Kansas' Tyrel Reed Honored at State Capital
April 27, 2011
TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball senior guard Tyrel Reed was recognized by both the Kansas Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon at the capital.
First, Reed was honored for his academic and athletic achievements as well as being a solid role model by Senator Jeff King – who serves Kansas’ 15th District, which includes Burlington, Kan., Reed’s hometown. Reed and his parents – Stacy and Debbie – were also present in the reading of senate’s resolution.
“Tyrel Reed exemplifies excellence in basketball, academics and life,” King said. “I am honored to join Senator Jeff Longbine in recognizing Tyrel’s many accomplishments and the fine example he sets for Kansas kids.”
From there, Representative Barbara Ballard took the contingent, which included KU director of basketball operations Barry Hinson, to the floor of the House of Representatives. Ballard, who represents the 44th House District covering most of western Lawrence, introduced the Reeds then, like King, spoke of Tyrel’s accomplishments with a resounding standing ovation from the House.
Reed finished his career as the winningest player in a four-year period at KU with a 132-17 record, which is second most in NCAA history. Included were four Big 12 regular-season titles, three Big 12 postseason championships, one Final Four and one NCAA National Championship. This past season he was named Academic All-America First Team, Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team and was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS national award. A 2011 Big 12 Classroom Champion, Reed was an Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection all three years he was eligible.
For the 2010-11 season, Reed was the only Jayhawk to start every game and led Kansas with 72 three-pointers and 56 steals. He was named 2011 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and was KU’s third-leading scorer with 9.7 points per contest. Reed graduated from KU in December and has been accepted into KU Medicine’s physical therapy school.
“It’s really cool to be recognized for something besides basketball,” Reed said to reporters following the senate recognition. “Basketball is part of it, but trying to be a good person, it’s pretty cool.”
“I’m just a normal kid,” Reed continued. “I don’t deserve any of these awards in my eyes, but it is really cool to be recognized for something like this.”
“(Kids) live your dream. If you want to be a Jayhawk, play basketball, football or go to any of our other state schools,” Reed concluded. “Go after your dream as hard as you can and pursue it. If you believe hard enough and work hard enough, it will happen.”