Tari Eason opens up on chip on his shoulder, how he grew into a first-round pick

Tari Eason saw his NBA dreams come to life after being selected in the first round of the draft. The Houston Rockets took the LSU star, being one of the three SEC players the franchise drafted on Thursday night.

During his introductory press conference, Eason discussed why he had a chip on his shoulder throughout college. He said not being recruited really stuck with him and helped him grow into a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

“Well really, it was just a product of my work,” Eason said. “I think I worked on a lot of aspects of my game. My shooting, my ballhandling, things like that. I’ve always had a pretty good defensive mindset because of my competitive nature. You know, from high school, even before then, I wasn’t heavily recruited. So, I’ve always carried that chip on my shoulder and that real edge that’s helped me carry through.”

Eason was ranked a four-star prospect by the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services, coming out of high school. He was the No. 120 overall player and top in the state of Washington before picking Cincinnati as his school of choice.

After his one year with the Bearcats, Eason transferred to Baton Rouge and played for LSU this past season. There, he averaged 16.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The Tigers made it to the NCAA Tournament, as Eason was named to the All-SEC team and SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

Tari Eason explains how his paths have crossed with new teammates

The Rockets drafted Eason out of LSU but also selected two others out of the SEC. Auburn‘s Jabari Smith and Kentucky‘s TyTy Washington will be in Houston working with Eason, hoping to turn the franchise around.

Eason explained his relationship with both players, saying as their paths have crossed, he’s excited they will be able to work together.

“Playing with TyTy throughout this process and getting to know him, his poise and his pace, his ability not to be sped up is really special,” explained Eason. “I like that about his game. He’s always trying to get everybody involved. So, he’s a really unselfish player, and he’s someone you can’t speed up. I think that’s a really important thing in this league, having your own pace.

“Jabari kind of goes without saying. His ability to just catch and shoot over anybody is second to none. His defensive versatility, his ability to switch multiple positions and just how he goes and competes every night. Playing against him, I know he’s a competitor — I know both of these guys are competitors. So, it’s going to be exciting to get to work with these guys.”