How Tylor Perry became the king of clutch shots for K-State: ‘I knew it was going in’
Tylor Perry has only played nine games in a Kansas State basketball uniform, but he has already made a name for himself as one of the best clutch shooters the Wildcats have ever signed.
Perry added to his collection of game-altering shots during a 72-71 victory over Villanova on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum when he drained a step-back 3 with 3.9 seconds remaining in overtime that lifted his team to a thrilling victory and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
Since transferring in from North Texas, the senior guard has made clutch shots in overtime wins for K-State in games against Providence, Oral Roberts, North Alabama and now Villanova. When the game is on the line, he is the man everyone wants to have the ball.
“Once he stepped back,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said afterward, “I knew it was going in.”
The Wildcats are off to a 7-2 start this season thanks in large part to Perry. It’s scary to think about where they would be without his 17.3 points per game ... and his late-game heroics.
Even when he is having an off night, which was the case against Villanova, he still finds a way to make important shots for his team. On Tuesday, Perry missed eight of his first 11 attempts with all of those bricks coming from beyond the arc. And yet, there was no hesitation from him when the game ended up in his hands.
Well, sort of.
Believe it or not, Tang wanted to get the ball to somebody else in that situation. Perry was supposed to pass to one of his teammates and let them try to win the game, potentially on a lob dunk to fellow guard Cam Carter or a driving look for Arthur Kaluma. But Villanova read the play, and defended it so well, that Perry decided to keep the ball and make a play himself.
When Perry got a pair of Villanova defenders to switch on a ball screen, he realized he had a good matchup against Villanova forward Lance Ware. Then he took advantage.
“We were going to Cam,” Perry said. “Him and Arthur had the hot hands all night. So we were going to Cam, actually. But they read the flare screen really well. I got the switch and that’s all she wrote.”
It makes sense that K-State tried to get other players involved.
Kaluma led all scorers with 26 points and made 10 of the 13 shots he attempted. Carter scored 16 points and hit several big shots before the game got close in the end.
But it came as absolutely no surprise that the game ended up in Perry’s hands.
This is a player who made countless big shots in junior college and then at North Texas before he arrived at K-State. He didn’t help teams win a JUCO championship and then the NIT by accident. His ability to make clutch shots has been evident every step of the way.
His teammates will never complain about him shooting in big moments.
“You see it in his workouts,” Carter said. “We see him shooting in the gym like that. During the summer we did like 10 minutes of shooting drills, and towards the end he would always hit like 20 in a row. I guess that is where that comes from. He’s just a clutch player.”
“He’s a super clutch player,” added Kaluma. “He’s a smart guard and a great piece to this team. His work ethic stands out and it shows up with those shots.”