Tyree Appleby Continues Florida Tradition
The Razorbacks continue their NCAA tournament style schedule Tuesday night with a Florida team that is coming off the high of taking down projected No. 1 seed Auburn.
The Gators have traditionally been a thorn in the Hogs' side, especially in Gainesville. This is usually because they manage to find a kid from Arkansas who plays out of his mind trying to prove a point.
No matter how down North Little Rock’s Keyvaughn Allen’s game might have been at times from 2015-19, he always found the spark to best his season average, often by more than double as he lit up the Hogs.
Don't look now, but Jacksonville's Tyree Appleby just dropped nearly 30 on Auburn, so pencil him in as Florida’s next Arkansas nightmare.
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Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
While he will disappear at times, dropping low single digits on the stat sheet here and there, Appleby shines brightest when the moment is at its biggest.
Against Missouri, he sank two free throws with the game on the line to give Florida a 65-64 win.
When projected No. 1 seed Auburn came to town to complete the season sweep of the Gators and held Florida to 22 first half points, Appleby stepped up and scored 20 points in the second half by himself.
His three with just over two minutes left gave him 26 point to counter Jabari Smith’s 28 for Auburn while giving Florida its largest lead of the game at 61-53. The Gators clung to the lead to sneak away with a 63-62 upset.
Finding ways to claim the spotlight despite overwhelming odds has become a trademark of Appleby’s.
At Jacksonville, Appleby reportedly averaged 25 points per game to go with 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Despite his performance and his coach constantly selling his greatness to every school that showed the slightest bit of interest in the guard, size was always the issue.
Appleby listed at 6-1, 165, but coaches confirmed in person what images had already hinted – there must have been rocks in his pockets when he officially weighed in.
No one could get past how slight the young guard was. Junior college appeared to be the only option, but then Appleby bet on himself. He showed up at a tournament as an unsigned senior with his college basketball future on the line and balled out.
He didn’t get interest from the Kentucky’s and Arkansas’s of the world, but did come away with a handful of offers from schools that were technically Division I as far as basketball is concerned. Against all odds, Cleveland State became Appleby’s new home, giving him a potential path to becoming an NCAA Tournament legend.
But the Vikings weren’t exactly basketball elite. There was a coaching change at the end of Year 1, and his sophomore season yielded only 12 regular season wins and a finish near the bottom of the Horizon League.
But Appleby still saw a path to the bright lights of the NCAA tournament and he was determined to get there one way or another.
While their path to claim the conference’s automatic bid was the longest possible and the odds were nearly impossible,
Appleby turned up the heat, not only raining down 24 points on conference champion Northern Kentucky, but leading the Vikings to an improbable conference championship game appearance.
Once again, his ability to overcome the odds in the spotlight paid off.
Realizing his dream of getting to the NBA probably wouldn’t happen at Cleveland State, Appleby opted to test the transfer portal where all those major D-I offers and didn’t come before came flooding in, including Arkansas.
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
John Reed / USA TODAY Sports
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
However, even though his dream of becoming a Razorback was now a possibility, his gut told him Florida was his best bet.
Auburn was a massive spotlight as far as showcasing his potential, but getting to put together another great tape with a former NBA coach game planning for him may hold even more value.
Plus, he gets a chance to prove to Arkansas a second time that it made a mistake in not offering him out of high school.
Appleby put up 16 on the Razorbacks the last time, continuing that thorn in the side persona former Arkansas high school players develop when they get to Florida.
However, if Appleby continues to play big under pressure, he may upgrade from thorn to full-on dagger in the friendly confines of the O’Connell Center.
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