Tyler Ulis Put On A Show Last Night

  If anyone had doubts about Tyler Ulis, he did his best to quiet any doubters with his season opener last night. In front of yours truly, Ulis put on a show against local rival T.F South with 24 points, 7 steals, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. He did all of this essentially in the first half as the reserves played the bulk of the second half after Marian took a 21 point lead into the half. Ulis did everything that UK will need him to next year and then some. Ulis started the game scoring at the basket with some absolute circus shots. He took the contact from larger defenders and still threw in improbable lay ups that had the whole gym saying "Wow." This is the part of his game that people who have never watched Ulis criticize. They assume his size prevents him from driving the basket against a team's frontcourt, but Ulis has superb body and control and anticipation to effectively attack taller defenders. Ulis spent most of the first half causing havoc on defense as well. Ulis had 5 steals in the first half as he displayed extremely quick hands, scoring steals from dribblers, rebounders, and passing lanes. Ulis has made creating turnovers a focus for himself and his squad this season as they flourish in transition with 5 starters who can shoot the 3. The future UK guard is the best shooter out of the sharp-shooting squad, and last night was no different. Ulis shot the ball extremely well (4-6) last night. The most impressive was a cross over that made his defender nearly fall down that led into Ulis stepping back for a 3. Ulis followed that flashy deep range move up with a pull up jumper from NBA range that had the whole gym raving. Overall, I was extremely impressed with Ulis for his first game of the high school season. While he was not facing the strongest opponent by any means, his team is still working kinks out of their system yet Ulis' game seemed to flow easily. He did not put up the assist totals that most expect from him, but that's more of an attribution to a lack of scoring weapons on the team. Get excited BBN, this kid is talented in a way we haven't seen at the point guard position in the Cal era. @JayHochKSR