NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Tennessee of last decade
By Joey Loose
7. Tyreke Key – Indiana State
A 6’3 guard from Celina, Key found success at Indiana State, arriving in 2017 at the program that Larry Bird built four decades earlier. The Sycamores didn’t exactly have a plethora of success, but Key developed into one of the best guards in the MVC across the next five years, and his career isn’t quite finished just yet.
Key was a decent piece early on, but developed into an impressive offensive weapon. He averaged 17.4 points per game as a sophomore during a breakout campaign, with similar numbers in his following two seasons. He was the most important player for the Sycamores, scoring a career-high 34 points in a win over Evansville and leading the program to an 18-win season as a junior. Unfortunately, he missed all of last season following shoulder surgery.
The conference’s Most Improved Player in 2019, he earned All-MVC honors for three straight seasons, including First Team as both a junior and senior. Key was among conference leaders in points, shooting percentage and minutes played in each of those final three seasons with the Sycamores. Instead of returning for a final year at Indiana State, Key entered the transfer portal and will be a key member of next year’s Tennessee squad in the SEC, returning to his home state.