Kansas State University Athletics
Long Journey Leads to a Special Season on the Horizon
Jun 02, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Before, when he was young, Aunt Paula let Tylor Perry shoot basketballs onto the top of her home. That's how Tylor got a feeling for the basketball. Eventually, Aunt Paula put a basketball goal in her front yard. That's how Tylor fell in love with the game.
There was a time when Tylor and 13 other family members lived in Aunt Paula's home. Growing up, Tylor paid it no mind. He loved his family. He loved his parents and two older brothers. Everyone filled the home with love. But there was something about Aunt Paula that was always special.
"She keeps me going," Tylor says.
He grew up in Fort Coffee, Oklahoma, a town of less than 400 residents just south of a bend of the Arkansas River and north of U.S. Route 271, about 11 miles from the Arkansas border. He played football in the lush green fields and pretended that he was Cam Newton. He could see for miles. As the sun set, Tylor Perry shot baskets in the front yard. When the sun rose, he went back outside. He had to be quiet shooting the basketball, though. He didn't want to wake the family.
"I didn't really understand why there were so many people, but I always had a place to sleep," he says. "Aunt Paula and my mom always put food on the table. I was fine. I didn't really get it until I got older."
And now he's a fifth-year senior back home in Fort Coffee, packing his bags for Kansas State after a stellar two-year career at Coffeyville Community College and a celebrated three-year stint at North Texas in which he became one of the best players in program history. He has seen some things since leading Spiro (Okla.) High School to the 2019 Oklahoma 3A State Semifinals as the third-best point guard in the state. He has come a long way since shooting basketballs onto the top of the home.
A 5-foot-11, 182-pound guard, Perry has played in a combined 131 games in his college career, including 97 starts, leading Coffeyville and North Texas to a combined 109-25 record with four straight 20-win seasons, one NJCAA National Championship, one NIT Championship and two conference titles. In 67 games at UNT, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.2 minutes per game with 19 20-point performances. The Conference USA Player of the Year, he averaged 17.3 points while leading UNT to a 31-7 record last season.
He feels on top of the world. And how could he not? Shortly after he led the Mean Green to the National Invitation Tournament title and earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, Perry entered the NCAA transfer portal, quickly becoming one of the nation's most sought-after talents.
"I want to show people I can play at a high-major level," he says. "I want to show I can do it night in and night out."
He returned home after the season and began a three-a-day workout regimen — shooting in the morning, then lifting, then skill refinement — then he boxed and watched Creed III to relax. He narrowed his basketball choices to K-State, Texas Tech, Florida and Ole Miss.
It was a few days after entering the portal that Perry received the phone call from K-State assistant coach and former UNT assistant coach Jareem Dowling, who served under then-head coach Grant McCasland. When Perry and Dowling spoke, it was like old times. When Dowling explained to Perry what they were building at K-State, Perry was sold.
"It was the perfect match," Perry says.
He visited K-State on April 24-26. He committed May 2 on a livestream hosted by college basketball expert Jeff Goodman. He never dreamed that his college basketball career, which began at Coffeyville, would steer its way back to the Sunflower State. He saw what National Coach of the Year Jerome Tang and his coaching staff did during their first season in Manhattan in taking the Wildcats to a 26-10 record and the Elite Eight. He wants to be a part of that.
"I know they'll put another great team together this year," Perry says. "I'm looking to get to Phoenix."
The 2024 Final Four in Phoenix is long off on the horizon, but Perry believes the Wildcats have as much a chance as anyone in reaching the biggest stage of college basketball under Tang and his coaching staff. Yes, the Final Four is off on the horizon, like the first glint of light from a Midwest summer sun. Perry is ready to help the Wildcats come back for more in 2024.
"Jerome Tang is the most humble, grateful, giving person that I've met among coaches," he says. "It's not many times you run across a coach like Jerome Tang, and I'm super blessed to now have the opportunity to play under him for a year. I'm super thankful God has placed him in my life, and I have the chance to do some really big things on and off the court with him. I'm just excited, man. I love that dude and we've only been around each other a few times. I can't imagine what it'll be like when we're around each other for a whole year."
Perry figures to be one of two point guards K-State will take to fortify its two point-guard system.
"Markquis Nowell was a terrific player, leader and point guard, and the things he did at K-State may never be done again," he says. "I can't go in trying to be Markquis. I have to go in being Tylor Perry. I'm just excited to have the opportunity. The media might try to put pressure on me, but I don't believe in it. I've seen pressure in a lot of different ways, and I don't feel like this is one of them. At the end of the day, this is basketball; it's not life and death.
