LOGAN — Utah State point guard David Pak is a walking billboard of what his life is now.
The No. 2 on his jersey signifies his second chance in life.
The four Chinese symbols he had tattooed onto his triceps after he was released represent love, eternity, obedience and tranquility.
The No. 2 with the Chinese symbol of life and "I Samuel 16" (the story of David and Goliath), adorn his left shoulder.
They are all are reminders of what he learned while in prison serving an eight-year sentence for sexual assault.
It took him just a single day to realize the severity of his crime, and the subsequent eight-plus years cemented it.
"The first day that I got in hit me that I wanted to go in the right direction," he said. "I only needed to be in there one day to know I didn't want to be in there again."
He learned what love was through his mother, who visited him every week while he was incarcerated, and then learned to love his family — two older sisters and his grandmother. (He never knew his biological father, and his mother divorced his stepfather when Pak was very young. He still carries the last name of his stepfather, however).
Pak learned to respect others, and he learned obedience to the law and to himself, and he learned of the peace that came through the ability to forgive. He learned that directly from his victim.
"At first it was painful for her to be in the same room. Throughout the years, she would ask me more questions about what I was going to do with my life," Pak said. "The last couple of (parole) hearings she was wishing me luck. The last couple of times she was able to (forgive me)."
He now treats people with more compassion and understanding.
"I take every individual separately and try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt," he said. "Everybody is raised differently."
At age 16, Pak had no direction. In his opinion, his home life was a wreck. His mother was always gone. He didn't realize at the time, but she was away so she could provide.
Several months before his 17th birthday, he broke into the home of a woman, whom he said was a neighbor, and raped her at knife point, according to court documents as reported by the Orange County Register.
Several days later he was arrested and six months later he began serving his sentence. He never received parole.
"I was lost. I was a little kid with no direction. I didn't know who I was or where I wanted to go," he said. "Being away from society for eight years gave me time to figure things out — figure out who I am and what direction I wanted to go in."
Still, Pak, who is a registered sex offender in Utah, is haunted by the shadow of his past that never diminishes even in the darkest of nights, but he is learning to deal with it.
He considers his new life in basketball as a second chance, but actually his second chance came when he was released from prison on Christmas Eve 2002, the day before his birthday.
His third chance came when Saddleback Junior College basketball coach Bill Brummel allowed him on the team, and he flourished.
Following his sophomore season, he was named the Orange Empire Conference Most Valuable Player.
His fourth chance came this year when Utah State coach Stew Morrill offered him a scholarship to play for the Aggies.
"We did all our homework. If I'd have thought there was any risk whatsoever involved in terms of how he'd react around the university and community I'd have never done it," Morrill said. "There is no risk. This is an older guy who's paid his price dearly and proven himself with his actions, both in his years in incarceration and two years at Saddleback.
"We've talked with everybody imaginable in terms of the people at the detention center, his counselors there, the people at Saddleback. All that was done in detail, we didn't go in blindly and have someone say it'd be OK."
Morrill went into university president Kermit L. Hall and then athletic director Rance Pugmire to ask for permission to pursue Pak and was cleared to make the decision based on his own judgment.
"I was fully aware and prepared that he (the president) might say no. But I also know the way we had run our program I had hoped there was some trust there, and there was. Almost a scary amount of trust," Morrill said.
Newly hired athletic director Randy Spetman even did his homework after he arrived in June of last year.
When arriving on campus, Pak told some of teammates on a one-on-one basis of his situation, and then he told them all at a team meeting.
Pak is grateful for the opportunity to be in Logan.
"I'm trying to make the most out of every day so hopefully when I'm out of school I can put myself in a situation where somebody will give me an opportunity," he said.
Chances No. 5, 6, 7 8, etc., will come later in what will be a lifetime of second chances.
"I feel I have put in the time to get myself where I am at and at the same time I've also got some lucky breaks," he said. "I'm happy to be here every day I am here."
Pak (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) didn't play organized basketball until after being released from prison but began to create opportunities for himself while there.
He graduated from the accredited high school in the youth correctional facility, and he continually worked on his game, not in an effort to get a scholarship but rather as a way to cope.
Now basketball is paying him back.
"It (basketball) means everything," he said. "It got me through my time when I was in there and since being out it's given me an education. It's made getting back into society a lot more enjoyable."
This year Pak has started 18 of 20 games and is averaging 6.5 points per game. He is coming off his best week as an Aggie, when he combined to score 26 points and dished out nine assists in wins over UC Irvine and Long Beach last week.
"David Pak deserves a chance to play Division I basketball," Morrill said, "and it's worked out well."
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com