SCOUTORY

From a Birts Eye View

Image: Alpe Adria Cup

Tylan Birts : A Swiss Army knife in Austria

We recently provided a round-up of the top guard, wing and big prospects in win2day Superliga Austria. Tylan Birts would have been eligible for either category given the incredible versatility of the 6'5 allrounder who is coming off a prolific campaign with Raiffeisen Flyers Wels. He spoke to us about his positional preferences, pro experiences and plans for the future.

How would your characterize your game? What do you see as your strengths and areas of improvement? Since you can almost play anywhere, what is your favorite position?

I would say I am very versatile, whether it’s guarding every position defensively or playing multiple positions offensively. Some of my strengths include having a good basketball IQ, using my athleticism attacking downhill, leading the transition and finding open teammates, rebounding and defending. Areas I certainly want to continue to improve in is shooting and tightening up my ball handling. I would say my favorite position is playing out on the wing.

You excelled at a really good D2 program, Barry University. How do you rate that level? How would your Barry team do in NCAA1 in your opinion?

Playing at Barry definitely helped me transition to the next level. The competition is pretty good in the Sunshine State Conference. In my opinion we would have been able to compete against NCAA Division 1 talent. A majority of our players transferred from division 1 schools. Back in 2017, we beat Auburn. While I was at Barry, I had the opportunity to play with and against so much talent in practice alone, guys like Elvar Fridriksson and Sunday Dech just to name a few.

You spent your first pro season in Georgia. How was that experience?

It was definitely a different experience but it helped me grow a ton, just learning and soaking up knowledge from a coach at that time, Manuchar Markoishvili (current AC of AS Monaco in Euroleague) who actually played at a high level in Europe and the other staff was a blessing.

This past season, you signed in BSL Austria rather late. Was it difficult to join a team without having a preseason?

Surprisingly, not really. I made sure to stay ready and in game shape to the best of my ability. The team had some really good guys who welcomed me in right away

Level-wise, how do Georgia and Austria compare?

I’d say they aren’t too far apart, I‘d give the advantage to Austria since they are more organized and the clubs have more sponsors.

Who was the toughest matchup you played so far in your career? High school, college, pros, does not matter.

I honestly can’t name just one guy, so there’s B.J. Glasford, Raquan Mitchell, Isaiah Hobbs. Hobbs and I were teammates at Barry so those practice battles against him were always intense. All three of those guys are pros now.

We are a scouting website mainly. What kind of scouting report do you like as a player? What should be in there in terms of information, how long, etc.?

I like the traditional style scouting reports, where it’s your measurements, statistics, & a short bio on the player.

What are your plans for the upcoming season? Are you looking to return to Europe?

I honestly would like to be in the best situation possible on and off the court, whether that means staying in the states playing or going back over to Europe. The ultimate goal for me is to be playing at the highest level possible.

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