Barlow to play at Lafayette Flour Bluff's Tyler Barlow signs to play basketball Division I Lafayette.
Flour Bluff senior Tyler Barlow could dunk a basketball before he even drove a car.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Barlow has now used his impressive leaping ability to net an NCAA Division I college scholarship.
Barlow signed a letter of intent on Monday to play college basketball next season for Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
"It's a great atmosphere, and it's a great accomplishment not only for me but also for my family," said Barlow whose older brother Justin threw the shot put and discus at Troy University.
Barlow, 18, also took recruiting visits to Baylor and the University of Texas at San Antonio before opting to ink with a Leopards team that fell in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament to Villanova.
"Being in a military family, we've moved from coast to coast. So moving out of Texas isn't a big issue with me," said Barlow, whose father, Chandler, retired from the U.S. Marine Corps on Sunday after serving for 24 years. "The city of Easton is an extremely beautiful place. I found my new home."
Barlow wasn't kidding about traveling long distances, as he moved from San Diego to Corpus Christi before his junior year.
Barlow, the 2014 Caller-Times Boys Basketball Newcomer of the Year, averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding his two seasons at Flour Bluff while helping the Hornets to back-to-back district titles and two consecutive Region IV tournament appearances in Class 4A and 5A, respectively.
An all-District 30-5A first-team selection, Barlow averaged 16.5 points and 13.8 rebounds this past season while helping the Hornets return to the regional semifinals.
"I'm excited for Tyler," Flour Bluff boys basketball coach Robert Dodd said. "He has helped us be really successful the past two seasons. We've gone 51-20 in his two years here. He rebounds well. He gets off the floor quick, he has good hands and good feet. So I think that's going to be big for him at the next level."
What has made Barlow such an impressive rebounder is that he's aggressive and doesn't let the ball come to him.
"I take a lot of pride in my rebounding," said Barlow, who likely will play power forward in college. "Those are things that help you win. It's not just playing offense and scoring, but it's also stopping the other team from scoring and grabbing the rebound when they miss, so they don't get a second opportunity."
Barlow also fine-tuned his perimeter shooting this season to become a more complete basketball player.
"Tyler can shoot the ball," Dodd said. "He has developed a 15- to 16-foot jump shot, and he will be able to extend the defense and make other teams' post players come out and guard him. He's definitely going to be a good player for them, and it's really going to help their team out."
Barlow's pullup jumper didn't develop overnight, however.
"I'm more confident with my jumper now compared to last year," said Barlow, who will major in kinesiology in college. "That just comes from hard work and continuing to work at it."
Barlow has indeed come a long way since he was a 6-foot eighth-grader who first dunked a basketball.
"It wasn't anything special, though," a smiling Barlow said of his dunking ability back in junior high.
But Barlow now has the chance to experience firsthand what college basketball's March Madness is all about.