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Jonathan Rinehart: Jazz to hold draft workouts on Sunday: Norris Cole, JaJuan Johnson, Shelvin Mack, Markieff Morris, Dallas Lauderdale and Jeremy Tyler. Twitter

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Draft, Jeremy Tyler, Markieff Morris, Shelvin Mack, JaJuan Johnson, Norris Cole 

Chad Ford: Jeremy Tyler told me he thought he nailed a 40 inch vertical. Uh ... no. Try 33.5" ... just .5 inches higher than Jimmer Fredette. Twitter

Draft, Jeremy Tyler, Jimmer Fredette 

“There’s been a lot of things out there that have been said about me,” Tyler said. “People have their own opinions and perceptions about me before they meet me. What I am hearing is everyone is saying, ‘What we thought was you, isn’t you.’” Sporting News

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

The next day, Tokyo started shaking. Japan was hit with a massive earthquake that would kill about 15,000 people, with thousands more still missing. “It was one of the craziest feelings I ever had,” Tyler said. “You’re just standing there, then everything starts shaking and doesn’t stop for like 15 minutes. It was an 8.9. It was pretty wild—it was an experience, but it was pretty sad.” Tyler left Japan five days later, and has spent the last two months in San Antonio, working out with Hill. But what he saw from the Japanese people in the aftermath of the earthquake stays with him. “What was crazy, though, was that the Japanese, they didn’t take it as bad as the Americans did,” Tyler said. “They were like, ‘This is our country, we are going to do the best we can to rebuild it.’ That’s just their mentality. It is inspiring.” Sporting News

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

The growth in Tyler's game was big enough to earn him an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. During that time teams learned that there is a lot more to him than they realized. "There were a lot of things out there that were said about me," said Tyler. "People have their own perception about me before they meet me and from what I'm hearing they're now saying who we thought was you wasn't you. That's exactly why I'm here to show people who I am, that I can play and belong. I'm trying to my best here and in the individual workouts. "This has always been a dream of mine. It was up to me to make the dream come true, work hard every day, be humble, respectful and hungry." HoopsWorld

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

This year's combine Man of Mystery was Jeremy Tyler. Tyler is infamous for his decision to drop out of high school after his junior year to turn pro. He had a disastrous stretch in Israel before finally finding his stride a little bit in Japan. He impressed a lot of teams Thursday with his athleticism, motor and midrange shooting ability. "If Tyler had gone the more traditional route, I think he would've been a lottery pick," one GM said. "He does some things that are pretty impressive. We're doing a lot of homework on him and we think he's a good kid who got some really bad advice. But as far as basketball talent goes, he has the chance to be really, really good." ESPN.com

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

Chad Ford: Jeremy Tyler measured with the biggest wingspan -- a whopping 7' 5". He also had the largest standing reach at 9' 4.5" Twitter

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

Three years ago, the top college prospect for the class of 2010 was not Kyrie Irving, Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger or Brandon Knight. It was Jeremy Tyler, a center at San Diego High School who was expected to be the best prep big man in years. Tyler, however, skipped his senior season in high school to play professionally in Israel and Japan – a decision that was met with criticism as soon as he struggled overseas. He’s now eligible for next month’s NBA draft and has no regrets about his unusual journey. “I’m a much better player now than if I would have finished my senior year and went to college,” Tyler told Yahoo! Sports after a workout last Thursday. “I can’t say that’s for everyone because everyone is different. But I feel like the best for me was to make that decision. I don’t regret it.” Yahoo! Sports

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

“I don’t see him being a top pick in this draft,” an Eastern Conference general manager said. “Could he have accomplished something different taking a different path? One will never know. He chose that direction. It was an unconventional one and it will be looked at as a case study for years to come.” Yahoo! Sports

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

Tyler now says the experience humbled him. He has worked to become more professional. “It was definitely a learning process and a building year,” Tyler said, “a lot of misunderstandings with me just kind of getting into the game of professional basketball. The work ethic was there. I worked hard every day and came to work every day. There were little things that were blown out of proportion, being late to an interview or being late to a practice because I didn’t have a ride. “At the end of it, it doesn’t matter the reason why. There are no gray areas, either. It’s black or white. I took everything out of that year that I was supposed to. Everything I did wrong that year, I focused on not doing it the next year.” Yahoo! Sports

Draft, Jeremy Tyler 

Still too young to jump straight into the N.B.A., (Jeremy) Tyler went to Japan for a second chance and to hone his raw skills in a league with many former N.B.A. and U.S. college players. After a season under the former N.B.A. coach Bob Hill, during which he also got advice from older teammates, including the former Seattle Supersonics center Robert Swift, Tyler’s nascent career, where he could play a role as a rebounder and interior defender, could be turning around. “Being in Japan is amazing, especially in Tokyo,” said the 6-foot-11, or 2.11-meter, power forward, just days before the March 11 earthquake forced his league to cancel the season. “Everybody is so positive — my coaches, my teammates. There are so many different things to explore here. I’m really enjoying my time here. Basketball is taking care of itself.” New York Times

