Sophomore guard Breein Tyree grew up running around a household full of athletes. Someone was always playing catch, kicking a ball or practicing for the next big game.
“I used to always tell the fellas, ‘Listen, don’t put any holes in my walls. I want no holes in the walls,’” Clarice Tyree, Breein’s mother, said.
Each of Tyree’s three older brothers earned Division I offers for soccer, basketball or football, and his father, Mark Tyree, earned third-team All-American honors as a lacrosse player at Rutgers in 1979.
Clearly, the Tyrees were doing something right.
“We were always outside, always getting into something and always competing with each other,” Tyree said. “As I grew up watching my brothers going at each other, it kind of rubbed off on me, and now I hold that with me wherever I go.”
Adding to the Tyree family resume, Breein’s cousin David Tyree cemented a spot in New York Giants history after making the infamous “helmet catch” during 2008’s Super Bowl.
“It’s just what he’s grown up with,” Clarice said. “From his father’s background and family background.”
Sports have always taken center stage in Tyree’s life. But if not for his mother, his career could have followed a vastly different path.
The sophomore from Somerset, New Jersey, spent time in high school traveling through Europe, representing the United States in an international youth soccer tournament until the team ultimately lost to Spain.
“I used to play soccer like I play basketball,” Tyree said. “That was my No. 1 sport as a kid. What took me away from soccer was my mom. She wasn’t having it.”
After Tyree returned from Europe, his mother pushed him toward more traditional sporting opportunities.
Tyree shifted his efforts toward football and basketball. As one of New Jersey’s top quarterback recruits, he received and declined various scholarship opportunities.
“He had to decide which area he wanted to focus his attention on, and it ended up being basketball,” Clarice said.
Tyree had fallen in love with the court, and by senior year, top programs had fallen in love with him.
For much of his recruitment process, the University of Southern California and Kansas State led the way. Ole Miss, sitting more than 1,000 miles away from Somerset, entered the sweepstakes late. Yet, by chance, former Ole Miss assistant coach Bill Armstrong came across Tyree at a tournament in Atlanta.
“Breein was playing in Atlanta, and coach Armstrong had been given a lead to go over and see this guard Breein Tyree,” Clarice said.
The Rebels needed a young guard to fill graduating All-SEC guard Stefan Moody’s shoes. Tyree fit the bill, and after numerous visits from head coach Andy Kennedy, he signed his national letter of intent.
“Ole Miss was a little late in the recruiting process just because of where I was, but once they got on me, they stayed on me,” Tyree said. “They were up at my school twice a month, and you know, he (Andy Kennedy) was diligent, and he got the job done.”
Once he arrived in Oxford, Tyree made quick work of landing a starting spot in Kennedy’s lineup. His upbringing, Clarice claims, helped Tyree earn his place.
“Whatever it is that (Tyree and his brothers) were doing, whether they were throwing the lacrosse ball or throwing the football or on the basketball court, they were very competitive,” Clarice said. “Breein couldn’t catch a break as the youngest. Those were the rules. If you can’t hang, you’ve got to go in the house.”
Lacking a veteran guard last season, Kennedy originally opted to start Miami transfer Deandre Burnett as the primary ball handler. Tyree worked to prove himself and eventually pushed Burnett back into his more natural shooting guard spot, landing himself in the starting five.
What fans last season didn’t know, however, is that Tyree earned his spot while dealing with a chronic knee injury.
“If I would have come into last year healthy, maybe it would have been different,” Tyree said. “But I’m 100 percent ready this year.”
And he’s proving that already. In the first two games of this season, Tyree has added 17 points and seven assists in just 44 minutes of play.
“He’s now healthy and confident, and he’s got that experience,” Kennedy said. “He’s probably taken the biggest step of anyone on our team.”
Tyree fought through last season’s on-and-off knee pain to post surprisingly solid numbers. He averaged 19.1 minutes and 7.3 points per game. But Tyree’s scoring stats don’t tell the whole story.
After playing 10 minutes or less through his first six Ole Miss games, Tyree’s stats skyrocketed down the stretch. Over the Rebels’ final six regular-season games, he averaged 16 points per game on 43.58 percent field goal shooting.
Tyree’s late push, while impressive, failed to carry the Rebels past Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2017 National Invitation Tournament. After defeating No. 1 seed Syracuse 85-80, the Rebels dropped a 74-66 result to the Yellow Jackets, ending their postseason ambitions. That did not sit well with Tyree, who hopes to capture the NCAA’s attention this season.
“What I want to get accomplished is creating an identity for this team and myself and earning some respect in the SEC,” Tyree said. “The polls have us really low, and we just want to show that we deserve to be in the top tier of the SEC and that we deserve a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.”
As part of that push for national relevancy, Tyree plans to step into an even greater leadership role this season.
“He understands that, as a leader, you are always to be a believer,” Clarice said. “Because if the leader doesn’t believe, how can the troops believe?”
Tyree’s mom believes in him and his ability to lead the team, and Tyree is beginning to believe, too.
“I feel like I’m a natural-born leader,” Tyree said. “That’s what I came to Ole Miss to do. I came to become a leader of this team and do something special.”
