Articles by Category
Trey Lyles had a magical few months playing basketball last season when he led Indianapolis Arsenal Tech to an Indiana state championship and then played in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit.
After that, it became a bit of a “long summer” after a medical procedure on his left leg forced him to miss the Kentucky-Indiana all-star series and kept him from playing in the six exhibition games Kentucky played in the Bahamas.
“It wasn’t fun, but being around the guys and being able to socialize with them was fun,” Lyles said. “I had to get a little operation done on my leg in June and I got cleared by the doctor, so it is all good now.”
So did he play in pain his whole senior season, when he averaged 23.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and earned Indiana Mr. Basketball honors?
“It happened after the season, after all the all-star games. It was just something that happened over time. I wasn’t playing in pain last year and won’t be this year,” he said.
The 6-foot-9 Lyles said he hopes not playing in the Bahamas can turn into a blessing because of the extra work he and Willie Cauley-Stein, who also did not play there, did during individual workouts with Kentucky assistant coaches.
“It did help. Me and Willie both did individual workouts and worked on conditioning, consistency in our jump shots, ballhandling and stuff like that,” Lyles said. “It definitely helped me. I got to see how coach (John Calipari) wanted things done. I got to watch the guys practice and see what positions I will be playing. I got to do extra work in the weight room and got on a diet and got my body right. It helped me in a couple of ways.”
He said assistant Kenny Payne worked with him the most, but he also spent a lot of time with Kentucky’s strength and conditioning coaches in the weight room.
“I spent a lot of time with them doing conditioning stuff, running and lifting weights. Those coaches work me the most and are laid-back, cool guys,” Lyles said. “Now coach Payne, he is funny, laid back. But once workouts come, he is demanding. When he wants something done, like coach Cal, you better do it or he will be on you. He is a great coach and wants the best for us, and he’s helped me a lot already.”
Lyles is versatile enough to score inside or grab a rebound and lead a fast break. He can hit from 3-point range, enjoys passing and doesn’t mind playing defense.
“I can play a couple different positions. I’m a team-first guy and always have been. I just do whatever it takes to win,” said Lyles, who enjoys watching film of former NBA standout Scottie Pippen as well as current NBA star Tim Duncan.
While some may wonder if Lyles can fill a role similar to what Julius Randle did last season, Lyles wants no part of the comparison to Randle.
“Once the season starts people are going to start making their own comparisons,” he said. “If Coach wants me play defense, be a leader, rebound, score, I’ll do it. Whatever he needs me to do, I will do it and be my own type of player.”
That philosophy was instilled in him by his father, Tom Lyles, a former professional player and an assistanat high school coach on Trey Lyles’ high school team.
“I definitely miss our workouts that we had. Just being able to go to the gym with him and just shoot and work on different things was great,” Trey Lyles said. “When I go home on visits and stuff like that he can do that, and he can come up here whenever he wants and work me out. But it helps getting a different coach’s perspective on things here at UK and not just Dad’s take.
“But he would come here to work me out if I needed it. He cares about my development that much. He always wants to have a hand in what I am doing. He would and I would appreciate that.”
Both his father and Arsenal Tech head coach Jason Delaney were hard on Lyles, something that should help prepare him for the rigors of going through a season under Calipari.
“I still think that Cal can throw something at me they didn’t. Coming off the coaches I have, they have pretty much prepared me to be in college with how hard they have been on me,” Lyles said. “I think coach Cal has some different thing to come at me that maybe will be surprising, but I think I am prepared to play for him.”
Tom Lyles, who says his son is “a little different” from most players, knows he is prepared for college basketball.
“It was me and Trey that started this thing. We would stay hours upon hours working out. We would watch and study film together,” Tom Lyles said. “He was determined about what he wanted to do and was willing to put the work in. Sometimes he got a little quirky, but that is understandable when you are 11, 12 or 13. But we always had a great relationship, and he always wanted to learn and made the commitment to learn.
“From a parent standpoint, it was tough to watch him not play this summer. From a coaching standpoint, it was really tough because you know the work he has put in, and to not be on that big stage right away was kind of disappointing. But we were positive with him. We knew how tough it was, and there was no reason for us to act disappointed. Now he’s back and ready to go.”
Lyles said his mother always “supports me in everything I do” and would let his father know if she thought he was being too hard on him.
“She is always there to soften it up. She is pretty much the family backbone. She is always there supporting me with everything basketball-wise, school-wise or anything else. She is there to talk to me and yet she pushed me just as much as dad,” Lyles said.
During Lyles’ high school career, his mother was the team scorekeeper and always near the bench or court.
“That is just something she has always done from when I was in AAU and she just asked to do and coach Delaney let her, so she was next to the bench. She enjoyed doing it,” he said.
Now Lyles is enjoying his new teammates.
“It has been great. We go out to eat together, hang out at the mall, we do everything together. We like each other and everybody is cool with everybody, so it has been fun,” he said.
Basketball-wise, he says he’s adjusted to the more up-tempo style Calipari uses than what he played in high school.
“Everything is faster paced. Away from basketball, pretty much I am just calm. I am a calm guy and don’t like to do a whole lot, so it has not been that hard to get used to being here,” he said.
Same with his academic work.
“I take a lot of pride in it. We are all more than just basketball players. We have other sides to us,” Lyles said. “Academics are very important to me and my family. Once that ball stops bouncing, you have to have something to fall back on, and that’s where academics comes in.”
However, now he has a chance to do something extraordinary.
He says winning the state title last year with childhood friends was “probably the funnest time I’ve had in my life,” and he’ll never forget the state run and postseason all-star games he got to participate in.
But would winning a national title, especially with the Final Four being in his hometown of Indianapolis, mean even more to him?
“I don’t know. That is a tough one. That be a nice problem to have,” he said. “It would probably be equal, and hopefully that is what we do this year. That could sure make for two very special years in a row.”
KSR Twitter Feed