Draft, Jeremy Tyler, Japan 

Along with other American players and coaches, Tyler returned to the United States soon after the earthquake, and he has gone to the Dallas area to continue training with Hill, team officials said. The Tokyo Apache canceled the rest of its season, along with teams from Saitama and Sendai, while teams in other areas continue playing. Several coaches and players said Tyler’s experience in Japan, though brief, could raise his stock in the N.B.A. draft. New York Times

Draft, Jeremy Tyler, Japan 

Hill, who mentored David Robinson while winning 62 games with the San Antonio Spurs in 1994-95, also coached in New York, Indiana, Seattle and several countries before joining the Apache this season in Japan’s basketball league, where teams often play three American players at a time. He said Tyler had simply been too young to jump from his junior year at San Diego High School to a different culture. “How can you send an 18-year-old to Israel by himself? First of all, the Israel league is good. There’s no way he was ready, especially if he didn’t have an American coach who could bring him along. I mean, they took him out of high school in his junior year. It was a disaster. He didn’t do well. He’s doing much better here than he did in Israel.” New York Times

Draft, Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan 

The deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11 sent several former NBA players packing from the country. The ex-NBA players included Richie Frahm, Robert Swift, Charles O’Bannon, Kenny Satterfield, Jerald Honeycutt, Japan native Yuta Tabuse and J.R. Sakuragi (formerly J.R. Henderson). NBA draft prospect Jeremy Tyler has also returned home. About the only ex-NBA player still playing there right now is Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf for Kyoto Hannaryz. Yahoo! Sports

Jeremy Tyler, Japan, Robert Swift, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Yuta Tabuse 

The Tokyo Apache's season isn't officially over, but the team's American players and head coach, Bob Hill, were busy making plans to leave the country as soon as possible, The Japan Times has learned. With the uncertainty of widespread health risks due to the Fukushima nuclear plant's radiation leak problems in the aftermath of Friday's devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, the Apache's foreign personnel, including Hill, general manager Conor Neu and players Robert Swift (ex-NBA center), Mike Chappell, Justin Johnson, Jeremy Tyler (teenage NBA prospect and projected second-round draft pick), Byron Eaton and Darin Satoshi Maki were on the verge of leaving the country as of press time on Wednesday afternoon. Japan Times

Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan, Robert Swift 

Neu, however, said things are still up in the air. "I'm told the league will make a decision and announce an official statement soon and we're waiting for that," he said. "As with the rest of the country, plans change hourly. The team is still in Tokyo at the moment, although we canceled practice today as we make decisions on what to do." Japan Times

Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan, Robert Swift 

In a number of e-mails and interviews with league sources in recent days, it's become clear that numerous imports from other bj-league teams have discussed or are considered leaving Japan in fear of more natural disasters and health risks. For a league with nearly 35 percent of its players coming from overseas, a mass exodus of players — and possibly foreign head coaches L.J. Hepp (Oita HeatDevils), Zeljko Pavlicevic (Shimane Susanoo Magic), Bob Nash (Saitama Broncos) and Bob Pierce (Akita Northern Happinets) — would compound this unforeseen chain of events. Japan Times

Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan, Robert Swift 

Jeremy Tyler, still a few months shy of his 20th birthday, is no stranger to NBA talent evaluators. Though he's playing halfway around the world, the Tokyo Apache's highly touted 210-cm prospect is being closely watched. "I've had about five teams contact me for video, but I know his agent has been speaking with, and providing video for many more," Apache general manager Conor Neu told The Japan Times a few hours after the team's double-overtime loss on Wednesday against the Akita Northern Happinets. Japan Times

Jeremy Tyler, Japan 

Apache coach Bob Hill said talent alone isn't the only factor in the way players are drafted nowadays. "We've started drafting players on potential," he said. "No 19-year-old is going to go into the NBA and help you win. It's not going to happen. As great as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were (coming out of high school) . . . you can help a team win but you are not going to go in and impact a team. "So now we are drafting these young ones and the D-League (NBA Development League) is a big part of it." "His progress has been solid. He's gotten a lot better lately and we'll get back to the States and get him ready for the draft." Japan Times

Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan 

It's true, though, that Tokyo Apache forward-center Jeremy Tyler has enormous potential as a basketball player. And he's in the early stages of a career that could someday earn him hundreds of millions of dollars in the NBA. For now, he's working diligently under the guidance of ex-NBA coach Bob Hill, who's in his first year guiding the Apache. Like the 210-cm Tyler, the Apache are a work in progress, with a .500 record through 16 games. Japan Times

Bob Hill, Jeremy Tyler, Japan