Dax Crum : Athlete crushes possible obstacle

Dax Crum may accomplish more in his life with one good hand than most people will with two.Just watching him play, most people wouldn't initially notice any difference.The senior guard on the SUU men's basketball team was born missing much of his right hand, but said it hasn't slowed him down in achieving his goals."It hasn't been a problem, but it's been a determining factor in my life," he said. "I don't like to be told that I can't do things."Crum's competitive spirit is what SUU coach Bill Evans said is one of the key elements of his game."His competitive spirit is what makes him a good player," Evans said. "He's very positive and a good teammate. I think he's an outstanding guy, in every way, shape and form."Crum, a six-foot, one-inch guard, was a standout at Arizona Western College before his arrival at SUU. Evans said the T-Birds' coaching staff recruited Crum as a walk-on, and coach Ken Carrillo did much of the work in recruiting him."He's the guy who deserves the credit for the recruitment of him, I'm the guy that deserves the credit for putting up with Dax," Evans said jokingly.Crum played his high school basketball in Kirtland, N.M., and said he developed his game thanks to the help of his father, Richard, who spent countless hours rebounding the ball for him while he shot. Crum said his father has been the biggest influence in his life.Crum also said when he was younger, he tried to imitate former NBA star "Pistol" Pete Maravich, who was known for his shooting ability and dazzling ball-handling skills."First and foremost, I like to win," he said. "I like to put on a show. I think if you can make it fun and exciting for everyone, you should."Evans said the strengths of Crum's game are his competitiveness, work ethic, defensive skills and shooting ability."He's a good shooter, he can really shoot the ball - sometimes too much," Evans said jokingly.Crum laughed about Evans' comment, and said he agreed."I've got a scorer's mentality," he said.Evans said Crum is a quality athlete, and because of his talents, he is also playing defensive back for the T-Bird football team.Crum said he is looking forward to the beginning of the upcoming basketball season and the chance to compete for the Mid-Con title.Evans said Crum will contribute to the team in a number of ways this season."The value that he has in our program as a person and as a worker is being dedicated to Southern Utah basketball," he said. "The example that he sets and those kinds of things are far greater than his abilities He's a far better person than he is a player, and he's a pretty good player, so that shows you what kind of kid he is."