It’s certainly not that Kyle Crim hasn’t played basketball in bigger arenas and in front of more boisterous crowds.
Crim was coming off the bench as a Morristown freshman when the Yellow Jackets routed Southwood for the 2018 1A state championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Even the week before that would qualify as thousands watched at Seymour as Morristown got by Barr-Reeve to win the semistate.
Fast-forward to 2023. Crim and his Hanover College teammates opened the season on November 1 with an exhibition at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The 6’1” Hanover junior scored six points to go along with a couple of rebounds and assists on a special night that brought back some happy memories.
Crim with the mention of first-year Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsbury who engineered the game with his alma mater. Shrewsbury, a Cathedral product, played collegiately at Hanover College where he was a three-year starter and tri-captain, while leading the league in free throw percentage and assists during the 1998–99 season.
Crim’s high school career grew into a starring role. In 2020-21, Crim (17.8 ppg) combined with fellow senior classmate Drake Moore (18.5 ppg) for a backcourt that averaged over 36 points per game for a Morristown team that sported a 20-5 record but fell in double-overtime to rival Southwestern in the sectional championship game.
Moore is averaging over 13 points per game in his second season after transferring to Oakland City from York University.
At Hanover, Crim’s role hasn’t called for him to score as much as he did in his high school days. He says that adjustment wasn’t difficult. That was made even more true when he suffered an injury that took him off the court for a significant period of time.
Crim’s stat line this season actually mirrors his freshman season at Morristown. Through six games he is averaging 3.7 points, two rebounds and two assists while playing about 15 minutes per game coming off the bench. Also, much like that historic Morristown season, it’s becoming obvious that Crim’s playing time will continue to grow.
For now, his thought process calls for getting the ball into the hands of Hanover scorers and knocking down the shots when they become available.
Crim gives credit to teammates, from his past to current day, for helping to shape him over the years.
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