Arkansas coach Tyler Ulis shows up to support former Kentucky stars Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham in Las Vegas
Former Kentucky player Tyler Ulis will be following John Calipari to Arkansas to be a part of his coaching staff. Before that, he'll have one last chance to prove his loyalty to the Wildcats as he'll be the head coach of La Familia, a team of former Kentucky players, in The Basketball Tournament.
Despite his transfer to Arkansas, Ulis was spotted supporting the former Kentucky stars, Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, in the NBA Summer League.
Tyler Ulis was growing as a key player at Kentucky when he saw his dream shattered due to a car accident. He was once in the same shoes as Sheppard and Dillingham. However, the tragedy marked an end to his playing career but a starting point for his coaching career at Kentucky.
A dream he couldn't achieve is the dream he is now helping others to achieve. According to On3, he recently talked about him being a Reed Sheppard fan, who is having an amazing Rookie season at NBA.
"I haven't really seen all the hype about it, but I was courtside and watched him play (in Las Vegas). I'm not surprised," Ulis told KSR. "I've been the biggest Reed fan since he got on campus and I'm really proud of him. I'm really proud of what he's doing and I can't wait to see what he does from here on out."
On the other hand, Dillingham did not have the smoothest start to his NBA career. However, Tyler Ulis seemed happy about where Dillingham is, in the NBA, and talked about him being in the same situation.
"Rob, I feel like that's the best place he could have landed. That was really big for me, where he landed, because of how he plays," Ulis told KSR. "In the NBA, when you go on teams who aren't that good — like, I went a month without winning a game. When you're on teams like that, you kind of get lost in the shuffle."
Tyler Ulis talks about the opportunity to coach La Familia
Tyler Ulis will take care of the unfinished business in Kentucky before finishing school. He will be guiding the Wildcat's alumni team and seemed happy about the last opportunity to give a great farewell to the fans.
"I have a Kentucky jersey tatted on my back, so I wouldn't do that if it wasn't something that I'm in for life," Tyler Ulis said. "Being there and playing there, all the love the fans have given me, it's really great. It's been a dream come true, and we had a lot of fun there."
Eric Bledsoe, Brennan Canada, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe, Nate Sestina, James Young, Kellan Grady, Kerem Kanter and Willie Cauley-Stein are set to be part of La Familia's roster. On the other hand, Tyler Ulis will also get assistance from big names like Shanndale Walton, Sean Woods and Jazz Ferguson.