Senior Tyler Darden has had a special connection to basketball since he was eight years old. He calls himself “decently good,” so he loves playing the game as well. He is a diehard NBA fan and a fan of the movie Hoop Dreams.

The whole team aspect is what really appeals to Tyler. He likes “playing together as a team.” Darden was asked why he likes the sport so much.

“I think it’s because I’ve been playing for ten-plus years,” he said.

Teamwork is a key ingredient to the sport. Moving the ball, and being a team player makes basketball Tyler’s favorite sport.

Tyler is a great analyzer of the game, identifying the skills of each player while watching the sport on television.

“I like the overall fan aspect, cheering for your respected team,” he said. “I like to nitpick what players did wrong or what they did really well.”

Tyler Is a huge fan of the NBA in general and the Portland Trail Blazers specifically.

“It all started when I was playing NBA 2K11 and the first team I used was the Blazers,” he said. That team included superstars like Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge. Today, Tyler likes Portland’s star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, as well as Denver’s Nikola “Big Honey” Jokic.

Tyler also enjoys the 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams. Tyler likes the whole underdog theme of the movie, which focuses on two talented young teenage basketball prospects from inner-city Chicago, Arthur Agee and William Gates, as they progress through high school with dreams of someday playing in the NBA.

He would tell young basketball players to be a team player and not a butch.