DETROIT (1/24/2020) -- If you're an aspiring basketball player in the Saginaw-Bay City Metropolitan Area, you must make your pilgrimage to one place: Veterans Park. 
 
Located on M-13, just southeast of the Zilwaukee Bridge right along the glorious Saginaw River, many great ballplayers from the area honed their skills at a young age on the blacktop, while developing the mental and physical toughness that are integral to a great basketball skill-set. 
 
From day one since the sixth grade, when he was crossing over fellow classmates at Heavenrich Elementary and crowned the one-on-one champion, that was Archie Tullos' grooming area. His sanctuary. A place that would toughen him up and let him build his confidence as a player while competing against the best players from nearby Saginaw High and Arthur Hill. 
 
The same confidence that enabled him to score in bunches at the three-point line, as well as the charity stripe, en route to an elite high school career first at St. Mary's, and then at Saginaw Buena Vista alongside NBA veteran guard Mark Macon. 
 
He arrived on campus at the University of Detroit Mercy in 1984, and after scoring just 101 points as a freshman, who would have known that he would etch his name in the offensive record books. 
 
"The university allowed me not only to mature as an athlete on the basketball court. But I was also presented with many opportunities to mature in all aspects of my young life away from the hardwood. In all I think the university was a spot-on fit for me. They pushed just enough to propel me past my comfort zone, yet I was given the option to do it at a pace that was more conducive to the unique physical and mental gifts that God bestowed upon me." 
 
The two-time All-MCC selection would end his career fifth in school history with 1,731 total points, including ninth in the nation in scoring as a senior at 25.1 points, which was the fifth-highest amount in school history. 
 
During that senior season, he was second in the nation in free throw percentage hitting at 90.8 percent – second in school history – as he helped the Titans make a run as the sixth and final seed, all the way to the MCC championship, upsetting third-seeded Saint Louis and second-seeded Evansville in the process. In that game against Evansville, Tullos scored 41 points and nailed a three-pointer while being double-teamed with just two seconds left in the contest for the win. 
 
Yet it was another game during his senior season that became legendary as he staged a showdown with Bradley's Hersey Hawkins scoring a Titan record 49 points in the contest, connecting on 18 field goals. It was one of four 40-point games he would tally as a senior. 
 
"I remember that February 22, 1988 was a Monday. There was nothing out of the ordinary that occurred. Woke up and went to class as usual. We went through our normal pregame shootaround before going to the pregame meal. I believe that days meal was at Buddy's Pizza -- my favorite place. We came back and I just relaxed at the dorm before heading over to the gym for pregame taping. I remember being more relaxed than usual during pregame. It was how I would be during a Summer League game at St. Cecelia's. After the pregame introduction, we gathered as a group at center court as usual. We put our hands together and I would shout out, 'one, two, three' and in unison, we would yell 'Praise the Lord'. The rest is history as they say."
 
When he graduated, he owned two MCC season records by leading the league in three-point shooting percentage with a 48.1 percent clip in 1986-87 season. He was also second in career free-throw percentage at 88.1 percent, while his 286 made field goals as a senior was sixth in the MCC record books. 
 
"My favorite memories always involved my mother. The memories enjoyed at the University of Detroit are no different. I would have to say Senior Day was probably my most memorable time at the university. It was a great opportunity to have my mom on the court with me for my final home game in Calihan Hall." 
 
After leaving the Titans, he played in the NBA Summer League, the United States Basketball League, the Continental Basketball League and the World Basketball League. 
 
He lit up the scoreboard as a youth in Saginaw, and as a Titan if you needed a basket, there was one man to answer the call. One man, who wanted the ball when the game was on the line. But now, he is truly in a hall among the greats in the red, white and blue. 
 
Congratulations Archie Tullos on your induction into the Titan Hall of Fame.