Basketball: Hunkering down, settling in

They don't have nightly bed checks for Tyler Bullock. They don't get worried if they haven't seen him for a while. He doesn't require an escort to get back and forth from basketball practice.

Bullock isn't going anywhere.

Already a two-time transfer, Bullock is getting set to play a real basketball game for the first time in nearly two seasons for the University of Nebraska at Omaha. And if transferring should cross his mind again, his only option is to play at an NAIA school.

“We've got him right where we want him,” UNO point guard Andrew Bridger said, laughing.

That's all right because Bullock, a 6-foot-2 guard, says he's right where he wants to be, too. He's been in the UNO program for more than a year, having to sit out last season after transferring from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He'll wear a Maverick uniform in public for the first time today, when the Mavs face Creighton in a 2:05 p.m. exhibition game at Qwest Center Omaha.

“This is it for me,” Bullock said. “I've got two years left and I want to make the most of it. All I want to do is win games.”

Bullock began his college career at Division I Denver, where he started every game as a true freshman, averaging 11.0 points per game in 2006-07.

Though he was one of the top freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference, not everything went perfectly.

The Pioneers' head coach took a medical leave of absence and didn't return. A young team was beset by injuries and finished 4-25. After the season new coach Joe Scott, a Princeton offense disciple, was hired and installed a slower style of play.

“It was more of a slow-it-down kind of offense, and anyone who has seen me play knows I'm an up-and-down kind of player,” Bullock said. “But I didn't leave Denver because of that.”

Bullock started the first six games of his sophomore season and averaged half as many points (5.5) as the year before. The Lincoln North Star graduate left the program because his grandfather, Hugh, had health problems and Tyler wanted to be closer to home.

“I'm never going to regret a decision I made based on family,” said Bullock, who said his grandfather is doing better now. “My two favorite people are my grandparents.”

Bullock transferred to UNK at the semester break, appearing on the Loper bench in street clothes when the team played at UNO the day his transfer was announced. He joined friends Jeff Martin and Matt Starks, a former AAU teammate, in the UNK program.

“They were great recruiters,” Bullock said.

But after the season Martin, who had been a starter at UNK, transferred to UNO when the Lopers committed to starting Bullock and another guard ahead of him. Starks transferred to UNO, too. Before long, Bullock followed.

“That isn't the sole reason I left, but it played a role,” Bullock said. “I can't really give a good reason. Kearney was great, the coaches were great, I liked the players ... but it just didn't work out. I just felt like this was a better fit.”

Because of the second transfer, Bullock was required to sit out for a year. He used it to improve his game and his strength.

Bullock also spent his redshirt season challenging UNO's players every day in practice. That meant repeated one-on-one match-ups with Michael Jenkins, UNO's leading scorer at 17.0 points per game who ended his career third on UNO's all-time scoring list.

“That was the first time since my freshman year going against Calvin (Kapels) that there was someone who really pushed me, who I felt like I had to come to practice focused and ready to play against every day,” Jenkins said. “I doubt there are going to be many players in the MIAA who can play defense like T-Bull.”

Said Bridger: “That was fun to see. There were some days when Mike wouldn't miss, and there were some days when T-Bull wouldn't let him score.”

While keeping up with Jenkins on the floor, Bullock also caught up with everyone else.

“I was young for my class,” he said. “I just turned 21. So really it put me back where I rightfully should be. Now I'm playing with people my age for once.”

The natural assumption is that Bullock will replace Jenkins' scoring while adding a physical defensive element on the wing.

“I don't want to put pressure on him to be as productive as Michael, because Michael was very productive,” UNO coach Derrin Hansen said. “Tyler's got to be his own player, just like Michael was his own player.”

Bridger, another of Bullock's former AAU teammates, said Jenkins and Bullock are different players, too.

“T-Bull is a little better defensively,” Bridger said. “Mike was better at hitting the open jumper. Both are good in the lane ... Mike at driving and drawing contact, T-Bull is better at posting up, elevating and shooting over people.”

Bullock said it isn't simply one player replacing another, either.

“There's things he was able to do that I won't, and there's things I can do that he couldn't,” Bullock said. “The supporting cast is different, so my role may not be the same. Michael was a great player, and those are huge shoes to fill.”

UNO, at least for now, also has to make up for the loss of Mitch Albers, the team's second leading scorer who transferred to Nebraska over the summer. Albers, another of Bullock's former AAU teammates, has left the team at NU and is believed to be interested in returning to UNO.

“I can't fault anybody for transferring,” Bullock said. “I've done it twice.”

Bullock said that when he's needed support, encouragement or advice about his college path, he could turn to his father, former Nebraska wide receiver Ricky Simmons.

“He wants nothing but the best for me, and I love him for it,” Bullock said. “He's definitely someone I listen to, someone whose word I take very seriously. He's been through recruiting, coaching, even wanting to leave.”

Bullock said his father prefers to avoid interviews, allowing the son his time in the spotlight. That spotlight nearly fell on Bullock as a football wide receiver, just like his father.

Bullock said nearly every Big 12 school showed interest in him as a wide receiver. Offers came from Kansas State and Colorado State, he said. Bullock said he nearly committed to playing football at Kansas State after prized quarterback recruit Josh Freeman switched his commitment from Nebraska.

His high school coach, Mark Waller, said a scholarship offer from Nebraska might have kept him on the gridiron.

“Growing up watching the Huskers, my dad having been a Husker, it was something I was interested in doing,” Bullock said. “It just didn't work out.”

But in the end, Bullock said, basketball is his true love.

“My dad and I are more like brothers,” Bullock said. “We're real close. He's the reason I played football in high school, to show him I could do what he did and do it better.

“I was going to commit to a Big 12 school just to show him. Anything you can do, I can do better.”

Bullock said he got more grief from leaving Division I basketball for Division II when he went to UNK than he did with his subsequent transfer to UNO.

Now, he's just ready to play again.

“I'm here to stay,” Bullock said.

Contact the writer:

444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

« Mavs

Share