Former Southeast Missouri State forward Tyler Stone's NBA dreams could be realized

Like most recent college graduates, Tyler Stone has been trying to secure his dream job.

For the Southeast Missouri State basketball player who graduated in May, the dream is to enter a career as a professional basketball player, and if the pre-draft workouts with multiple NBA teams are any indication, Stone is on the path to making that a reality.

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

"It's life-changing, of course, but it's been great," Stone said. "I've been learning a lot. I've had the chance to workout with some good players and stuff like that. It's just been fun. You know, I always wanted to do this, play basketball, and it's just the process of making my dream into a reality."

The 6-foot-8 forward from Memphis, Tennessee, has worked out for the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers leading up to today's NBA Draft.

"He has been all over the country. ... But he is back here, and we will wait on the draft tomorrow night," Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said on Wednesday. "We don't expect him to get drafted, but we do expect him to get a phone call shortly after to be invited to join one of the teams. We do feel good about that.

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

"And then decisions will have to be made whether he is put on a professional team, a D-League [Developmental League] so to speak. And then he has to make decisions whether he wants to do that or go overseas and obviously overseas is going to be financially very rewarding for him, but he deserves it. He deserves whatever he gets because here's a guy that put all of his weaknesses to the side and said, 'Coach, I'm going to be the best you ever had.' He made that comment to me, he said, 'I'm going to be the best one you ever had,' and I have to be honest, I certainly doubted it."

Those doubts crept in early in the 2010-2011 season. Stone had transferred from the University of Missouri and had to sit out that season due to transfer regulations but was allowed to practice.

He was thrown out of three of those early practices and the third time was told to pack his bags.

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

But after much consideration he was allowed to remain a Redhawk.

"We had a major project in front of us," Nutt said of Stone. "It started with attitude, it started with accountability, it started with just playing hard and doing the right from wrong.

"He thought he could mope when he wanted to, he thought he could talk back, he thought he could get mad at another player, he thought he could kick a ball into the stands," Nutt added. "He thought he could do all that."

It was in that moment when he was nearly sent home that something changed about Stone. He wasn't ready to leave Southeast and not play the game he loved, and Nutt believes it's the turning point in Stone's career.

"When a young man makes a decision he's going to do it the right way, he knows the difference between right and wrong, and then he let his God-given talents take over," Nutt said. "Because you know, he's 6-8, 225 pounds and can jump out of the gym. I mean, that's God-given talent and he put it to work.

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

"He's one of our hardest workers and he's one of our best practice guys, and we could count on him 20 points and 10 rebounds every night. He certainly made a name for himself in the OVC and he's making a name for himself around the league, in the NBA. He spent some time with Larry Bird the other night. It really is a great experience for him."

Stone quickly made a name for himself in the Ohio Valley Conference. He was a second-team all-OVC selection as a sophomore and junior, and he was a first-team selection this year after leading Southeast with 19.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

"Going to school in like a smaller conference, they really don't know a whole lot about me," Stone said. "But when I go into these workouts I just try to prove to these teams that I can play, and I've been doing just that."

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

Stone's trying not to dwell on his future, and rather just let it unfold in front of him.

"I think I have a chance to be drafted, but I just put it in God's hands," Stone said. "You just won't know until that day comes. I can't predict where I will go. I mean, it's a possibility that I can but it's a possibility that I won't get drafted. I'm just keeping a good attitude about it. You know, just hoping for the best, expecting the worst is how I look at it. But I've been pretty cool about it, I'm just excited to see how it's going to play out."

Regardless whether or not he hears his named called tonight, Stone will almost certainly take another step closer to reaching his ultimate goal of playing basketball professionally.

"Man, it's overwhelming," Stone said of the past few months. "Since I was younger this is what I've been working so hard for. Through middle school, high school, college, I've been working for this moment right now.

Photo from Tyler Stone's Instagram after a participating in an NBA pre-draft workout.

"When you set a goal like this for yourself and you see it become a reality you just feel really proud of yourself. But it's not over yet. I'm just more excited than anything because I'm just ready to see how everything's going to play out. It's just a really exciting time right now."