Some clouds. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable..

Some clouds. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable.

Tanya Crevier incorporates some youngsters into her performance Thursday morning at the Taylor basketball camp. Crevier, who has given demonstrations of her ball-handling wizardry at TU camps for more than 40 years, performed for the final time.

Tanya Crevier, who has been a staple at Taylor University basketball camps for more than 40 years, performed for the final time Thursday at the last camp session.

Tanya Crevier incorporates some youngsters into her performance Thursday morning at the Taylor basketball camp. Crevier, who has given demonstrations of her ball-handling wizardry at TU camps for more than 40 years, performed for the final time.

Tanya Crevier, who has been a staple at Taylor University basketball camps for more than 40 years, performed for the final time Thursday at the last camp session.

UPLAND — A servant’s heart. Infectious spirit. Bountiful enthusiasm. Limitless energy.

Oh yeah, and incredible skills handling a basketball, or several basketballs at once.

Honestly, Tanya Crevier is a basketball icon.

For more than 40 years, Crevier has brought all of the aforementioned traits to Taylor University basketball camps, where she shared her abilities and personality with anyone fortunate enough to be in her presence.

Thursday morning, Crevier gave her final performance of ball-handling wizardry and delivered her message of encouragement and hope to more than 200 campers and many others at TU’s last boys basketball camp session of the summer.

Crevier has shared her ministry of basketball with millions of youngsters and adults all over the world at camps, schools and prisons, but Taylor’s camps became a regular stop for the South Dakota native starting in 1980.

“I’m so grateful for all the years, just to represent the Lord and impact all of those lives,” said Crevier, as she mingled with long-time friends and family, as well as provided some impromptu lessons of how to spin a basketball on the fingers of several campers.

“I have dad’s coming up to me, Tanya, I went to Taylor basketball camp and now I get to send my son and I’m so happy you’re still here,” Crevier continued. “I’m so grateful for Taylor University and the coaching staff for continuing to have an open door for me to come. Gratitude would be the word to describe my relationship with Taylor University.”

And that feeling is more than reciprocated by the coaches, counselors and TU players that have been privy to form a relationship with Crevier through the years.

“It’s amazing what she does. I admire the work that she puts in,” said Jason Hubbard, who will be a super senior for the Trojans this winter. “She puts on a show for the campers. I’v appreciated how much she’s invested into the program and into this camp. All the work she’s done over the years for us is just unmatched. I appreciate all that she’s done and it’s fun to watch it.

“The message means a lot to me. It’s a constant and a great reminder that what she’s doing it for is more than just a game,” Hubbard added. “It’s more than just basketball, it’s always about Christ and pushing the gospel forward. The way that she communicates that to the kids and the way she communicates that to us year after year is something I greatly appreciate and love as well.”

Crevier started developing her skills and tricks with a basketball after she graduated from South Dakota State university in 1977, where she also played volleyball and softball as well as ran track. She was inducted into the SDSU Hall of Fame in 1996 and into Taylor’s Hall of Fame in 2014 as a special contributor.

For nearly an hour Thursday morning, Crevier gave her typical energetic performance which involves dribbling and spinning a ball, or two, or 10 at a given time. When she’s not showcasing her talent with a ball, she’s incorporating campers and some of TU’s players, into the performance.

The relationships with campers and the camp is another part of what’s made Crevier’s work at Taylor special. More than 600 boys came to Upland in the three weeks of July camp.

“It’s hundreds and hundreds of families that trust our guys and our camp and the Taylor brand, they trust the Trojans,” said Taylor men’s basketball coach, Josh Andrews, “but when you’re on the inside of this, you kind of know what’s the glue and what makes it go. And Tanya Crevier has been a staple.

“If I estimated the amount of campers won over from homesickness or something else that’s an agitation she was able to solve because of who she is, there would too many stories to name,” Andrews continued. “When you’re on the inside you know it. … Kevin Alsup said it best, she always has this magnetic ability to find a guy or two that needs it most. We know it. We know it that a young man needed it and she just gravitates. It’s just incredible. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s decades of doing that.”

Alsup, an assistant coach for Marion’s boys basketball team and Giants’ girls track coach, has now been an organizational and instructional part of 22 TU basketball camps. He’s developed a strong relationship with Crevier and gone to numerous performances of hers at different places, including inside the walls of prisons.

“I’ve never known her not to be on and it’s because her heart is what drives her. She knows it’s her calling. She’s embraced it. She’s sacrificed a ton,” Alsup said. “In her prime she was traveling 250, 300 days a year all over the place. All over the world. She’s embraced her calling and she’s a great example of what excellence looks like everyday.

“I think she exemplifies what no limits is. If you see all the stuff that she does, there’s no way someone her age should be doing that, especially after traveling as much as she does,” he added. “It’s just amazing. … The tricks are amazing, but her heart is really what sets her apart. There are some people that can do some of the things that she can do, but there is not another Tanya around.”

Crevier obviously spent countless hours developing her skills with a basketball, and said she still spends about an hour each day working to keep them polished. There’s also a conditioning element at play for Crevier, who is now in her late 60s.

As impressive as she is with her skills and ability to connect with people, the energy she puts into every performance is extraordinary. Crevier gave a simple, yet profound explanation for how she’s able to keep crowds, and herself, energized.

“My energy comes from the Lord because I’m walking in my purpose,” Crevier said. “I get such a spiritual high whenever I can share my skills, wherever I feel like I can inspire kids to raise their level of expectation and change their work ethic. I’m walking in the talents and destiny that God has for me. I think thats where my energy comes from.”

Though Crevier’s performance on Thursday was the final one at a TU camp, she is not retiring from her craft altogether. She also said she’ll likely return to Upland for some future shows.

“I’ll still go out and come back in, but it won’t be for long stretches. … I don’t want to be away from home that much,” Crevier said. “I have my little nieces and nephews, and now their kids that I just adore and love to spend time with.

“I’ll definitely perform and maybe even do like a halftime here or something, It just won’t be for as long. I’m still gonna go strong.”

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