Tyler Ulis Shows Ability to Adapt in CH Classic

  Tyler Ulis is learning how to score on his own in his senior season, and that challenge was put to the test more than ever yesterday in the title game of the Chicago Heights Classic. Tyler Ulis has played the last 2 years alongside his fellow mini-guard Ki-Jana Crawford. KJ Crawford was out with an ankle injury, and Ulis was forced to take matters into his own hands for most of the game offensively. The extra load of scoring responsibility led to a ridiculous stat line for Ulis, 35 points 5 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals. Marian won the game in a much closer than expected 79-73 tilt. To be honest, Ulis should have had about 12 assists and the game should have been a blowout. His teammates missed open shot after open shot created by passes from Ulis. After recognizing that his team was having a cold night from the field, Ulis started to press the issue and create his own shots. If you had walked in late, you would think Ulis was being a bit of a ball hog, but it was more of a matter of being the only player hitting his shots. Along with his team being cold, the refs were fully enforcing the new freedom of movement rules and calling fouls left and right. This led to Ulis going 14 of 17 from the charity stripe. The good free throw shooting will be a breath of fresh air for Kentucky next season. Even though Ulis put up his best scoring output of the season, I felt his previous games were better played. He felt the pressure of having Crawford out of the lineup and second leading scorer TJ Parham in foul trouble. Here's a breakdown of what he did well and struggled with: Positives: - Took advantage of tightly contested game and attacked defenders. More importantly, he was extremely successful from the FT line once he got fouled. - Looked better than ever at creating his own shot from all over the field. He made contact lay ups, floaters, and pull up jumpers. - His basketball IQ really shined bright late in the game. After being the only scoring option for most of the second half, Ulis used the final few minutes to expose the opposing team's help defense and find the open man for easy buckets. He had sucked Bloom Township into committing two defenders to his drives by the end of the game, and that helped put the game away with two impressive assists to open men. - Leadership. Ulis knows he's the best player on the floor and took control of the game whenever Bloom threatened. He had an answer whenever Bloom took momentum. Negatives: - Although he had extra duties offensively as stated before, he pressed the issue too much in some situations. There were times when he dribbled too much and led to a turnover or took ill advised drives to the basket against well positioned defenders. While pressing the issue was understandable given the shooting woes of the rest of the team, there were situations where open shots by cold shooters were better than the heavily contested ones he took. - There were a few instances where Ulis got turned around on defense. Notably, Ulis was turned around against his man as he hustled the ball up the court for an easy basket late in the game. Ulis has to keep his body in front of ball handlers because he lacks the length to make up for mistakes. As a whole, Ulis had another strong performance. He is naturally a pass-first point guard, but this team is teaching him how to create his own shot which is a valuable asset to learn. He will be able to be the pass-first guard he desires next season with multiple scorers on the floor at all times. However, he will have the ability to score on his after this season, which will be extremely valuable to add another wrinkle for Coach Cal to utilize.