Tyler Lamb’s high school highlight video showcases his long and limber arms rejecting shots, a deft handle pirouetting around defenders and a soft touch kissing shots in off the glass.

These were traits former UCLA head coach Ben Howland and former Arizona head coach Lute Olson fancied, and ones that led Lamb to Howland and the Bruins out of Mater Dei (California) High School.

Ranked No. 28 in ESPN’s Top 100 in 2010, the future was bright. But two knee surgeries and a college switch to Long Beach State stunted Lamb’s rise. Lamb said the switch came in part to recoup his junior season that he would partially miss because of knee surgery. He’s still trying to overcome what clouded his future a couple years ago.

Lamb said he is trying to become a viable option next to Long Beach State leading scorer Mike Caffey. Last season, Lamb averaged over 15 points per game, but admits he’s been in a funk this season. Clarence Lamb, his uncle and first basketball coach, said the slump is partially attributed to a two-game suspension Lamb served. Lamb’s bumpy road has prevented him from making his once-promising talent pay dividends on the court, as he’s attended two high schools and two colleges.

“It was ingrained in me from a young age,” Lamb said of how he’s pushed through his frustrations. “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

Lamb’s Division I talent was evident from the start. He led Colony (California) High School to a California Interscholastic Federation championship game in his sophomore season, drawing looks from the likes of Howland and Olson. Lamb said he received attention from colleges as early as eighth and ninth grade, and Howland offered Lamb after his sophomore season.

But Lamb was walking a tightrope and fell into the wrong crowd. Terry Lamb, Lamb’s father, said Colony was a relatively new school, teachers were more so buddies than authority figures and marijuana was prevalent.

“We had to tell him, ‘You’ve got to be able to choose life friends,’” Clarence Lamb said. “‘You can have guys around you, but some of those guys don’t have your best interest at heart.’”

Lamb transferred for structure Colony couldn’t offer, choosing Mater Dei in Santa Ana, California over Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, which required a “24/7” commitment to basketball and Lamb didn’t think he was mature enough to travel so far from home.

Lamb said Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight helped him get serious about his grades and Mater Dei set a dress code, two things that instilled structure in Lamb’s life. He also had to adjust socially, something he said he struggled with because he of his laid-back personality.

The structure provided to Lamb at Mater Dei eventually allowed him to get a scholarship to UCLA, but before he got to UCLA, he faced a different type of obstacle.

After Lamb’s senior season, a doctor scoped his knee, removing a large piece of cartilage that had grown in the fluid in his knee. Terry Lamb said Lamb had a visible bump on his knee and his knee had been swelling for quite some time, although he can’t pinpoint when the swelling started.

Lamb rushed back in four weeks despite the prognosis being a six- to eight-week recovery. Clarence Lamb noticed Lamb’s hesitance immediately after the first scope and saw him hanging around the perimeter rather than driving into the lane.

When Lamb arrived at UCLA, he faced an environment foreign to him. Players were insubordinate with coaches, sat out, or didn’t show up to practice and committed team violations, Clarence Lamb said.

“As opposed to playing for the name on the front of the jersey,” Clarence Lamb said, “They had a couple guys that were always playing for the name on the back.”

Lamb said he had thought about leaving UCLA since his sophomore season, and after another surgery, he made the move. While working out with Bruins assistant coach Korey McCray, Lamb’s left knee swelled. An MRI revealed cartilage floating in his knee, so doctors removed the cartilage, shaving and smoothing his kneecap.

Instead of rushing himself back to play half of his junior season, he transferred to Long Beach State and recouped his junior season. The opportunity to earn a starting role, a fresh start and the opportunity to play with his friend, guard Keala King — who was later dismissed from the team — led Lamb to the 49ers.

Because Lamb transferred midseason, the NCAA required him to sit out the first 10 games of his junior season at Long Beach State. But in the 22 games Lamb did play, he scored double-digits in 19 of those contests. This season, though, he’s missed the 10-point mark in five of 11 games that he’s played to go along with the two-game suspension.

Lamb called his performance “inconsistent,” and a “slump.” He’s been able to overcome obstacles before, but there’s one more on the court standing in his way of redemption in a once-promising career.

“He’s got a better understanding of … some sacrifices,” Terry Lamb said, “or some of the things he has to do and how hard you have to work to be successful.”

Published on December 28, 2014 at 10:50 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati