April 23, 2008
If at first you don’t succeed
One door closes and another opens. That’s a portion of a quote from Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Bell died in 1922 and never met Tyler Tiedeman but the former Montgomery High two-sport ...
Tyler Tiedeman
After high praise for both his basketball skills and his talent as a pitcher in baseball while at Montgomery High in Santa Rosa, Tyler Tiedeman earned a college baseball scholarship to Arizona. A subsequent arm injury cut short his stay in Tucson and such a blow probably would have devastated many.
Not Tiedeman.
He returned to basketball, coming back home and spending a transition year at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) playing hoops for ex-Arizona player Craig McMillan.
His play at SRJC then landed him yet another college athletic scholarship, this time from Boise State and in basketball.
Tiedeman is fouled by a Hawaii player during a Western Athletic Conference tournament game
In the past three seasons under Coach Greg Graham, Tiedeman was a part-time starter and contributor his first two years but an integral member of the opening quintet this just-concluded season with 34 starts in 34 games.
Not coincidentally, Tiedeman was also just named the Broncos’ Most Improved Player. This brings to mind the age-old tricky questions: did Tiedeman dramatically improve his play or was it greater playing time that led to markedly better production? Or was it his personal improvement that led to more court time and thus the robust increase in his numbers?
Regardless, he averaged 13.9 points per game this past season -- 16.3 ppg in conference -- while shooting .529 percent from the floor, .585 during conference play. His time on the floor averaged out to 31.6 minutes a game and his 84 three-pointers were the second highest per season in school history. Tiedeman’s 105 assists also tied for second on the Broncos and he earned 111 free throws.
This in contrast to 4.4 ppg in 2006-2007 on .472 percent overall shooting and a negligible 17 free throw attempts for the year. His key stat that season: averaging 13.5 minutes of playing time a contest.
2007-2008 also brought a portion of the Western Athletic Conference championship to Boise State due to a 12-4 record in league play. The Broncos finished 25-9 overall, with 11 road wins. Tiedeman and the Broncos closed out Hawaii first and then Utah State during the WAC tournament, thus pitting them against New Mexico State on the Aggies home court in Las Cruces. With 11,000 or so fans -- at least 90% NMSU supporters -- in attendance, Boise went toe-to-toe with New Mexico State through three overtimes, finally triumphing 107-102.
Tiedeman played 44 minutes, scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting -- 5-8 on three-pointers -- adding four rebounds and three assists. "Coach [Graham] told us all season long that we’re not the most athletic or the most skilled but that we are the most mentally tough," Tiedeman said, adding "we played the best as a team." As teammate Matt Nelson put it, "It’s a tough environment, a tough team. But we pulled it off because we’re family. We’re tight."
Touching on the reputation of Aggie fans for getting loud and personal, Tiedeman said, "They are pretty brash, vulger at times, especially on out-of-bounds plays. But you don’t hear them when the game is actually going on."
With that victory over New Mexico State, Boise made it out on the floor of The Big Dance. Matched up with Louisville in Birmingham, the Broncos fell 79-61. For Tiedeman, "It was pretty surreal, an awesome experience, something you dream about as a kid and an experience I’m very thankful for having."
As for him being an integral part of the Boise State success this season, Tiedemann chalks it up to a combination of factors. "I got the opportunity to play more this season and going against Coby [Karl, the former Bronco star now with the Los Angeles Lakers] in practice for a few years taught me a lot and helped me tremendously," he said.
But Tiedeman noted, "My shooting percentages pretty much stayed the same [from last year to this season], it was the increased opportunity to play."
Already in possession of a degree in Communications, Tiedeman is currently in contact with various basketball agents and angling to continue his playing overseas.
The opening to baseball was physically closed to him but Tiedeman then advantageously accessed basketball’s door, earning honors as a senior, a college degree and the lifetime memory of Big Dancing.
What’s next?
With Tiedeman, expect another version of "carpe diem" -- seize the day -- in whatever form it takes next.