The Heart of a Seawolf: The Tyson Gilbert Story
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Tyson Gilbert knew his life would change when he moved to Alaska in 2020.
“What’s the wildlife like? Is it dark all the time? How much does it snow?” the former University of Alaska Anchorage guard recalls pondering prior to leaving home.
Little did he know at the time, the real mystery lay not in the details of his next home, but how many heartbeats he had left.
North to Alaska
Born in Denver and raised in nearby the Denver area, Tyson grew up learning and loving basketball. After a stellar high school career, the three-time All-Continental League selection joined the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves, averaging 11 points per game during his sophomore season that concluded in early 2020.
As the uncertain offseason unfolded, Gilbert took a chance on the fellow Division II program in Anchorage.
“I was just really excited with the opportunity that [UAA] presented, just being able to go do something different and live in state that not a lot of people know about but a lot of people should know about,” Gilbert said of transferring.
‘You got Cane’s?’
“You got [Raising] Cane’s?” Gilbert and two new teammates asked the UAA coaching staff after being picked up from the airport for the new season.
”As soon as I landed I could already feel the family atmosphere and that was really big for me,” Gilbert added.
During his first month in Alaska, the then 20-year-old acclimated himself to his new team, dorm and class schedule.
However, little could prepare Gilbert for the major life shift that awaited him one day while scrimmaging with teammates in Wasilla. In a single moment, Gilbert’s relationship with basketball — and life in general — would change forever.
”I went to go set a down screen and next thing I know my teammate, A.J. Garrity, he was looking over me.”
“I woke up and I am looking at him and he was like, ‘Are you okay?’ and I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ because I just had no recollection of what happened.”
When his teammates told him he had collapsed, Gilbert tried not to think about it.
”I am the new guy coming in so no one wants to embarrass themselves,” Gilbert said. “I went and sat out a game and then — my parents, they hate this part — but I played the rest of the day.”
Gilbert did call his parents after the incident, who advised him to get checked out by a medical professional immediately. It was advice that may have saved his life.
At UAA’s student health center, an electrocardiogram test came back irregular. Another EKG and an MRI stress test at the Alaska Heart Institute also came back irregular. A CT scan revealed he was born with a rare heart defect.
“What I had was a right anomalous coronary artery,” Gilbert said. “Basically, I was born with one of my arteries on the wrong side so anytime I would exercise, it would pinch off oxygen to my heart.”
It was a condition that did not previously impact the high-level basketball player and former track athlete.
”[The doctor told me] it is really awesome we found it when we did because, who knows, the next time you were active, it could have been the end,” he recalled. ”The doctor said it was actually life or death, like they were surprised I am still living.”
A Second Chance
Gilbert was told there were two possible paths forward. He could go on without further treatment and live a non-active lifestyle or undergo open-heart surgery in hopes of continuing his basketball career and current lifestyle.
”Obviously in my mind, not just basketball-wise, just life-wise, I am an active person, I am an active guy so I just was like, ’Let’s go through with it. Let’s do it.’”
“But that was definitely one of the toughest — if not the toughest — day of my life, just hearing some information like that.”
At 21 years old, Gilbert had successful open-heart surgery in his home state and recovered at a children’s hospital over the coming days.
“If anything motivated me, [the children] did, because they’re in a position where they haven’t lived much life and they really don’t know what’s going on,” he said.
“Obviously, I am hurting, it is a tough situation, but I was like, I can’t feel sorry for myself. These kids are in here smiling and having a good time and really just taking every day that they can, you know? So I was like, ‘There is no need for me to feel sorry for myself,’ I got another chance at life so that definitely changed my whole perspective on a lot of things.”
Gilbert was sidelined for just six weeks before he was cleared to shoot free throws with his lifelong coach and father.
”He took his time with me and helped me tremendously get back to basketball again,” Tyson said while also shouting out his trainer back home. “Really my whole family helped a lot. My sister, she came to the gym with me, walked [with] me a lot, my brother T.J.”
“Just being able to step on the court again, it was just a blessing because that was almost the point when I almost wasn’t going to be here anymore [the last time] I stepped on the court,” Gilbert said. “Being able to step on the court and touch a ball and being able to have my family around in those times, they literally helped me get back.”
Soon after, Tyson’s mother organized “The Walk for 1 in 100,″ a 4-kilometer walk to raise awareness of congenital heart disease and the 1 in 100 children in America born with a heart defect.
”She has worked really, really hard with [Adult Congenital Heart Association] ... and she has done an unbelievable job of being a great advocate for that, so shoutout to her for her support and love through that,” Gilbert said.
