Terry Tyler

Terry Tyler
Tyler in 2011 at the University of Detroit Mercy's 2011 dedication of Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall.
Personal information
Born (1956-10-30) October 30, 1956 (age 68)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorthwestern (Detroit, Michigan)
CollegeDetroit Mercy (1974–1978)
NBA draft1978: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1978–1992
PositionSmall forward
Number41, 40
Career history
As player:
1978–1985Detroit Pistons
1985–1988Sacramento Kings
1988–1989Dallas Mavericks
1989–1990Stefanel Trieste
1990–1991Corona Cremona
1991–1992Rex Udine
As coach:
1998–2000Eastern New Mexico
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points8,868 (10.2 ppg)
Rebounds4,675 (5.4 rpg)
Blocks1,342 (1.5 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Terry Christopher Tyler (born October 30, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player.

Amateur career

A 6'7" forward from Northwestern High School, Tyler signed to play for Dick Vitale at the University of Detroit. Tyler averaged a double-double by his sophomore year (17.2 ppg, 11.0 rpg), and the team would produce an unprecedented run during his time with the Titans (1974–1978). Vitale added future NBA players such as Terry Duerod, John Long and Dennis Boyd and built a dominating independent program at the Jesuit university. Tyler played forward for the team, averaged 16.4 ppg and 12.6 rpg as a senior.

UD advanced to the 1977 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament in his junior year, defeating Middle Tennessee in the first round before losing to Michigan in the Sweet 16 86–81 to end a stellar season, finishing #12 in the polls.[1]

The team was left out of the NCAA in Tyler's senior year, 1977–78, playing in the 1978 NIT, despite a 25–4 record and a #18 ranking.[2][3][4] In four seasons at Detroit, Tyler scored 1,649 points, set a school record with 359 blocked shots and was inducted into the Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame in 2001.[5]

Professional career

Tyler in 1986

After his college career came to a close, the forward was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft. The move was largely influenced by Pistons Head Coach Dick Vitale, who coached Tyler at UD before going to the Pistons in 1978. He played seven seasons for the Pistons, and averaged a career-high 13.4 ppg points per game in 1980–81. During his time with the Pistons, Tyler would play alongside University of Detroit teammates Duerod, Boyd and Long. A free agent in 1985, Tyler elected to sign with the Sacramento Kings, spending three seasons with the Kings. Leaving the hometown team was tough and Tyler said, "There were some tough years in Detroit, but I just wanted to make a difference. I wasn't fortunate enough to get a ring but doggone it at least we got it going in the right direction. I wanted the fans to know that when they saw me, I was going to give 110%."[6]

Tyler then finished his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks for the 1988-89 NBA season.[7] Tyler played 11 seasons (1978–1989) in the NBA in total, averaged 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in his NBA career and earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in 1979.[8] He also participated in the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, where he finished 8th. Tyler would complete his playing career overseas, playing three seasons in the Lega Basket A in Italy.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1978–79 Detroit 82* — 31.2 .482 — .658 7.9 1.1 1.3 2.5 12.9
1979–80 Detroit 82 — 32.6 .465 .167 .765 7.6 1.6 1.3 2.7 12.3
1980–81 Detroit 82 — 31.1 .532 .000 .592 6.9 1.7 1.4 2.2 13.4
1981–82 Detroit 82 0 24.3 .523 .250 .740 6.0 1.5 .9 2.0 9.9
1982–83 Detroit 82 56 31.0 .478 .133 .745 6.6 1.9 1.3 2.0 12.1
1983–84 Detroit 82* 7 19.5 .453 .154 .712 3.5 .9 .8 .7 8.8
1984–85 Detroit 82* 53 24.4 .494 .000 .716 5.2 .8 .6 1.1 11.6
1985–86 Sacramento 71 52 23.3 .455 .000 .750 4.4 1.3 .9 1.5 9.5
1986–87 Sacramento 82* 48 23.5 .495 .333 .721 4.0 .9 .7 1.0 9.3
1987–88 Sacramento 74 28 16.0 .452 .143 .641 3.3 .8 .6 .6 5.5
1988–89 Dallas 70 11 15.1 .469 .111 .758 3.0 .6 .3 .6 5.5
Career 871 255 25.0 .484 .122 .703 5.4 1.2 .9 1.5 10.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984 Detroit 5 — 8.4 .370 — .556 1.4 .2 .0 .6 5.0
1985 Detroit 9 0 19.9 .490 .000 .815 4.4 .3 .7 .4 13.3
1986 Sacramento 3 2 17.0 .200 — 1.000 2.7 1.3 .7 1.0 2.7
Career 17 2 16.0 .455 .000 .775 3.2 .5 .5 .6 9.0

See also

References

  1. ^ "1976-77 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1977-78 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Budner, Marty. "U-D to recognize '76-'77 Sweet 16 men's basketball team". Observer and Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies.
  4. ^ Paul, Tony. "Detroit Mercy to honor 'special' '76-77 team, Duerod". The Detroit News.
  5. ^ "Terry Tyler (2001) - Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame". Detroittitans.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Remembering Former Detroit Pistons and U of D star Terry Tyler". Vintagedetroit.com. January 26, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  7. ^ "Throwback Thursday: Terry Tyler". Nba.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Terry Tyler profile Basketball-Reference.com