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Tech's Lyles de-commits from Indiana
Aug 08, 2012 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Before Trey Lyles had even played a high school game, he had already made a decision on a college.
It was already apparent in September of 2010 that the 6-foot-9 power forward from Arsenal Tech in Indianapolis would be one of the most highly-rated and coveted players in the Class of 2014, but he decided than that he wanted to commit to Indiana before the recruiting process had even had time to get hectic.
But after another summer that confirmed the legitimacy of Lyles' status as the No. 9 player in the Class of 2014 according to Rivals.com, he apparently wants to know more about what's out there.
Tech coach Jason Delaney announced on his Twitter account Tuesday that Lyles has rescinded his commitment to Indiana and opened up his recruitment, though he stressed that Indiana is still Lyles' No. 1 choice. Indiana's recruiting profile has improved tremendously since Lyles first committed -- the Hoosiers are coming off a Sweet 16 run after campaigns of 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20 -- but he still wants to see what else is out there before finalizing a commitment.
"The biggest thing we talked about with him, his family and myself is that he just wants to make sure," Delaney said by phone. "I want to preface this by saying he loves IU. He loves the coaching staff. He loves the fans. He just wants to make sure he makes the right choice for his future. At the end of this whole process, he just wants to know for sure that this is the right fit."
Delaney said he simply hoped fans would be understanding about Lyles' decision to weigh his options.
""My biggest hope for the fans and everything -- he's such a great kid, he's the kind of kid I want my son to grow up and be like -- is I hope they support him," Delaney said. "I hope they keep it in perspective."
If Lyles eventually does decide on another school, the loss is a significant one to Indiana. The 6-9, 215-pounder has post power and perimeter skills. He averaged 21.0 points and 14.2 rebounds last season as a sophomore, earning Indianapolis City Player of the Year honors and leading Tech to a 16-5 season. He was also named second-team all-state.
Delaney said that no other schools have begun recruiting Lyles yet and that no timetable has been set for when he might want to make a decision or even start taking visits.
Indiana coach Tom Crean is prohibited from talking about specific recruits until they sign letters of intent. However, he did post a somewhat cryptic message on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours before Lyles' de-commitment became public knowledge, that dealt with the challenges of maintaining verbal commitments.
"I told my staff today that my football coaching friends think (football) recruiting is like (men's basketball) recruiting because you have to deal with so many people that get involved," Crean said in the post. "We think that more and more people never stop recruiting other school's pledges. We are both right. Way of life."
With Lyles' de-commitment, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers guard James Blackmon Jr. is IU's lone remaining commitment in the 2014 class.
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