[SIZE="4"]My Background[/SIZE]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]You all know the story . . . . .
“In west Philadelphia born and raised. On the playground was where I spent most of my days. Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool. And all shootin some b-ball outside of the school.”
But my story differs from that, I’ am not Will Smith though I wouldn’t mind to have his bank account. My name is Dion Tyler, born and bred in the city of Philadelphia. I was born March 11 1973 in West Philadelphia the youngest of three children. My older brothers Maurice and Andrew played high school ball for legendary coach Joe Goldenberg as a part of the West Philadelphia High School dynasty of the 1970s.
Andrew 6’5 was the oldest brother was a lights out shooter who went on to play for the legendary John Chaney and won a Division II National Title during his stay at Cheyney State.
Maurice was 6’1 but could jump out the gym, he used that ability to hustle on the streets winning money based off his dunking exploits. He signed on to play for Rollie Massimino at Villanova, after two years he transferred as he felt Rollie’s deliberate style hindered his one on one ability. He ended up transferring to UNLV to finish out his college career player for Jerry Tarkanian.
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[SIZE="4"]High School Years[/SIZE]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]With that kind of excellence expectations on me were always going to be high, while some would hide from it I decided to embrace it. I decided to forge my own path starting at University City High School which I could walk to school as it was that close to my home. University City didn’t have much of a basketball tradition before I arrived but the exploits of myself and my childhood friends Michael, Bernard, and Jamal we turned that around quick. Public League Championships eluded us as Frankford in 1988 and 1989 and Gratz led by future NBA players Aaron McKie and Rasheed Wallace in 1990 and 1991 foiled our hopes to win.[/font]
[SIZE="4"]College[/SIZE]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]By that time I bloomed into a 6’2 point guard who had the best handle and vision in the city, when it came time to pick a college I was under pressure from both of my brothers. Andrew wanted me to go to Temple to play for his college coach, John Chaney. As much as I respected Coach Chaney his style was too boring for my liking and it was no way in hell I was going to wake up 4:30 in the morning for a 5:00 am practice.
On the other hand Maurice wanted me to go to UNLV, I loved Coach Tark style but I knew probation was looming so I crossed them off my list. I ended up shocking my family, my friends, and the city when I announced I’d be playing college ball at Arkansas. At the end of the day I fell in love with Nolan Richardson “40 Minutes of Hell.”
As much as I loved Coach Richardson and his style, I hated Arkansas. I’ am a product of the city so after one year I had to leave, country life didn’t suit me. I came back home to Drexel University, led by Malik Rose and assisted by yours truly in my three years at the school our record was 74-17 with three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Though I finished in the top 5 in the nation in assists all three years my career highlight was our 75-63 win over 5th seeded Memphis in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Memphis had a point guard talking mad noise during the game, I played it cool because coach told me to maintain my composure but once I knew we were going to win my Philly nature came out. I hit him with a crossover move known as the “DT Combo” in the streets, what AI did to Jordan is what I did to this guy from Memphis. Soon as I scored I looked down at him and told him “Welcome to Philly *****”
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[SIZE="4"]Post College[/SIZE]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]While I put in work at Drexel I knew I wasn’t going to play in the NBA. I had my degree in Sports Management and was going to intern at WIP 94 when Maurice called me with an offer. He was a childhood friend of Bruiser Flint who had just been promoted to Head Coach at UMass. Bruiser was looking for a graduate assistant and Mo put in a good word for me.
In five years at UMass I graduated with a Master’s Degree and Sports Management and worked my way up to the main staff. I followed Coach Flint to Drexel and became his number one assistant, I held that role until I was offered the Head Coach Job at La Salle.
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[SIZE="4"]LaSalle Explorers[/SIZE]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]La Salle is a program with tradition but who have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1992, I intend to be the one to bring the program back to its past glory. At my press conference upon being unveiled as the new coach I outlined my coaching plan.
Style of Play: I spent one year with Coach Richardson but learned so much, we will press off the bus. Offensively we will push pace, my goal is to be the most exciting team (college or pro) in the city.
Recruiting: We will recruit Philly, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. This will be our stronghold. We will look for shooters and athletes, I’m willing to sacrifice size and we will be guard led.
Goals: NIT year one, NCAA year two, Atlantic 10 Champion year three.
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