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GRAMMER SCHOOL

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Memoiral's Tyler Friedel looks to pass during day two of tournament play against Huntsville at the MHS senior campus gym on Friday.
  • BY JACK MOLITOR - JMOLITOR@VICAD.COM
  • Originally published December 11, 2009 at 11:33 p.m., updated December 11, 2009 at 11:45 p.m.

Inside or outside, Tyler Friedel can make you pay.

"He's a lot to deal with," said teammate Travis Edwards. "He's big so he gives us a post presence, but he can step out and hit a three. And he doesn't make a lot of mistakes."

Friedel, a 6-foot, 5-inch swingman, has lethal accuracy from behind the 3-point arc but the size and physical play of a post player, making him a nightmare for defenses. His versatility has been an asset to a Memorial Vipers team that is always looking for a little of both.

"He's such a good outside shooter that we tried playing him as a guard, but he's also so good in the post so we use him for both," said Vipers head coach John Grammer. "He provides a serious matchup problem."

And he's just a junior. On a team filled with seniors, Friedel and teammate Conner Graham are the only juniors on the squad. And Friedel is shining. Over the first two days of the 2009 Victoria Classic, he scored 34 points combined in three games, making shots from the perimeter and getting his share of layups over smaller players.

In a 20-point performance in a win against Texas City, Friedel knocked down two 3-pointers to go with shots in the low post and at the line.

Being a scorer is nothing new for him though.

"I was on varsity last year. I thought I was all right then too, I got about 10 points a game," he said. "This year we're a lot more advanced because we have so many more seniors. But it feels great because I'm young and playing well with the upper levels."

Grammer said the team thinks highly of Friedel and that he is just starting to step into his potential. But he's not the only Friedel who has excelled on the court, nor the first that Grammer has coached.

His brother Brandon played for Grammer at Memorial and now plays collegiately at Arkansas Tech. Their father also played high school basketball in Brownsville and their uncle played at Trinity College, so Friedel knows he comes from good stock.

He even tapped into some of his families' experience over the summer in an attempt to improve his game. While Brandon was on break, Tyler worked with him on the court every day to become a better shooter. He said he looks up to his brother a lot.

"He took me aside this summer and really worked with me," Tyler said. "He taught me the fundamentals of shooting and working around trying to get a good shot. If I can get open and get a good shot, that can help our team that much more."

Friedel hopes he can pursue his own collegiate career when he graduates, but for now he's focusing on being a Viper, and continuing to help them win, no matter where he's shooting.



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Comments

  • texag91 texag91 Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink  | 

    GridironJS, I myself have played high school basketball recently, and i would think he would be a better fit at shooting guard. Yes his size at the point would be an insane advantage, but it would also be a horrible disadvantage. Because most guards MHS plays are short, quick players that are lower to the ground. They would rip his dribble like crazy because it takes a higher bounce. Now he should be used like Lebron is used for the Cavs, not making any comparison, but with the size let him dribble up and make his own game sometimes, but try and work the ball through his hands. He has potential, but not enough speed to be a ball handler at D-1 level

    December 13, 2009 at 1:33 a.m.
  • GridironJS GridironJS Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink  | 

    Tyler Friedel is a very good player who will get better with age and experience. If I am Grammer and if I were his parents, I would push hard at letting him run the point. A 6'5 point guard who can light it up from outside, can punch his ticket to a Division I school. Man, I realize in High School you have to use a kid like that down low, but dang, that kid should see serious minutes at the point guard. It may not be the perfect scenario for MHS all the time, but Grammer would be doing that kid a huge service if he would develop him at the point and then when not running the point play him at the two guard. This kid very well has the chance to be the best Divsion I prospect in a long time from Victoria, simply because he can shoot and he has great length and well above average size.

    December 12, 2009 at 1:54 p.m.
  • whatareu4 whatareu4 Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink  | 

    Mr. Molitor,
    While we can agree to disagree concerning yesterday’s article including Henry Hill and his dad, there is no mistaking that this article more qualifies as a human interest story that the subscribers of the Advocate have come to expect. Good job on this one and I look forward to reading others in the future. Good luck to Tyler and all of his teammates.

    December 12, 2009 at 10:25 a.m.