is a well rounded player with many of the tools in the bag to be able to make it big for himself. Watch out for J’Michael Plummer!  With his grit and determination, nothing seems to be able to slow him from achieving great things at the next level.

 

Article written by student journalist, Brandon Carroll

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Senior Spotlight – Noah Lippy

Noah Lippy is a senior at Creekside High School who has played basketball for the Creekside Knights boys basketball team for four years now. Spending three of seven years of his career on the high school varsity team, Lippy has made lots of memories. His favorite would be the district championship during his junior year season. There, he had a career high of 17 points, which was a first in seven years at Creekside! Also during that season, Lippy says he won the 6th man of the year award. Playing guard and forward for the basketball team, Lippy was a part of the team that has set the single season win record each year. Their goal is to win state during this season, which is what the team works for accomplishments.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lippy moved here to St. John’s when he was five years old. His brother attended Creekside before him, who played three years of varsity baseball. His younger sister made varsity basketball as a freshman, and is starting on varsity as a sophomore this year, as well. Lippy shares that he carries a 3.0 GPA through his student-athlete life. His favorite class that he has taken so far was during his junior year; English with Mrs. Cochiolla. Many of you may recognize him from football games, where he was the unofficial student section leader. He also participates in the Chick-fil-A leader academy, Knights of Distinction, and Senior Men. “Creekside has given me so many opportunities to make high school the best it can be. I’m glad it was where I got to spend the four best years of my life.” We wish him all the best throughout the second semester of his senior, and last, year at Creekside.          

 –Senior Spotlight written by Student Journalist, Veronica Czajkowski

-Images provided by Leonard’s Studios

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Local Roundup: Creekside basketball defeats St. Augustine

BOYS BASKETBALL

Creekside 58

St. Augustine 35

Creekside outscored St. Augustine 22-8 in the third quarter Wednesday night at home. Bobby Kasprzak led the Knights (13-2) with 11 points, while Garrett Denny scored 10 and Noah Lippy and Mekhi Parker added nine points apiece. Kyrie McMillian led St. Augustine (4-8) with seven points. Colin Robin had six. Creekside will host Ponte Vedra at 7:30 p.m. Friday. St. Augustine will play Bartram Trail at Flagler College Gymnasium on Friday night at 7:30.

 

Source: Creekside basketball defeats St. Augustine | St. Augustine Record

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Creekside’s Plummer surpasses 1,000 career points in win | St. Augustine Record

J’Michael Plummer scored a game-high 20 points and achieved a career milestone, and Creekside (12-2) outscored Tampa Plant (9-2) 17-5 in the fourth quarter Saturday to knock off the Panthers. Plummer reached 1,000 points in his varsity career on a 3-pointer in the third quarter. The senior point guard hit 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished the game with 1,007 career points. Noah Lippy added 11 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. Michael Phillips chipped in with nine points for the Knights.

Source: Local Roundup: Creekside’s Plummer surpasses 1,000 career points in win | St. Augustine Record

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Boys basketball Power Poll: Creekside, Providence open at 1-2 | jacksonville.com

1. Creekside (6-0, Class 8A), —

Notable wins: Oakleaf, Ponte Vedra, Vanguard

Glance: The Knights have powered through a decent row of teams thus far, the closest matches 10-point wins over Fleming Island and Oakleaf. More impressively, Creekside has done so without injured 6-5 F Caleb Townsend, who has yet to play after suffering a leg injury prior to the season opener. In his absence, J’michael Plummer (15.3 ppg), Noah Lippy (15 ppg) and DJ Dumas (10.2 ppg) have steadied the Knights. Lippy is coming off of a career-high 24 points in a 64-54 win over Fleming.

Source: Boys basketball Power Poll: Creekside, Providence open at 1-2 | Jacksonville News, Sports and Entertainment | jacksonville.com

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Local roundup: Creekside Boys Basketball defeats Fleming Island | St. Augustine Record

Creekside 64

Fleming Island 54

Noah Lippy hit four 3-pointers on the way to a game-high 24 points as host Creekside improved to 6-0, 2-0 in District 4-8A. DJ Dumas added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while J’Michael Plummer produced 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. The Knights visit Bartram Trail at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

 

Source: Local roundup: Ponte Vedra boys, girls basketball teams collect district wins | St. Augustine Record