Kankakee Times

After 38 seasons of calling all the shots at his alma mater, legendary Olivet Nazarene coach Ralph Hodge finds senior star Tyler Crater to be the rarest of special breeds.

“I’ve had some outstanding guys over my time, but Tyler has always been a viable guy for us,” Hodge told the Kankakee Times. “He’s always been able to light a fire under us with his offensive production that few players have. It’s been great to have him around.”

Much of the reasoning for the level of affinity Hodge and Crater hold for one another lies in the details of what they’ve been able to accomplish side by side.

Tyler Crater | ONU

Hodge recently notched his 750th career victory in a game in which Crater was again the biggest star for ONU, notching a team-high 16 points to lead the Tigers past Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) 97-88 at McHie Arena.

Before the night was over, Crater also bagged his 1,000 career point, making him just the 42nd player to achieve this mark over the program’s 51-year history. He is also now No. 19 in ONU history in three-pointers, at 135.

“I was just trying to snap the streak (six straight losses),” Crater said. “I didn’t know about coach’s record until after the game. As for the scoring mark, it’s good company to be in, but we really just needed a win.”

It’s that kind of team first, single-minded attitude that has endeared the onetime two-sport star to all of his coaches and teammates alike.

For as long as he can remember, Crater has played both basketball and baseball, and when he was settling on a college to attend, part of his decision was based on which institutions would allow him to continue that tradition.

Hodge and ONU baseball coach Tom Reid got together and devised a schedule to allow Crater to do just that, and for two seasons, he did without either of them having any regrets about the sacrifices they made.

“He’s the one who put in all the work, so from Day 1, neither of us had had a problem,” Hodge said. “He set a great example. All his teammates saw how hard he was willing to work, and many of them started to push themselves a little harder.”

In Crater’s mind, it was all just a case of the situation allowing Tyler to be Tyler.

“It’s allowed me to get to know so many people,” he said. “Around the university, I have two sets of friends now, and we all have a great time of being friends and onetime teammates.”

What comes next for the shooting guard/catcher and Academic All-American (3.8 PPA) remains to be seen, though the potential communications major is adamant that he wants to stay close to the field.  

 “No matter what I get my degree in, I would want to stay close to sports,” Crater said. “For a lot of athletes, the perfect fallback is coaching, but I don’t think it’s my thing. Either way, I want to be around sports for as long as I can be.”