By Khadijah Sandifer |ContributorSituated on the Potomac River, just south of Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Va., is known for its Old Town, with brick sidewalks and well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings. Founded in 1749, Alexandria was a tobacco trading post, one of the ten busiest ports in America. Alexandria was the hometown of George Washington, Robert E. Lee, Jim Morrison and Mama Cass. It is also the hometown of Augusta University’s Tyvez Monroe, a senior captain on the men's basketball team.Indeed, Alexandria is in the heart of some the best high school basketball in the country. Year in and year out Washington, Northern Virginia and Baltimore produce some of the best teams and individuals in the United States. A steady stream of Balto-Wash talent helps fill the rosters of college teams around the nation.Monroe, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, is a product of that environment. He attended Thomas A. Edison High School for two years, graduating in 2015. His junior year he was named second team all-conference and first team all-defensive, and then his senior year he was named first team all-conference, first team all-defensive, second team all-state and was named Edison's MVP.The Edison alumnus is a communication major at Augusta University who showed off his professional skills during a post-game press conference after the Jaguars upset the University of South Carolina in an exhibition game in late October. He handled reporters' questions like an experienced player from a big-time Division I program."My sophomore year, we played Wichita State and lost by one," he said. "We played Clemson last year. They're in the ACC, and that's big time. We were close for a half and lost by 20, and this year we played South Carolina, so I am used to this."
Monroe has been a starter all four years while playing for the Jaguars. As a freshman in the 2015-16 season, he played 25 games and started in 10. He helped the team reach the PBC Tournament Championship game. As a sophomore in the 2016-17 season he led the Jaguars in assists and second in steals. He was ranked eighth in the PBC for made three pointers. At the William Sherrill Augusta Athletics Awards Banquet, Monroe was named the Most Improved Player for men’s hoops. Tyvez played in all 32 games this season and started in 31. As a junior in the 2017-2018 season, Monroe was ranked fifth in the PBC with 62 three-pointers and led Augusta in threes. He was ranked third for the Jags in points per game at 12.6 and ranked second in rebounds at 5.9. He led the team with 27 steals and was second in assists.Now in his senior year, Tyvez is 46 points away from reaching the 1,000-point career milestone.Some may wonder what brought Tyvez away from the Washington area all the way down to the South to play basketball.“Augusta offered me the best all-around offer and I am here on scholarship, so my parents did not have to come out of pocket for me to attend college,” Monroe said.Monroe could not pass up an opportunity like this to go to college on scholarship and still be able to play a sport that he loves and is so passionate about. Monroe is a key component on this season's Jaguar basketball team and has a lot to contribute.“I feel that what I bring to this team is my leadership, aggressiveness, will to win and wanting to get better every day," he said. "I am a hard worker and I am in the gym every day.”Other players on the team feel that Tyvez is a major asset to the program. Senior Aaron Byrd, who also is from the Washington area, spoke highly of his teammate.“I love working with Tyvez, and he is one of the hardest working guys I know and one of the most confident guys I’ve every played with,” Byrd said. “Some of that confidence has rubbed off on me. I am a lot more confident in my game just because of some of the little things he does.”AU Coach Dip Metress knows his players better than anyone else, so it was very interesting to hear what he had to say about Tyvez.“His career started off very rocky to where he almost did not come back after his freshman year,” Metress said. “This season he’s evolved into a great leadership role.”Monroe says his relationship with his coach has developed over time.“Dip and I had a rough relationship at first, but it has definitely gotten better over the years,” said Monroe, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Dec. 3.The Jaguars are off to a 5-2 start, and Monroe is averaging 11 points per game through those first seven games. A long-range specialist, he's made 33 percent of his three-point attempts. He's also done yeoman's work on the boards with six per game, including 10 rebounds in the overtime win over Georgia College, the conference opener for the Jaguars.After graduation, Monroe hopes to go overseas to play, and one place he's had his eyes on is Hong Kong, China.