Terrance Krush: Miami Athlete of the Month – Presented by Jim Rexwinkle State Farm

By Chad Waters 

Miami senior Terrance Krush doesn’t start his day like any normal high schooler.

A typical day for Krush consists of getting up at 5:30 a.m. to head to the Miami high school gymnasium to shoot and lift weights. Next, he goes home to get ready for school before taking his 12-year-old cousin, Talan, to a nearby school in Commerce.

After a long day of school, consisting of AP classes and student organizations, Krush then heads to basketball practice until 5 p.m.

Most kids get to go straight home, work on homework or relax with family and friends. But not Krush. Since he was 16 years old, Krush has supported himself by working 20 hours a week as a cashier at the local Walmart.

Despite his parents losing custody of him and his sister due to an abusive home, Krush never had to completely take things on his own.

Pat Satchell, Krushs’ grandmother, had taken guardianship of Krush along with his older sister and two cousins since he was 10 years old.

“She was always there for us and got us what we needed,” said Krush of his grandmother who has traveled with him for basketball as far as Kansas since the 7th grade. “And she works every day and raised all of her grandkids. She’s done the best she can for all of us by putting all of us first.”

But Satchell doesn’t take all the credit as Krush has made the task of raising four grandchildren much easier.

“He helps me with the younger kids all the time and never complains,” Satchell said. “This is the most awesome young man that I’ve ever known.”

Before coming to Miami high school in 2017, Krush had to sit out his junior year due to transferring from Commerce High School, a smaller school just 10 miles north of Miami.

Unlike a lot of student athletes, Krush didn’t transfer to the Class 4A school for basketball reasons, but for academic reasons.

“When he decided to come over here it was truly for academics, which really stuck out to me,” Miami coach Rusty Mercer said. “He knew there was a possibility he wouldn’t be able to play, and that didn’t matter to him. His future was his first priority.”

While learning a lot from the college courses that weren’t offered at Commerce, the young boy who once went through two basketball goals at his grandmothers and has since played the game his entire life, had to learn while watching courtside.

“It was hard watching the games from the bench,” Krush said. “But, in practice I was reminded that I can learn a lot from the game whether I was playing or watching. Coach Mercer kept me motivated throughout the year, and I played JV so I was able to be on the court still.”

The time the 6-foot-2 center watched from the sidelines has proven to pay off this season.

Fourteen games into the 2018-19 season, Krush leads the team in scoring (12.8 per game) and rebounds (five per game) while adding nearly two assists per game.

Even notching those team leading numbers, Krush would say education comes first. And thanks to Krush’s good grades, he is attending Oklahoma State University in the Fall to major in business.

Making him the truest illustration of student first, athlete second.