Tyre Mallard thought his basketball career was over.
Near the end of his senior year at Caledonia High School, Mallard attended a basketball tryout Northeast Mississippi Community College. Mallard left the event with the infamous words “We’ll call you” ringing in his ears.
He wound up waiting for a phone call that didn’t come.
But Mallard never gave up hope. He continued to play basketball and to pray and then received an offer with a local Amateur Athletic Union boys basketball team that gave him another shot. Mallard’s efforts with Team Elite recently earned him another chance at a tryout at NEMCC in Booneville. This time, Mallard, who was one of more than 40 players at the event, made a lasting impression.
“I gave it to my all and thought that it had to be my best, and that is what I did,” Mallard said.
Just as he was walking out the door of the gym, Mallard was asked to wait a minute, and shortly thereafter was offered a scholarship to play basketball at NEMCC. On Tuesday, Mallard signed his scholarship paperwork to make it official.
“We were out the door and (coach Cord Wright) came out and told us to come back in,” Mallard said. “I thought he was going to tell me he was going to give me a call, but then he told me he wanted me to come down there to play. I knew one day I was going to play college basketball.”
Mallard, a 6-foot-4, 170-pound swingman, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee as a sophomore. He admitted he returned from the injury as a junior and wasn’t as strong as he needed to be. As a senior, Mallard was the team’s defensive player of the year and an all-district selection.
Looking back at his high school career, Mallard said he played too slow or wasn’t as aggressive as he needed to be to get a chance to play in college. He said playing AAU basketball has taught him to play at a faster tempo.
“It is a new and improved Tyre,” Mallard said. “I am very surprised.”
Through all of the work in the gym and with Team Elite, Mallard didn’t allow his dream to play basketball in college die. He asked God to let him play, and before every game he prays and then goes out and gives it his all. He feels that is the only way to make up for the missed opportunity coming out of high school.
Mallard remembers going to the initial tryout at NEMCC with Tyler Lowe, a former point guard at Caledonia High. He recalls being told the team only had two or three spots open and the disappointment of not getting a phone call. He tried to stay sharp by playing as much as he could, and he continued his studies at East Mississippi Community College at Mayhew, where he spent the past two semesters.
Erise Wilson, who coaches Team Elite, saw Mallard playing in a church league earlier this year and asked one of his players, Jason Tate, a former standout at New Hope High School, to ask Mallard if he wanted to join the program. Tate called Mallard, who didn’t waste any time calling Wilson back to say he was interested. From there, Mallard’s game has taken off. Wilson said Mallard averaged 12.5 points and three blocked shots in the past eight games. Mallard had 14 points in the first game of the district championship last weekend against the Mississippi Thunder. Last month in the Magic City Rumble, Mallard hit seven free throws in overtime that helped the team advance to the semifinals.
“Tyre will bring Northeast the height and the skills at the guard position that will help them start building a winning tradition,” Wilson said. “He is the right fit for coach Cord Wright’s program.”
Wilson was most impressed with Mallard’s ability to be ready in clutch situations. He said Mallard was ready to deliver despite the fact he stayed on him and pushed him to be his best.
Mallard is the second basketball player from the area Wilson has helped get a chance to continue his athletic career in college. Wilson assisted Tate in getting a scholarship at EMCC. Last month, he also played a role in helping three students from West Lowndes High — Jermaine Thomas, Ronnie Porter, and Antonio Wilson — get opportunities to play football at Bacone College, a NAIA school in Muskogee, Okla.
Mallard credits Wilson for giving him an opportunity. He said he just played his game and waited for his chance to come, even if it was an unconventional route to earn a scholarship.
“It is going to be a tough road, but I just have to stay strong and keep praying,” Mallard said.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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