TyTy Washington's high school is joining Big Blue Nation for March Madness

As a kid, there was no better feeling than walking into class on a Thursday or Friday in March and seeing the TV cart rolled out. The teacher that let their students watch the games in class during March Madness was always the coolest in the school. TyTy Washington recalled that exact scenario last week while previewing Kentucky’s postseason run.

“My junior year in high school, my history teacher, she would always throw on the SEC Tournament and March Madness every time we went in there. Now that I’m here, I’m pretty sure he’s back home watching it and putting it on for her students as well. Just knowing I was in her class watching it on TV and now I’m actually going to be the one on TV playing and she’s watching is a huge blessing.”

I was able to get in touch with that teacher, Kelly Carlson, this week. Carlson teaches Economics and U.S. History at Cesar Chavez High School in Laveen, Arizona, where TyTy attended before transferring to AZ Compass Prep. An avid sports fan, she was more than happy to talk about TyTy, whom she remembers as polite, funny, and a great student, albeit very competitive during class games.

“I have actively been following Kentucky’s season and he is doing outstanding, especially for a freshman!” Carlson said. “I love to see him having fun on the court with his teammates and enjoying the game.”

Carlson doesn’t just show the games in class; she gets her students involved. Everyone, including many staff members, fills out a bracket and posts it on a bulletin board in the classroom. On the Monday after each NCAA Tournament weekend, there’s always a rush to check the picks. As with bracket challenges everywhere, Carlson said the student who knows the least about college basketball is usually the one with the most correct picks.

In her Economics classes, Carlson uses the tournament to teach the stock market through probabilities and gambling statistics. When her U.S. History students saw the fun her Econ students were having, she created a March Madness curriculum for them too. She’ll have the games on this week and next. The days of the TV cart are gone. Carlson has a projector screen in her classroom and a surround sound speaker system. She plans to show multiple games at once.

“Putting on the tournament during class is electric. Students love watching live events during class, especially sports. The whole class comes together and is invested in the outcome of the game to advance their own bracket. It is funny to see non-sport fans avidly rooting right along the diehard basketball fans!”

TyTy the “Trashketball” Master

Marcus Wright teaches biology at Cesar Chavez and is also an assistant basketball coach. He said TyTy jumped at the chance to use his basketball skills in the classroom, oftentimes to his classmates’ benefit.

“We played a review game often called trashketball. TyTy consistently would make shots from anywhere in the room. Everyone knew his skills and would allow him to take their shot; he would make those as well. He was later banned from taking other people’s shots because people stopped participating.”

On the actual basketball court, Wright is thrilled to see TyTy flourishing at Kentucky.

“I have watched his game evolve since his eighth-grade year. He has always been competitive with a drive that is unrivaled. He has continued to show that approach to the game at a level I could have never imagined.”

Even though Laveen is under two hours from Tucson, the home of No. 1 seed Arizona, most students in Carlson’s classes picked the Kentucky Wildcats to win it all for TyTy. Carlson herself has the blue-and-white Cats beating the blue-and-red Cats in the national championship game.

“My message to TyTy: enjoy the dance, have fun, play your game, and bring home the ‘ship!”