Tyler Ulis Talks Offers, Recruiting
Category: Featured News Written by Scott Burgess
Marian Catholic (IL) junior point guard Tyler Ulis has flat out put on a show this season. The floor general is quick with the ball in his hands and can change directions on a dime. He is great at getting in traffic and making plays for himself and others. Ulis is a plus passer that sees the floor excellent in both transition and the half court. He makes good decisions and has a high basketball IQ.
Ulis has made great strides as a scorer. His three point shot has continued to get better and he was on fire from deep Friday against St. Viator. He knows how to use screens to set up his shot as he likes to pull up from behind them for threes. Another offensive weapon that he likes to go to is the runner in the lane. What stands out about Ulis is how he is always in control and doesn’t rush things. Defensively although he is small, he is pesky as he has active hands and uses his athleticism to get steals. He finished with 30 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 6 steals against St. Viator.
The junior says playing up on the 17U level last summer with a talented Meanstreets team has helped him be more assertive this year at Marian Catholic.
“With Meanstreets we had a lot of good guys on that team. I was trying to feed the other guys. Tai (Streets) wanted me to shoot the ball and be more aggressive. I have to come out with the mindset to score, shoot the ball, and help my team win. Last year we lost a lot of late games here at Marian because I only got like 13 shots and if I would have got four more up we would have won.”
Ulis told us some of the schools he has been in contact with lately.
“I have been talking to Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon State, and North Carolina State has contacted my dad a couple times.”
The offers he has on the table come courtesy of Iowa, Colorado State, Oregon State, UIC, Northern Illinois, and Loyola. He got to know one of those programs a little better recently.
“I went on my first official to Oregon State . Our plane got delayed so we only got to spend a day there. We went to the game and I hung out with one of the freshman. I talked to the coaches. They were pretty cool.”
What did they say they liked about the point guard and how he would fit in their system?
“They told me how I would come in after Ahmad Starks. I would still have to fight for it and they wouldn’t guarantee a position, but they think I can run their program just like Ahmad. They run a lot of ball screens just like we do here.”
Many people feel that Ulis is being overlooked a little bit because of his size. He has been putting up spectacular numbers and has established himself as one of the top junior point guards in the Midwest and a Mr. Basketball candidate in Illinois this season. Does he feel like he is overlooked?
“Yeah but I try not to think about it. I just work with what I got because I can’t make colleges like me. There are going to be people who like me for who I am and how I play. Then there are going to be some who just don’t want me.”
Ulis will have a great list of schools to choose from that will love to have this playmaking floor general run their squad. He talked about his timetable for a decision.
“Sometime after the summer and AAU season. Probably when we start up for senior year.”
