December 22, 2006

JACKSON -- A May 2006 graduate of Millsaps College in business administration and a three-year starter for the men’s basketball team, San Antonio, Texas, native Tyler Warren recently returned from his first professional basketball tour with the New York Nationals a week ago.

Warren ranks amongst the top in Millsaps men’s basketball history, ranking second all-time in 3-pointers made (140) and attempted (383) and fourth all-time in field goals attempted (1,087), free throws made (311) and assists (256). He also stands in fifth place all-time in free throws attempted at 385.

After graduation from Millsaps College in May, Warren knew he wanted to continue playing basketball at another level.

“I got a couple of offers from some teams in Europe, but you have to be careful going out there,” Warren said. “Teams may fold and you may not get paid. I was fortunate to get in touch with some guys from the Nationals while I was in Florida and they offered me a contract.”

From Nov. 24 until Dec. 15, Warren and six other players on the Nationals roster spent time in Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and Djibouti, Africa, playing against the high flying, crowd pleasing, ambassadors of goodwill, Harlem Globetrotters.

All of the Nationals games are played against the Harlem Globetrotters.

Warren and his squad played primarily on military bases, but got a chance to play a couple of games on an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Gulf. “It was real cool,” Warren said. “There were about 5,500 people on the carrier and about 2,500 who came out to watch the game who weren’t working.”

Being that far from home, there is not much opportunity to talk with friends and relatives, but Warren communicated with family through internet café’s and was allowed 15 minutes a day to talk on the phone.

The New York Nationals (formerly known as the Washington Generals) consist of two teams with typically eight guys on a roster from the Division II and Division III level, including one player coach. The players are sent traveling across the U.S. and overseas and are mixed and matched based on positions. They do a majority of their travel by bus and play pretty much everyday, sometimes even doubleheaders.

Highly recruited as a wide receiver out of high school by a handful of schools in the Texas school district such as Texas Tech, Baylor and Rice, Warren decided he wanted to experience a location outside of San Antonio.

“People still ask my parents to this day where I ended up playing football,” Warren said. “After graduation I really just wanted to play basketball.”

While on the road, Warren has plans to try and study up for a commercial real estate license on top of playing professional basketball. “I interned at a commercial real estate group before my senior year and it’s definitely something I’m interested in.”

Warren is the son of Jim, a dentist, and Barbara, a speech pathologist. He also has two siblings, Reed, a sophomore at LSU, and Claire, a high school junior who plays volleyball.

Warren is resting right now, shooting around a bit and trying to stay in shape before he leaves for a four-month long U.S. Tour on the West Coast. The tour spans from Dec. 25 until April 15, where Warren will play in several different NBA arenas such as the Staples Center (Los Angeles Lakers/Clippers) and the American Airlines Center (Dallas Mavericks).

2006-07 New York Nationals/Globetrotters schedule
Hint: Use the drop down arrows on the top left hand side to check the tour dates