“I know all of these dates by heart”
As Tyson continued to recover, in November 2020, UAA announced it would be sitting out of the upcoming college basketball season due to the ongoing pandemic. Gilbert was going to sit out the season anyway, but the canceled season meant he could potentially play longer than he expected.
But he was still far from seeing the court again, even questioning whether he had already played his final basketball game.
By January 2021, Gilbert was cleared to participate in UAA workouts and practices. Determined to play basketball again, he continued to gain strength and get back into playing shape as the months went on and he stacked up more and more practice.
Then came April 8, 2021, a day Gilbert remembers by heart.
”I went to catch a pass from one of my teammates, just some regular, routine stuff you’ve done a million times,” Gilbert recalled. “I just felt a pop in the back of my left leg and I turned around and was like, ‘Who kicked me?’ and nobody was there.”
“I pretty much immediately knew that I tore my Achilles.”
The Achilles tear meant a longer recovery time than open-heart surgery — at least in Gilbert’s case.
“That was really tough, just because it took a lot to get back from the heart surgery,” Gilbert said, who remembers having surgery on his torn tendon on April 12. “In a lot of ways the Achilles may have been a little harder just because it is a longer recovery, I use my legs a lot — especially for basketball — and also I have to sit out another year, so things seemed like they were compounding.”
Gilbert thought his call to his parents after collapsing on the court just eight months earlier was tough, but this one?
“I couldn’t even get the words out,” he said.
It just so happened his parents were flying into Anchorage and were able to be by his side as he began another surgery and recovery.
”Thank God that they were there because they were my helping hand, I was leaning on them big time,” Gilbert said.
February 2022
A medical redshirt in 2021-22, Gilbert cheered on his teammates from the bench during home games and from his computer during away games. By the time the UAA’s 15-9 season wrapped up, the 6-foot-2 guard was back up to full speed. However, there was uncertainty over next season given what the Seawolves’ offseason plans were, the acceleration of the transfer portal and administration changes as a result of the pandemic.
But the UAA coaching staff, led by head coach Rusty Osborne and assistant Ryan Orton, reassured Gilbert that his time was coming.
“I was a little bit worried they were going to move on and I would have respected that because they’re continuing to try to build a program,” Gilbert said.
October 27, 2022
After two years and two major medical setbacks, Tyson Gilbert finally made his UAA Seawolf debut.
“I remember in warmups I felt like I could just jump through the roof,” Gilbert said with a laugh.
He was back. Both physically on the court and mentally in his head.
“I definitely took a moment of real gratitude and it just felt incredible to lace the shoes back up and compete for the name on the front of my chest,” Gilbert said.
That season, a healthy Gilbert played in all 27 games, led the Seawolves with 280 total points, and earned an honorable mention on the All-GNAC team.
Senior Season
Gilbert was more comfortable heading into his final year of college ball. He didn’t need to tell that to others though; his game spoke for itself. By the third game of his senior season, Gilbert nailed five three-pointers and dropped 27 points in a win over Chaminade to spark a stellar season full of accolades.
The standout guard went on to average a team-high 15 points while leading the Seawolves with 61 steals (9th all-time in school history) and 84 3-pointers (also Top-10 all-time) while being named First Team All-Conference. He saved his best for last, pouring in a career-high 28 points (8-13 FG, 5-7 3FG, 7-7 FT) in a win over No. 1 Saint Martin’s, lifting the Seawolves to a 22-11 record and a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years. He was named Team MVP.
”Sitting out those two years, I watched a ton of basketball and it was the first time in my life where I hadn’t played nonstop, so that also helped me read the game and be able to see different things,” Gilbert said.
Spring 2024 - A New Horizon
Gilbert more than left his mark on Seawolf athletics and the state of Alaska. His performance donning the Green and Gold as a senior led him to be named the 2023-24 Bill MacKay Athlete of the Year as the school’s very best. He was also recognized by the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame with the Trajan Langdon Award, given to an athlete within the state who “demonstrated leadership, integrity and sportsmanship during the past year and positively influenced and inspired others to be better sportsmen or sportswomen.”
He earned a degree in psychology and started another in journalism & public communications while maintaining a 3.58 GPA, making CSC Academic All-District and GNAC All-Academic teams while logging over 500 hours of community service.
Gilbert’s hoops career may now bring him to another faraway destination. But his experience and education leave him with plenty of possible career paths in sports.
”I definitely want to pursue a career in sports, that has always been a passion of mine. I have always loved to coach and lead and connect with people on a different level, a more personal level even further than sports,” Gilbert said.
When Gilbert left Alaska earlier this month and headed home, he did so with a grateful heart and and unforgettable journey.
“Alaska is always home,” he said.
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
