MUNCIE, Ind. — Ask Tayler Persons if he ever thought he could land an opportunity to become a professional basketball player and he’ll point you toward his dad.
See, Persons could tell during AAU ball, around his eighth grade year and early high school days, that he had talent. He could tell where he stacked up among his competition. But that doesn’t mean others often volunteered that opinion, and colleges didn’t heavily recruit Persons.
Persons’ dad would tell Persons he could be a professional athlete. His dad believed in him and instilled the confidence in Persons that allowed Persons to play at the level he did in high school and later Northern Kentucky and Ball State.