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Scouting Report: Trey Lyles

Trey Lyles is a junior forward from Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis. He has been a highly-regarded player and prospect since middle school. The early attention led Lyles to verbally commit to Indiana University before playing a high school game. He decided to open his recruitment back up this summer. He has since attracted scholarship offers from most of the national powerhouses like Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Louisville.

 

Lyles is 6-9 in shoes with a 7-0 wingspan. So, he has good length, but not great like Anthony Davis. He is a good athlete in terms of quickness and leaping ability, but is likely average or slightly below average for elite prospects. Those areas could be improved with better conditioning and added strength.

 

The thing that immediately pops out when watching Lyles is his ball-handling ability. He has always been able to handle the ball like a guard despite being 6-8 as a high school freshman. His ball-handling has continued to improve over the years. He routinely grabs rebounds and goes coast to coast while being under control and making good decisions. He has a pretty good crossover at this stage. Lyles is also solid against full-court pressure.

 

His other ability that really sticks out is his shooting. His form is very good, and he has the ability to hit shots off the catch and off the dribble. Lyles loves to use his step-back move to create separation. His shooting consistency after the step-back is not great right now, but the move routinely gets him plenty of space.

 

Lyles has a good back-to-the-basket game other than the fact that he would prefer to finish with finesse than power. His footwork from the block is very good. He likes to use a fade away from the block or a reverse pivot to create space. I would like his reverse pivot move more if he looked to attack the rim consistently instead of settling for the jump shot on most occasions. He rarely looks to bury his defender under the basket and demand the ball. When he is looking to finish with power, his game goes to another level.

 

Rebounding is an area where Lyles could improve as well. I had him for 8 rebounds against Brebeuf. Brebeuf had a 6-3 player defending him most of the game. I had him for 6 rebounds in the opener against Bowman Academy. He did spend some time on the bench in that game with foul trouble. His motor on the glass is only high late in the game. It is good that he gets after it when the game is on the line, but he should be crashing the boards all game with his size.

 

It seems like Lyles is reluctant to go in the paint too often because he does not want to be labeled as a post player. The deeper Lyles goes with basketball, the more it will benefit him to be a stretch-four rather than a wing. At the elite-level in college and the NBA, the small forward position is compiled of freak athletes. He lacks the lateral quickness to compete with those guys. Lyles is not enough of an explosive athlete to keep up with most of those guys. With some added strength, he would be ready to compete as a power forward though.

 

Trey Lyles certainly has a bright future. His skill set at 6-9 is not matched by many in the high school ranks. His versatility makes him a no-brainer for the elite-level in college. His long-term prospects will be better the more he embraces physical play.