Future Husky Polley hails from good athletic stock

Tyler Polley isn’t even a college basketball player yet, but he’s already witnessed some pretty big sporting events first-hand.

Super Bowl XXXVI, the one where Adam Vinatieri booted the Patriots over the Rams in New Orleans? Polley was there. His father, Tommy, was a linebacker for St. Louis, one of his six seasons in the NFL that also included stints with the Ravens and Saints. Tommy Polley was All-American at Florida State before that, as well.

Of course, Tyler’s recollections of his dad’s NFL days are a bit sketchy.

“I was pretty young,” he noted. “I saw Brett Favre play when it was snowing really heavy. I remember going to the Super Bowl when (the Rams) played the Patriots. But it’s kinda hard. I was really young when he was in the league.”

And while his father was also a highly-rated basketball recruit at Baltimore’s legendary hoops factory, Dunbar High, Tyler never really took to football.

“I tried,” he said with a laugh. “It just didn’t work out.”

Instead, Polley, a 6-foot-8 hybrid forward out of the Sagemont School in Weston, Florida, is a top-100 national recruit who will be suiting up for UConn next season.

“Tyler’s been exceptionally good. He’s had some great games,” said Sagemont head coach Adam Ross. “He’s a 6-8, long, lanky 3-man who can shoot the ball really well. He’s got a really good midrange pull-up game and has continuously gotten better throughout his high school career.”

It’s that mid-range game that helps separate Polley from the rest of the pack, according to Ross.

“He gets a look from 1216 feet in, it’s in,” the coach noted. “He does it in traffic, at different body angles. He’s different than most guys because that skill is kind of diminished.”

And Ross would know. He’s coached Polley since Polley was an eighthgrader, playing mostly on the junior varsity team but occasionally moving up for varsity games.

“I feel like I’ve been coaching him forever,” Ross quipped.

Although Sagemont is off to an uncharacteristic 10-5 start, Polley is happy with the way he’s played.

“I think I’m doing well, scoring like I usually do,” he said. “I’ve got more doubledoubles than last year. Defensively, we play zone and man, and I think I’m doing a better job being active, getting deflections.”

Killings connection

Polley’s path to UConn can be directly attributed to first-year assistant coach Dwayne Killings. Killings had recruited Polley heavily while on Fran Dunphy’s staff at Temple. When Killings was hired at UConn in July, he quickly told Kevin Ollie about Polley. Ollie went to watch Polley play at the Peach Jam, where Polley played very well.

Two weeks later, he got an offer from UConn.

“When they offered me, I was like, ‘That’s the program you dreamed of being a part of,’” Polley recalled. “I didn’t know I was this good.”

Polley also seriously considered Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Dayton and Pittsburgh, but only made visits to UConn and Tennessee. He committed to the Huskies in September.

“He’s doing well,” said Killings. “Everybody I know in the business is impressed with his versatility, the things he can do. His best basketball’s ahead of him. He has to put a little bit of weight on, but he’ll be able to impact the team right away.”

Indeed, Polley, who’s listed at 185 pounds, understands that he needs to get stronger. He said he fashions much of his game after Paul George. Ross agreed that Polley’s frame compares to that of UConn sophomore Terry Larrier, who’s out for the season with a knee injury, but also compared him to former Syracuse standout Hakim Warrick.

“He handles the ball well,” Ross said. “He’s got to get stronger, that’s the next step in his evolution as a player — his ability to finish through contact, post up, hold his seal.”

Tommy Polley is now an assistant football coach at Althoff High in Belleville, Illinois. Polley’s mom and stepdad, Kim and Al Rodgers, live in Fort Lauderdale and have raised a very respectful young man.

“He’s a mild-mannered kid, not a guy who’s gonna stand up on a chair and give the ‘rah-rah’ speech,” said Ross. “That’s not his personality. He’s not gonna give one-word answers, but he’s reserved, very religious, doesn’t curse. He’ll bring more than just being a basketball player to the Connecticut community. He’s a great kid from a great family.”

Poley has watched UConn’s struggles from afar, but he’s undeterred.

“It’s tough, but there’s only so much you can do when one of your best players is out for season, and Alterique (Gilbert) is out for season,” he noted. “There’s only so much you can accomplish with those players out. Even though they’ve had a slow start, I think they’re doing great with what they have. They can still win the AAC.”

And when Larrier, Gilbert & Co. return next season, along with a couple of other freshmen, can Polley find his way into the Huskies’ rotation?

“I think that’s his hope,” said Ross, “but UConn’s so banged-up, there are very few freshmen in America who are gonna be able to step in at a place like UConn and be one of the top couple of scorers, one of the leading guys on the team. It’s gonna take Tyler some time to adjust to the speed of the game, the strength of the guys. (But) I think he can come in and be a contributor to a good team right away.”