Intro: Tyler Smith (2019)
With the imposing build of a manchild at 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, TLAP Academy Class of 2019 prospect Tyler Smith will shoulder the onus of go-to source.
Wildly athletic and possessing the type of dazzling hops which have registered a 45-inch vertical leap, Smith has the tool-set to be a quintessential “Mr. Everything” type.
“He knows as well as anyone it is really on him to be ‘the guy’ this season,” said TLAP head coach Louis Graham, the former Georgia Southern star out of West Palm Beach.
“He’s a sleeper type. He can put it on the floor and shoot it. He can playmake. He’s athletic and can go rim to rim. He’s really a three-man by trade. He’s got a college-ready body.”
The versatility and ability to overpower foes at the rim have been promising factors for Smith, who has earned an offer from Oral Roberts.
“He’s an under the radar guy and he’s just starting to open eyes,” Graham said.
“He’s a late bloomer type, a guy that could put together a breakout season and then pile up a bunch of offers. As far as college visibility and getting the right and ready made prospects goes, we’re shaking and moving.”
Graham was quick to cite 6-foot-6, 195-pound off guard CJ Lane.
“He’s really developed as a shooter and he’s got some bounce to him,” said Graham of Lane, who has packed some muscle onto a once spindly frame.
TLAP has bolstered the backcourt with a gritty and confrontational defender in James Dejesus.
Beyond being the team’s surefire on-ball pest, Dejesus has an evolving one on one game. This has been instrumental in his proclivity for taking defenders to the rim and finishing.
Graham envisions the Puerto Rico-bred point guard’s hard, thorough surges to the rim providing a layer of supplementary scoring to the aforementioned Smith.
Graham has implemented plans for a “PrepSouth” conference, one which will include countless games in North Carolina.
In maximizing the competition level, he’s currently ramping up the schedule with conference high school/post graduate programs such as Huntington Prep (WV), NTSI Orlando, Isaiah Christopher Academy and several others.