Gophers assistant Vince Taylor watched Ulis score 25 points on Friday night.
Tyler Ulis, a 5-foot-9, 145-pound junior point guard from Chicago Heights (IL) Marian Catholic, has gotten recent interest from Minnesota and Gopher assistant coach Vince Taylor watched him lead his team to a 50-46 win over Bloom Friday night as he scored 25 points and made twelve of 13 from the free throw line, including eight of nine in the fourth quarter.
Ulis recently became the school’s all-time single-season leading scorer, breaking the mark set by Cedrick Middleton (623 points). Ulis has helped lead the Spartans to a 29-3 mark.
GopherHole.com caught up with Ulis to learn the latest on his junior season and his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You had a big win Friday over Bloom. How pleased were you with the team’s performance?
Tyler Ulis: We had a really good performance. Bloom came out early on us (Bloom jumped out to a 12-6 lead, but Marian scored 15 straight points to go up 21-12), but we stuck with it and fought back and won the game. Defensively, we played great and we just played really hard and won the game.
Gopher Hole: You are now one game away from getting down to Peoria for the state tournament (in Illinois, only four teams advanced, playing Friday and Saturday). What do you know about your opponent (Edwardsville, who is 33-2) who you play Tuesday?
Tyler Ulis: All we know is that they are pretty big. They can shoot the ball really well and they have a couple of people who can score, so we have to have a great defensive night to win that game.
Gopher Hole: Is getting down to Peoria and competing for a state title something that you have talked about all year?
Tyler Ulis: Yes. We have made that an accomplishment all year. Hopefully we will be able to win (Tuesday) and go and do that.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment right now? How many offers are you up to?
Tyler Ulis: I have DePaul, Loyola, Colorado State, Oregon State, Iowa and Dayton.
Gopher Hole: Coach Taylor was at your game the other day. Have you had a chance to talk to him before?
Tyler Ulis: Yes. I have talked to Coach Taylor. He came to one of the practices before and he has talked to me lately. I did not get a chance to talk to him after the game because he had to get back to play Purdue.
Gopher Hole: What have you been hearing from the Gophers?
Tyler Ulis: They said that they like me and they want me to come up and visit, so I could meet the coaching staff and the players. They are going to keep on coming out to see me and keep in touch with me.
Gopher Hole: Are you pretty wide-open on schools?
Tyler Ulis: Yes.
Gopher Hole: Have you even made any official visits yet or are you going to wait until the season is over?
Tyler Ulis: I made an official visit to Oregon State.
Gopher Hole: How was that?
Tyler Ulis: It was pretty good. They played Oregon. They lost, but I got to meet the coaching staff and players. I had a good time. I really liked the coaching staff and the offense and how they played the game.
Gopher Hole: Do you know what other schools you definitely want to visit? Have you thought that far yet?
Tyler Ulis: We are going to try to get up to Minnesota, Purdue, a couple of more schools that have offered me, but we are going to try to wait until the season is over to schedule some of that.
Gopher Hole: Has Minnesota offered you a scholarship yet?
Tyler Ulis: No.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main thing that makes you pick School A over School B or C?
Tyler Ulis: Having a good relationship with the coaching staff. My parents don’t want to turn me over to someone they don’t trust or know really well. How their style of offense is? How they play? Up-tempo. If the coaches are good people and stuff like that.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Tyler Ulis: My strength, I think, is that I have a high IQ. I can dribble, shoot. I need to work on my body. Get stronger before I go to college.
Gopher Hole: Do you come from a basketball family?
Tyler Ulis: My mom and dad played basketball. They didn’t play in college, but they played in high school. My little brother plays.
Gopher Hole: Are they all point guards?
Tyler Ulis: They are all point guards. My mom played in Ohio and my dad as a point guard in Ohio as well. My little brother is, too.
Gopher Hole: Coming from a family of point guards, does that help that your parents have played the same position as you?
Tyler Ulis: Yes, because my parents are a little bit short. My dad is 5-11 and my mom is 5-6, so it is not like they were going to have a kid that was a center. They help me out. At an early age, they had me out dribbling and doing basketball drills.