Tyree Appleby was a standout high school basketball player whom seemingly nobody was interested in.
Appleby, a guard from Jacksonville, Arkansas, was a dominant force as a senior at Jacksonville High, averaging 25.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He also led the Titans to the second round of the playoffs.
But nobody came calling.
“(Division I coaches) loved his game,” Victor Joyner, Jacksonville’s boys basketball coach, said. “I talked to all of them about him, and they were all kind of skeptical about his size. I kept trying to tell them that the kid has something special and it has nothing to do with his size, he can just play.