"I'm going to enjoy it and do it Tylor's way. I'm not going to try and be anybody else."
He speaks into his cellphone shortly after noon on Wednesday. He is on the move. His next workout is in an hour. Yet he calmly goes through his life and the ups and the downs and invariably it all leads back to Aunt Paula and her home.
"Coming from where I come from with 13 people in the house, I have a chance to promote generational wealth and change the course of my family," he says. "Having that opportunity drives me to another level. Who wouldn't want to be put into a position to do that?
"I'm super excited for it."
Earlier in the day, he found a journal from when he was 9.
One of the passages read: "What are you going to do when you grow up?"
Perry wrote, "NBA player."
"I knew from an early age I was going to do something," he says. "I honestly believed it in myself that one day I'd play in the NBA, but I didn't know what the journey would consist of or what it was going to be about. I just knew I was going to be something because I knew how hard I was willing to work and how bad I wanted it. I definitely knew something was on the horizon."
The bags are packed. On Sunday, Perry heads to Manhattan, where he will begin his new basketball life.
"Man, I'm so excited," he says. "I never thought I'd be back in Kansas. I couldn't be more excited to go back to the state where it started five years ago. What Coach Tang and the staff did last year and over these past couple months is a testament to who they are. I'm just excited to get started. I can't wait. I know the season is going to be special. I'm just glad I get to be a part of it."
He thinks back to how it all began, Aunt Paula's home, and a packed house. He thinks back to his desire from a young age and his determination now to make his dreams come true. Mainly, he thinks about how he could've given in when times were tough, given up for good, but how he instead continued to walk upon his path. Today, it's all there, all the dreams blazing like that Midwest sun at noon. And he's grateful he never gave up.
"I'm not a quitter, I'm a fighter," he says. "I'm a winner at all costs. I kept going and kept fighting. At the end of the day, God has the last word. As long as we keep telling ourselves 'we can' and never 'we can't' there's no limit on God. I think we limit ourselves too much. I've learned a lot, but the biggest thing is I'm a fighter.
"I just love the game so much."
Before, when he was young, Aunt Paula let Tylor Perry shoot basketballs onto the top of her home. That's how Tylor got a feeling for the basketball. Eventually, Aunt Paula put a basketball goal in her front yard. That's how Tylor fell in love with the game.
There was a time when Tylor and 13 other family members lived in Aunt Paula's home. Growing up, Tylor paid it no mind. He loved his family. He loved his parents and two older brothers. Everyone filled the home with love. But there was something about Aunt Paula that was always special.
"She keeps me going," Tylor says.
He grew up in Fort Coffee, Oklahoma, a town of less than 400 residents just south of a bend of the Arkansas River and north of U.S. Route 271, about 11 miles from the Arkansas border. He played football in the lush green fields and pretended that he was Cam Newton. He could see for miles. As the sun set, Tylor Perry shot baskets in the front yard. When the sun rose, he went back outside. He had to be quiet shooting the basketball, though. He didn't want to wake the family.
"I didn't really understand why there were so many people, but I always had a place to sleep," he says. "Aunt Paula and my mom always put food on the table. I was fine. I didn't really get it until I got older."
And now he's a fifth-year senior back home in Fort Coffee, packing his bags for Kansas State after a stellar two-year career at Coffeyville Community College and a celebrated three-year stint at North Texas in which he became one of the best players in program history. He has seen some things since leading Spiro (Okla.) High School to the 2019 Oklahoma 3A State Semifinals as the third-best point guard in the state. He has come a long way since shooting basketballs onto the top of the home.
A 5-foot-11, 182-pound guard, Perry has played in a combined 131 games in his college career, including 97 starts, leading Coffeyville and North Texas to a combined 109-25 record with four straight 20-win seasons, one NJCAA National Championship, one NIT Championship and two conference titles. In 67 games at UNT, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.2 minutes per game with 19 20-point performances. The Conference USA Player of the Year, he averaged 17.3 points while leading UNT to a 31-7 record last season.
He feels on top of the world. And how could he not? Shortly after he led the Mean Green to the National Invitation Tournament title and earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, Perry entered the NCAA transfer portal, quickly becoming one of the nation's most sought-after talents.
