One-on-One with Tyler Dearman(Southern Guilford High School/Guilford College) and one of the most respectable young men you will ever meet…Great young college basketball player on a mission to win the NCAA DIII men’s basketball title…
(Guilford College Quakers vs. Hampden-Sydney Tigers, 5:30pm on Thursday afternoon, at the NCAA DIII Men’s Basketball Final Four, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.)
How much pressure was there on you as you closed out that 50-48 win last Saturday night, to get you to the NCAA DIII Final Four???
Tyler Dearman:Not much pressure really, as I got the ball with 12 seconds left, and we had to find the game-winning shot, and I was able to hit it, and we were on our way to the Final Four….
What do remember about the end of that game, the excitement, the celebration, what was happening???
Tyler Dearman:Lots of excitement, the fans and students stormed the court, and we as players were able to take it all in…Some kind of experience, one of the those lifetime memories and a moment you will never forget…
How do you go from losing in the First Round of the ODAC Conference Tournament, to going to the Final Four???
Tyler Dearman:After the loss to Virginia Wesleyan, Coach Palombo told us we now had a Second Chance, and we needed to make most of that second opportunity, like a redo, and a going away shot…It was time to make the most of that Second Chance, and we have…
All the way along, what has Coach Tom Palombo been telling you guys???
Tyler Dearman:He says on a regular basis, that we need to stay in the moment, don’t look too far ahead or too far out…The next game will be here before you know it(5:30pm on Thursday afternoon) and you have to be ready for that game, and that game only…You don’t play a next game, until you get the game right in front of you finished…
From your days at Southern Guilford High School, what are some of the things that your high school coach, Coach Evan Fancourt taught and told you, that still stick with you today???
Tyler Dearman: He encouraged us to work hard, and to always stay Locked In defensively…He helped us grow, and he has been to almost all of our NCCA tournament games at Guilford College, and he and I go all the way back to my freshman year, at Southern Guilford HS…The defensive things he taught us are still a part of what we do today…
All these years with Southern Guilford HS and Guilford College teammate, Julius Burch, how has that friendship grown over the years???(Both Tyler and Julius are 5th-year grad students at Guilford College.)
Tyler Dearman:We met my junior year at Southern Guilford and the bond has been building all these years…We will stay tight for the rest of our lives, and that is because we have been through so much togeteher…We have sort of been to the war and back….
(Julius Burch with 21 points to lead the Guilford College Quakers in scoring this past Saturday night, in the Sweet 16 Final Game.)
What are you doing to soak it all in as you take in the experience of being at the NCAA DIII Final Four, at Fort Wayne, Indiana???
Tyler Dearman:Taking it day-by-day, and it very different from the usual game experiences…Now we have all this Media Attention, and Tyler admitted that he has been getting a lot of the media coverage, but he noted that this is not all about Tyler Dearman, this is about the Guilford College Men’s Basketball TEAM…A true TEAM effort….Being a part of this TEAM makes you better, it like being with your brothers, and we do it all TOGETHER….
How do you take down the Hampden-Sydney Tigers on Thursday???
Tyler Dearman:We are (1-0) vs. the HS Tigers this season…We beat them at our place…But, Hampden-Sydney is a different team now…We MUST rely on strong Rebounding, in order to Top the Tigers…It will, and it must, come down to Rebounding…We must win the Rebounding Battle…
What is your Pregame Routine???
Tyler Dearman:Relax and listen to some music…I try to get away from others, and be by myself, and I plug in my playlist, and I lean toward Rap Music as my listening choice, and I select mellow tunes…Try and keep it uplifting, positive, and mellow…Come gametime, and that is time to turn on the super-charged energy, and time to go with the Total Release…
How would you describe the History of Guilford College Basketball, what does it mean to you, the community, the school, and the program as a whole???
Tyler Dearman:It means a lot…We are looking to make history in this National Championship Tournament…History was made back in 1973, when the Guilford College Quakers won the NAIA National Championship…We want to do that too..Take the Title in 2024…
We have heard from several former Guilford College Quaker players this week, and these were players from the 1973 NAIA Championship Team…They have been very supportive of us, and they want to see us bring the Title home to Guilford College…We have heard from M.L. Carr, Teddy East, Robert Kent and others…
We all share in the history of Guilford College Quakers Basketball…Guilford is known for winning titles, and it is time for our 2024 team to make a statement to add to that Quakers Basketball History, and we plan to do our part to make it happen…Our TEAM can get it done…
We wish Tyler Dearman, Julius Burch, Coach Tom Palombo, and all of the Guilford College Quakers the best, as they go for the Championship…We thank Tyler Dearman for his talk time on this Wednesday night, and we thank Guilford College SID, Bryce Johnson, for helping to set up our interview…
As they say in the close of each Guilford College men’s basketball game review and summary, GO QUAKES!!!!!