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  • Rival high schoolers Tyler Ulis and Dakota Mathias may meet again

    LOUISVILLE — The first time Purdue freshman Dakota Mathias saw Tyler Ulis in middle school in Lima, Ohio, he was not all that impressed.

    “I had heard about him in fifth and sixth grade and how good he was. The first time I actually played him was seventh grade and I remember how small he was and I was like, ‘There’s no way he can be that good.’ But just his quickness. He’s hard to stay in front of and he has a high basketball IQ. He is very good player and is smart and intelligent,” said Mathias.

    Ulis and Mathias went to rival schools, Shawnee (Ulis) and Elida (Mathias). Once Ulis got to high school, he moved to Chicago to live with his father.

    Now both are here for the NCAA Tournament and if UK beats Hampton as everyone expects and Purdue can oust Cincinnati in Thursday games, then the two would play in the Midwest Region Saturday.

    “That would be pretty cool to see him again and play against him. Obviously they are 34-0 and one of the best teams, but we have to handle business with Cincinnati first,” Mathias said Wednesday. “I have followed him this year and he is doing well.”

    The two were not buddies in middle school.

    “It’s funny because back in the day, him and Dakota … used to go at it. They had sell-out games in seventh grade when Elida and Shawnee played each other,” Travis Walton, Ulis’ cousin who played at Michigan State, said. “Dakota is smart, so him and Tyler went at it every year when they played each other.”

    Mathias remembers facing Ulis “three or four times” in middle school with Ulis winning as a seventh-grader and Mathias the next year. “It was fun. In my area, basketball is a big thing and the gym was packed when we played and we had great battles down the stretch.

    “We went at it pretty good. I would not say we were very friendly. He wasn’t very big then either, but he was so tenacious and he is ultra quick. He has great ballhandling skills and was just a great point guard.”

    Mathias has started 16 of 33 games and averages 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He’s hitting 32.7 percent from 3-point range. Ulis averages 5.6 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range.

    Ulis would like a chance to play against Mathias again.

    “Our gyms were packed were packed by then and the games were fun. We both put up numbers and he would shoot lights out,” Ulis said. “I feel like it would be a little different now, but it would be fun to see two guys from Lima playing against each other again in college. I am happy for his success and we both made it here and hopefully we play again.

    “We were rivals then and the best players in the city. We are cool now but then we went at it. Now we understand we both made it to a high level and we respect each other’s games.”

    Mathias said he always thought both would go to solid Division I programs.

    “But I never thought about us both matching up against each other in the NCAA Tournament,” Mathias said.

    Ulis goes back to Lima in the summers and Mathias says they work out together in open gym.

    “We are pretty cool now. When they are on TV I will watch him and I root for him because he s from my area and we are good friends now, something that is a lot different from when we were in middle school,” Mathias said.
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    Harlow

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