Morehead star's family kept him safe

Faried grew up in rough N.J. neighborhood

By Mark Story - Herald-Leader Sports Columnist

When first approached, Faried had never heard of Morehead. He had to be convinced it was actually a real university.

Once that was done, Morehead brought Faried in for an official visit during his senior year of high school that included the Eagles' home game against archrival Eastern Kentucky.

Watching Tyndall conduct a practice made a lasting impression on the 6-foot-8 center.

"I thought he was a crazy man," Faried says. "He was yelling and screaming. I'm like 'Wow, this little person has a lot of oomph in him.' But I liked his passion."

Three years later, now that Faried has developed into a dynamic college big man, the mythology that's grown up around his recruitment has him picking Morehead State over big-time, homestate schools such as Rutgers and Seton Hall.

"That gets a little overblown," Tyndall says. "He had a great state tournament his senior year, and some of the bigger schools were trying to place him in a prep school. But, basically, Marist, Iona and Morehead State were the three schools offering him."

When push came to recruiting shove, Tyndall had made a favorable impression on the person who mattered. Mom.

"I told him, I expect you to take care of my son," Waudda Faried says.

Kenneth was Morehead bound.

A pro future?

There were two big challenges during Faried's freshman year at Morehead.

In basketball, the issue was stamina. "I could really only play him in two-, three-minute stretches," Tyndall says.

Not shockingly, the off-the-court issue was homesickness. Small-town Kentucky life in Morehead (population 7,642) was a culture shock for the guy from Newark.

"I was on the verge of just getting on the plane and leaving," Faried says.

His parents told their homesick child exactly what parents have been telling college students in such situations for centuries.

"They said, 'If you get out of school, you'll have to get some type of job,' " Kenneth Faried says.

Faried stayed with Morehead.

As a sophomore, Faried added some 20 pounds of muscle (to 215) and blossomed as a player. He has compiled 23 double-doubles, is the nation's third leading rebounder (12.8 a game) and averages 13.9 points.

His alley-oop dunk off a pass from point guard Brandon Shingles at the end of regulation in what became Morehead's double-overtime victory over Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament championship was one of the most electric plays of the season.

On Tuesday night, Faried will try to lead Morehead to its first NCAA tourney victory in 25 years against Alabama State in the opening-round game. If the Eagles prevail, they will get a crack at No. 1 Louisville on Friday.

Long term, Tyndall says, his big man, with his knack for rebounding, has a shot to some day make an NBA roster. "I'm not saying he's a lock," Tyndall says. "I think he'll have a chance."

Faried thinks about that. His mom is battling the same disease, Lupus, that took his grandmother's life. Kenneth fantasizes about making the NBA and being able to buy his mother a stand-alone house.

Yet he's also a realist.

"I play in a smaller conference," Faried says of the Ohio Valley. "I'm not a guy who scores the ball and puts up 40 a night. If I do get to the NBA, I will have accomplished a life goal. If I don't, I will have my degree and be a tall businessman."

For now, a guy who rose above the streets of Newark, N.J., has given Morehead, Ky., a moment in the sun.

It's been quite a trip for Kenneth Faried.