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A Threat From Anywhere

Randolph’s Hind Fills Out Hoops Resume In Junior Year

P-J file photos

The clock running down to close the first half in the Section VI Class C-2 championship game, Tyler Hind launched a shot from just inside halfcourt at the Physical Education Complex at Jamestown Community early last month.

When the basketball hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded, he turned toward the Randolph rooting section in the bleachers behind the Cardinals’ bench — his eyes wide — and appeared to say, “Whaaaaaatttt?”

His teammates on the bench were going crazy.

It was the signature moment for Hind in his junior year.

And what a year it was.

Consider: In 24 games, Hind scored 585 points, and accumulated 161 assists, 137 rebounds and 63 steals, placing himself among Western New York’s finest, often doing so in spectacular fashion. But that’s only part of the story. The fact is, the young man who has been dribbling basketballs since he was 2 years old has shown what hard work and dedication to the game can mean.

“He would come to practice every single day (back then),” said his father, Kevin, who is also the longtime Cardinals’ coach. “(The team) would run up and down (the court) and he would just literally follow the team (on the sideline), pretending he was playing.”

“He was always so well-behaved as a 2- or 3-year-old that he could come to practice, could make it through practice, he didn’t get in the way and he didn’t cause me any trouble,” Kevin added. “Even back then, he was doing his ball-handling and dribbling skills.

“He just always wanted to have a ball in his hands.”

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Randolph’s Ty Hind surpassed 20 points in a game 17 times this season.

Nearly 15 years later, others are taking notice of the 5-foot-11 guard. In fact, Hind is building a hoops resume that has already earned him a scholarship offer from NCAA Division II Daemen College in Amherst, a school he plans to visit today.

It’s easy to see why there is that interest.

The Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 East Most Valuable Player for the third consecutive year, Hind was named the MVP in the Franklinville Tournament; was a member of the All-Tournament Team at the Randolph Holiday Tournament; and was the Section VI Class C-2 Tournament MVP after scoring 35, 30, 38 and 15 points in his playoff games.

In scoring 20 points or more 17 times, Hind became Randolph’s all-time leading scorer (1,487), surpassing Blake Morrison’s old mark (1,414). When the points Hind scored during his eighth-grade year at Jamestown High School are taken into account, his total swells to 1,645.

A deadly shooter from beyond the arc — he connected on a whopping 91 3-pointers on 197 attempts for an unheard of 46 percent — Hind already has 294 career treys, which is good for No. 2 in Section VI history behind Joe Licata’s 343.

“He had such a great year,” Kevin Hind said. “For us, it’s all about the players around him. They’re so OK and happy with their role, whether a scorer, a rebounder, a defensive guy or a guy off the bench. Everybody on our team is OK with Ty taking tough shots or shots when he needs to. … They play hard, play defense and it makes it fun to coach. They’re a fun group of kids.”

It was a fun season for the Cardinals, who made it all the way to the Section VI Class C crossover game against Middle Early College. Leading the way was Hind, who did magical things with the ball in his hands time and time again.

“He had such a great year,” Kevin Hind said.

In 2018-19, nobody was better. That’s why it was easy to select Hind as The Post-Journal’s Player of the Year.

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