Tyler Rolison
St. Bernard, junior
Tyler Rolison's name has been out there for years.
Still, he believes there is more work to be done.
“I was ranked in middle school,” he said. “I don't think I was known too much in the (CIF) Southern Section.”
His junior season showed that's he's a player with exceptional talent and drive.
Rolison was the 2021-22 CIF Southern Section Division 1 Player of the Year, and he is the pick for the Daily Breeze boys basketball player of the year.
“As a sophomore, my main focus was to be the scorer,” he said. “This year (Darius) Carr came back, Jason Hart, we had James McCallum, Rayniel Wright, a good team. We had a team that took pressure off of me and allowed me to play on both ends (of the court). I also think I became a better leader on and off the court.”
Things didn't start smoothly for Rolison and the Vikings this season, but with time, the chemistry started to build, and it eventually paid off in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
“I think a lot of people doubted us early and I think our chemistry was bad,” he said. “After we lost our first (Del Rey League) game at home to Serra, that's our rival, and we had a talk about it and got everything together.”
Later in the season, the Vikings had a chance to win at least a share of the league title with back-toback games against Bishop Montgomery. However, the Vikings lost both.
“I took those two losses very personal,” he said.
The Vikings managed to regroup in the Division 1 playoffs and won the championship.
Rolison averaged 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Next season, he has a bigger goal in mind for the Vikings.
“We want to win state,” he said. “Winning the Division 1 title (this season) was a goal, now it is time to win state.”
Coach of the year
TONY BLAND, ST. BERNARD >>
The Vikings started the season by winning the Trevor Ariza Tip-Off Classic.
During the December tournament stretch, they had success in the Tarkanian Classic, and competed in the top division in The Classic tournament at Damien.
Bland led the Vikings to their first CIF-Southern Section championship since 2015. The Vikings defeated JSerra in the Division 1 championship game.