Shulman’s recruits seem to have at least one common theme

CONWAY, Ark. — New Central Arkansas coach John Shulman obviously has a specific type of player he’s going after. It’s one the Bears haven’t seen in so long nobody can really remember. All three of Shulman’s recruits that have signed are winners.

The latest one Friday was Tyler Lee out of Knoxville, Tenn., a 6-5, 205-pounder from Fulton High School, was the Class 3A Mr. Basketball in Tennessee last season where he helped the Falcons win their second consecutive state championship. Plus, Lee has a 3.8 grade-point average. So far he’s landed Ty Robinson out of Lake Hamilton and Layne Taylor from Farmington. Robinson has a 4.2-grade point average.

“Tyler Lee is a winner,” said UCA head coach John Shulman. “He has two state championships under his belt along with two state tournament MVP awards. Tyler added the 3A Mr Basketball award to his collection in March of this year.

Lee was the best 3A player in Tennessee while Taylor was the best player in Arkansas and Robinson, who committed to Florida Atlantic before changing to UCA, was No. 2, depending on who you were talking to. All of that is somewhat subjective to a certain point.

“Half the state has been telling me Layne (Taylor) is the best one out there,” said Shulman, “while the other half is telling me Ty is. What is nice is that neither one of them care and they will both be wearing a Bear uniform.”

Less than a month into his tenure at UCA, John Shulman is already living up to his promise to bring "winners" to Conway.

I caught up with his newest commits, @LayneTaylor2024 and @Tyrobinson02, to talk about their vision and goals for the Bears moving forward. #BearClawsUp pic.twitter.com/n1Fr1nKygU

— Jack Allen KATV (@JackAllenTV) April 18, 2024

Both of them are scorers and winners. Shulman doesn’t just want guys trying to pad their statistics. He wants to compete for championships and he wants the type players.

“Tyler is used to winning and has won his entire career at Fulton High School under the watch of Jody Wright.  Tyler scores it inside and out and has an elite basketball IQ. Really passes it and handles it easy for his size. He can play multiple positions ranging from the shooting guard spot to the power forward. Tyler impacts winning in so many ways from scoring, to rebounding to passing the ball … he is truly an all around guy who loves to win and that is truly all he knows.”