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Tyler Mallory’s mother, Stephanie, told him when he was a little boy that he wouldn’t win them all.

But Mallory is doing his best to prove his mother wrong.

“I was keeping up with his points,” Stephanie Mallory said. He was 94 points shy of 1,000 for the season.

The season she’s talking about is basketball; and the school player she’s so proud of attends Greenville High School.

After last week’s game, Mallory is even closer to breaking that record.

“I was excited,” Stephanie said.

She’s been watching, and listening to her son play basketball almost his entire life.

She recalls the sound of him bouncing a basketball in the house at the crack of dawn almost every morning.

“He’s very dedicated to his craft, and puts in long hours at the gym every day,” Stephanie said.

All of Mallory’s hard work is paying off. 

He was recently voted the National Player of the Week.

Mallory is a 5’8” powerhouse on and off the court.

Mallory tries hard and practices even harder. This work ethic has made him a role model for the rest of his team mates.

When they’re down in the dumps about something, all he has to do is share words of encouragement.

“They listen to him,” Stephanie said. “They look up to him.”

But the basketball court is not the only place Mallory tries hard.

“He’s a very good kid and his grades are good,” Stephanie said.

It’s his grades and his skill on the court that has several colleges looking closely at him now.

“He is one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever seen,” said Joseph Eiland, Butler County School Superintendent. 

“When he was a young man, he’d walk up Oglesby Street to practice at the gym here. He would practice every school day from 3:34 to 6 p.m. right by himself.”

Calhoun Community College in Huntsville has expressed interest in recruiting Mallory to its roster of athletes. And the Golden Bears of Miles College have also roared into his life. 

But for right now, Mallory is undecided on where to attend college. There could be more offers in the works later on.

“He’s the top player in the nation for the Class of 2023 Point Guard,” Stephanie said.

With that under his belt, the offers will just keep coming.