How Jaylon Tyson worked his way into hearts of the Cavs – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – I hope he makes it.

That’s what I kept thinking while listening to the Cavs first round pick Jaylon Tyson at his introductory press conference Thursday.

He’ll make the team. As the No. 20th pick in the 2024 draft, he’ll sign a 4-year, $16 million deal with the first two seasons guaranteed. That’s part of the NBA labor agreement.

I hope Tyson makes it in terms of being a useful player on a team that should be in the playoffs for several seasons. That said, the Cavs are not counting on Tyson to be a major factor this season.

“He has a long runway,” said President Koby Altman, meaning Tyson has time to develop.

Meanwhile, an excited Tyson is talking about making the NBA All-Rookie team and being the top rookie defender.

“I’ll do whatever they want me to do,” said Tyson, who impressed the Cavs for showing up for his workout while also dealing with back spasms.

The mystery game

Altman talked about “agents playing mystery games” with scheduling prospect workouts. Tyson fit as many of those practices into his schedule as possible.

“There was no mystery with Jaylon,” said Altman. “He said, ‘I’m here, I’ll show you what I’ve got.’ That makes a strong impression.”

I asked Tyson: “How many teams did you work out for?”

“Twelve,” he said. “Nothing was going to stop me from working out (for the Cavs), even if they cut off my legs.”

Altman was gushing about Tyson, who has a sincere and engaging personality.

“Jaylon had a dynamic workout that really left an impression with us – character wise and how he performed on the court,” said Altman. “He gave us a vision on how we can use him and how he’s going to elevate people around him. It wasn’t just scoring. It was offensive rebounds. It was drive- and-kick (passes). It was getting guys open shots … and he’s such a high-character individual.”

How he got here

The 21-year-old Tyson played three years at three different colleges. It’s the modern world of basketball where not only players jump around, but so do coaches. Tyson called it his “journey.”

A journey indeed …

1. An All-State player in Texas and ranked No. 34 nationally among high school players, Tyson , committed to play for Coach Chris Beard at Texas Tech. He never officially signed with Texas Tech.

2. Not long after making the verbal commitment to Texas Tech, Tyson saw Beard leave to become the head coach at Texas. So Tyson followed Beard to Texas.

3. Tyson played little at Texas, and then transferred to Texas Tech in the middle of his freshman season.

4. At Texas Tech, coach Mark Adams resigned after making racially insensitive remarks during Tyson’s sophomore season.

5. Tyson was one of six players to transfer out of Texas Tech following that turmoil. One of them was Fardaws Aimaq, who previously played at Utah Valley for coach Mark Madsen.

6. Madsen was hired as California’s new head coach. Aimaq said Madsen was a great guy – exactly what they needed after all the turmoil at Texas Tech.

7. Both players transferred to California, which had a 3-29 record (2-18 in the PAC-12) the previous season. Led by Tyson and Aimaq, the Golden Bears were 13-19 and a respectable 9-11 in the PAC 12. That was their most conference victories in seven seasons.

The breakout

A former NBA player, Madsen saw pro potential in the 6-foot-6 Tyson. The coach sensed a young man who needed encouragement and confidence. Madsen put the ball in Tyson’s hands. He responded by averaging 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

“I knew I had a breakout year coming,” said Tyson. “But there’s a difference between knowing it and showing it.”

Tyson showed plenty.

“He is good enough where we can put him on an NBA court right now if needed,” said Altman.

Altman admitted Tyson wasn’t on any top NBA prospect lists following his sophomore season at Texas Tech. He averaged 11 points and 6.1 rebounds, shooting 48% from the field and 40% on 3-pointers.

“It’s not like we started out (with Tyson) as someone we had to see,” said Altman. “But he kept putting up those numbers. We had to go see him. We ended up seeing a ton of him in person.”

The Cavs are always looking for “wing players,” those tall shooting guards/small forwards is the 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8 range. They loved his constant effort on the court and his upbeat approach to his teammates and coaches.

“I’m not a generational player,” Tyson said. “I’ve had to work for everything I’ve gotten.”