The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUNIOR national basketball team standout Tyler Pinder will begin his athletic and academic collegiate career with the Redlands Community College Cougars.

“I found a new home,” said Pinder, the Miami Prep Tornadoes product, when he made his official announcement on social media.

Cougars head coach, José Molina Negron, added: “Extremely excited to add Tyler to our family. Very talented guard.”

Located in El Reno, Oklahoma, the Cougars compete in NJCAA Division I - Region II. They finished 15-16, 7-9 in the conference.

Pinder reclassified to the class of 2022 and spent his post grad season with a new programme, the Tornadoes in Miami, Florida.

Miami Prep had an accolade-filled 2021-22 season where they captured the Florida Sun Basketball Conference. South Division Championship. They were ranked no.1 in the regular season and advanced to both the FSBC Final Four and the Big Shots Prep National Final.

“[Pinder] is a can’t miss D1 Recruit,” Miami Prep said in a statement. “This combo guard is super skilled with tremendous scoring ability. Lights out shooter, super off the dribble and bounce.”

Pinder a 6’2” sharpshooting guard, spent his previous season at Broken Arrow, a Class 6A programme in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

In his final season with the programme, he surpassed 200 three pointers made in his high school career and also won the Tulsa World’s Player of the Week award.

He began the week with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists in an 86-51 win over Bartlesville. He followed with 18 points and 10 assists in an 80-58 win over No. 9 ranked Bixby and concluded the week with 14 points in a 61-50 win over No. 10 Jenks to bring an end to the team’s seven-game winning streak.

Pinder previously played at Redemption Life Tabernacle Christian Prep in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

His 2019-20 season was highlighted by being named one of the top performers at the Stars and Stripes High School Basketball Showcase in Houston, Texas.

Pinder finished with a tournament high 46 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals in a win over JL Academy.

At the national team level, Pinder was a member of Team Bahamas as they won the bronze medal at last summer’s FIBA Centrobasket Under-17 Championship for Men in Puerto Rico. He averaged 11.2 points per game and was the tournament’s top three-point shooter at 48.3 percent from beyond the arc.