Boys basketball: Richmond-Burton’s Brandon Creason steps away to become middle school principal

Brandon Creason finished his Type 75 certification, which enables teachers to move into administrative positions, several years ago.

So many, in fact, that he is not exactly sure what year it was.

Brandon’s father, Doug Creason, had a long teaching career that finished with almost 20 years as superintendent at Rochelle High School.

“I always thought I’d probably go down that road, but I enjoyed coaching so much,” said Creason, Richmond-Burton’s boys basketball coach since 2010. “I felt like if I ever hated going to practice, I would get out. And that just wasn’t happening. I still liked building a team. I still liked working with a group of kids and trying to help them get better. That never has gone away. I don’t know if it ever will.”

Creason is heading down that road now. He has accepted an administrative position as principal at Nippersink Middle School. Thus, Creason has resigned as coach and as teacher of AP U.S. History and Recent Historical Issues at R-B.

“When I came to R-B, it was an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up,” Creason said. “This feels similar. It’s an opportunity to stay in the community I’ve worked in for 14 years, work with the same kids, same families, and stay there in a different role. I couldn’t pass that up.”

Creason, who played NCAA Division I basketball at Western Illinois University, coached the Rockets for 14 seasons. His teams were 208-187 over that stretch. His teams in 2014 (21-8) and 2015 (22-6) were his best.

R-B athletic director Tim Jackson said assistant coaches will run the summer programs until a replacement is hired. He has been accepting applications and has conducted some initial interviews.

“Brandon has done a tremendous job with our basketball program,” Jackson said. “The first thing that sticks out to me is the culture that he has built with our program. Even before I came to R-B, anytime I watched his teams play, I noticed his teams played hard and did the little things that help teams win games.

“Getting to see that up close for the last two years was a privilege. He also has built strong relationships with his kids. After most home games, there would be a kid who played on a previous team that would come from the stands and shake his hand and catch up.”

Creason and his wife, Angela, have a son, Kellen, who is going into eighth grade, and a daughter, Vivian, going into fourth grade. They live in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Creason also has resigned his position as girls golf coach.

“I value the relationships with the players,” Creason said. “I’ve stayed in contact with lot of them, as best I can. Same in golf. I talked to [former Rockets girls golfers] Blake Betke and Mackenzie Hahn recently. The relationships across both are probably the best thing about coaching.

“It feels weird. I don’t know that I’d ever be ready to step away. I don’t know. I haven’t missed anything yet. I haven’t missed the first day of practice, summer workout. As of right now, it hasn’t been hard at all. I haven’t missed anything yet.”