"I want to show people I can play at a high-major level," he says. "I want to show I can do it night in and night out."
He returned home after the season and began a three-a-day workout regimen — shooting in the morning, then lifting, then skill refinement — then he boxed and watched Creed III to relax. He narrowed his basketball choices to K-State, Texas Tech, Florida and Ole Miss.
It was a few days after entering the portal that Perry received the phone call from K-State assistant coach and former UNT assistant coach Jareem Dowling, who served under then-head coach Grant McCasland. When Perry and Dowling spoke, it was like old times. When Dowling explained to Perry what they were building at K-State, Perry was sold.
"It was the perfect match," Perry says.
He visited K-State on April 24-26. He committed May 2 on a livestream hosted by college basketball expert Jeff Goodman. He never dreamed that his college basketball career, which began at Coffeyville, would steer its way back to the Sunflower State. He saw what National Coach of the Year Jerome Tang and his coaching staff did during their first season in Manhattan in taking the Wildcats to a 26-10 record and the Elite Eight. He wants to be a part of that.
"I know they'll put another great team together this year," Perry says. "I'm looking to get to Phoenix."
The 2024 Final Four in Phoenix is long off on the horizon, but Perry believes the Wildcats have as much a chance as anyone in reaching the biggest stage of college basketball under Tang and his coaching staff. Yes, the Final Four is off on the horizon, like the first glint of light from a Midwest summer sun. Perry is ready to help the Wildcats come back for more in 2024.
"Jerome Tang is the most humble, grateful, giving person that I've met among coaches," he says. "It's not many times you run across a coach like Jerome Tang, and I'm super blessed to now have the opportunity to play under him for a year. I'm super thankful God has placed him in my life, and I have the chance to do some really big things on and off the court with him. I'm just excited, man. I love that dude and we've only been around each other a few times. I can't imagine what it'll be like when we're around each other for a whole year."
Perry figures to be one of two point guards K-State will take to fortify its two point-guard system.
"Markquis Nowell was a terrific player, leader and point guard, and the things he did at K-State may never be done again," he says. "I can't go in trying to be Markquis. I have to go in being Tylor Perry. I'm just excited to have the opportunity. The media might try to put pressure on me, but I don't believe in it. I've seen pressure in a lot of different ways, and I don't feel like this is one of them. At the end of the day, this is basketball; it's not life and death.
"I'm going to enjoy it and do it Tylor's way. I'm not going to try and be anybody else."
He speaks into his cellphone shortly after noon on Wednesday. He is on the move. His next workout is in an hour. Yet he calmly goes through his life and the ups and the downs and invariably it all leads back to Aunt Paula and her home.
"Coming from where I come from with 13 people in the house, I have a chance to promote generational wealth and change the course of my family," he says. "Having that opportunity drives me to another level. Who wouldn't want to be put into a position to do that?
"I'm super excited for it."
Earlier in the day, he found a journal from when he was 9.
One of the passages read: "What are you going to do when you grow up?"
Perry wrote, "NBA player."
"I knew from an early age I was going to do something," he says. "I honestly believed it in myself that one day I'd play in the NBA, but I didn't know what the journey would consist of or what it was going to be about. I just knew I was going to be something because I knew how hard I was willing to work and how bad I wanted it. I definitely knew something was on the horizon."
The bags are packed. On Sunday, Perry heads to Manhattan, where he will begin his new basketball life.
"Man, I'm so excited," he says. "I never thought I'd be back in Kansas. I couldn't be more excited to go back to the state where it started five years ago. What Coach Tang and the staff did last year and over these past couple months is a testament to who they are. I'm just excited to get started. I can't wait. I know the season is going to be special. I'm just glad I get to be a part of it."
He thinks back to how it all began, Aunt Paula's home, and a packed house. He thinks back to his desire from a young age and his determination now to make his dreams come true. Mainly, he thinks about how he could've given in when times were tough, given up for good, but how he instead continued to walk upon his path. Today, it's all there, all the dreams blazing like that Midwest sun at noon. And he's grateful he never gave up.
"I'm not a quitter, I'm a fighter," he says. "I'm a winner at all costs. I kept going and kept fighting. At the end of the day, God has the last word. As long as we keep telling ourselves 'we can' and never 'we can't' there's no limit on God. I think we limit ourselves too much. I've learned a lot, but the biggest thing is I'm a fighter.
"I just love the game so much."
Players Mentioned
PG
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