High school freshman, top 2014 recruit commits to IU

It didn’t matter that he was a 14-year-old freshman. It didn’t matter that he had yet to play in a high school game.

Indianapolis Arsenal Tech forward Trey Lyles, ESPN’s No. 1 player in the 2014 class, was ready to decide where he wanted to play college basketball.

And after an unofficial visit Sunday in Bloomington to meet with IU coach Tom Crean, Lyles committed to the Hoosiers.

“When coach first showed me around the campus, I really liked the atmosphere and the people around it,” Lyles said. “I’ve known for a while IU is where I wanted to go. I’m very confident with my decision.”  

Lyles’ father, Tom Lyles, and Spiece Indy Heat AAU coach Reynardo Bluiett both separately said the 6-foot-9 forward could play all five positions on the court.  

ESPN recruiting analyst John Stovall said Lyles reminds him “of a young Tim Duncan offensively.”

In fact, Tom Lyles said his son’s nickname, like Duncan’s, is “The Big Fundamental.”

“He has an old-school game with a new school game,” said Tom Lyles, who is also an assistant coach at Arsenal Tech. “He’s very fundamentally sound and has a very high basketball IQ. Trey can play every position offensively and can also guard every position on the floor.”

Those skills are why many major college programs showed interest and offered scholarships to Lyles despite his young age.   

Ohio State, Purdue, Illinois, Kentucky, Georgetown, Florida and North Carolina were all looking closely at Lyles, his father said.   

But in the end, there was only one true option.

“Growing up, I wanted to go to North Carolina, but after my visits to IU, it just really came down to them,” Lyles said.

Though Lyles decided earlier than most other high school players, he was not alone.
His friend and AAU teammate James Blackmon Jr. committed to the Hoosiers a couple of weeks ago.

Blackmon, a shooting guard, is the No. 7 overall player in the 2014 class.

Lyles said his teammate’s recent decision had no effect on his choice of schools, but is glad he can continue his basketball career with Blackmon.

“He and I are real good friends, we talk almost weekly,” he said. “I really enjoy the fact that we can play together in college. I think it’s going to be fun.”

One person who knows both Lyles’ and Blackmon’s talents better than anybody is Bluiett, who coached them all summer on the AAU circuit with Spiece Indy Heat.  
Bluiett said he is confident they will have a major effect on the program when they get to Bloomington.

“I think it’s going to be a great fit,” Bluiett said. “Both guys love playing with each other, and both are going to get better as time goes on. They grabbed two of the top two players in the state, for sure.”

And, like Blackmon, Lyles said Crean was the major factor in his decision.   

He and his father said they were impressed with Crean’s coaching philosophies and that he is a very family-oriented man who stresses education.  

“He was really impressed with coach Crean and the passion that he brings,” Tom Lyles said. “As animated as he is on those sidelines, he’s just that animated when he is having that one-on-one conversation with you. We had other visits, but truly, in Trey’s words, there was no other place that felt like home.”