Many thought that Jeremy Tyler, the former #1 rated high school player, made a horrible decision in 2009 to forego his senior HS season and spurn the University of Lousiville to play professionally in Europe. After all, only current Milwaukee Bucks PG Brandon Jennings had succeeded in skipping college to play overseas before landing in the NBA, but only after completing HS.
Tyler’s early struggles with Israeli team Maccabi Haifa were well chronicled as he appeared in only 10 games and averaged a miniscule 2.1 ppg. The rather paltry scoring numbers were in stark contrast to his 28.7 ppg mark as a junior at San Diego High School. Tyler then quit the team in March of 2010.
The next stop on his young professional career was in Japan, playing for Tokyo Apache of the Japanese Pro League. After an early adjustment period, Tyler finally began to show signs of his once immense potential by averaging 10 ppg, 6.4 reb, and 52% shooting in 33 games.
In addition to his talents finally coming to the surface, Tyler’s frame began to fill out to NBA big man proportions(6’11 and 260lbs), once again getting the attention of NBA scouts. Then after an outstanding showing at the NBA Draft Combine, the Charlotte Bobcats selected Tyler with the 39th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He then later was sent to the Golden State Warriors for cash considerations.
Once again, many began to wonder if the Warriors made the right decision selecting an unproven big man to fill a longtime void in the middle for new coach Mark Jackson. Then with the NBA Lockout preventing rookies from using team facilities and even communicating with the coaching staff, it became a lot to ask of a still only 20 year old ballplayer to keep in tip-top shape until the strike is over.
But never fear Warriors fans as Tyler has re-surfaced playing a little pick-up at his old HS, looking in impeccable shape and showcasing the skills that once made him the top prospect in HS basketball.
Check out Jeremy Tyler’s Sick Dunk Session:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
