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Meet Tyler Ulis, the nation’s latest in-demand ’14 point guard (VIDEO)

Tyler Ulis

When Emmanuel Mudiay committed to SMU, he did a lot more than just pick Larry Brown over Coach Cal and a program that hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament in 20 years over a team 16 months removed from a national title.

He also sent some of the nation’s biggest programs scrambling to find a point guard to take over next season.

Thanks to Josh Perkins committing to Gonzaga on the same day as Mudiay committed to SMU, four of the top six point guards in the country have picked their school. Many believe that Tyus Jones is headed to Duke, and those same folks think Jordan McLaughlin will remain out on the west coast.

That leaves programs like Kentucky and Michigan State chasing Quentin Snider and Tyler Ulis, the last two of ESPN’s top 15 point guards.

Snider is from Louisville and a former Louisville commit, but the more interesting target may end up being Ulis.

Prior to Mudiay’s commitment, many believed that Ulis would be headed up to East Lansing to take over the Spartan’s point guard role when Keith Appling graduates. But now that he has an offer in hand from Kentucky, that may not be the case any more.

Ulis is not a one-and-done point guard. What makes him so effective isn’t going to shine through on the mixtape above. But what he does well is win. He’s tough, he’s a nightmare defensively, he can create off the bounce, he can score when he needs to, and he can run a team. He’s a four-year player that’s good enough to make an all-league team for three of those years.

That fits well at Michigan State. It may not fit as well as Kentucky, where Ulis will be recruited over when Coach Cal targets the next John Wall or Derrick Rose or Emmanuel Mudiay.

But saying no to Kentucky is not an easy thing to do.

Anyway, the video above will give you a little taste of the guy that may have just become the most coveted point guard left on the board.

Follow @robdauster