Joe Dexter
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2015-16 Men’s Basketball Preview: JaQuan Lyle
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Ohio State men’s basketball season is right around the corner. The upstart Buckeyes will take on Walsh in exhibition play on November 8th. To help get you ready for tip-off, The Buckeye Battle Cry will be bringing you Player Previews leading up to the beginning of the season. Today, we look at the star player of the freshman class.
D’Angelo Russell made the decision to leave Ohio State a year early, because there was no doubt he would be a top 5 pick in the NBA Draft.
The Buckeyes will still profit off of his hard work though during the 2015-16 season.
It was Russell, who played a major role as an ambassador of the program to convince Lyle in late January that Ohio State was the perfect place for him to excel his game at a high rate.
The top point guard prospect in the state of Florida not only saw D’Angelo as a player to confide in, but also as a superstar athlete that excelled beyond what was expected in his first year.
Lyle could see the same thing happen in 2015. The only question is at what position will he be doing it at.
JaQuan Lyle
Hometown: Evansville, IN
High School: IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)/ Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)/ Bosse (Evansville, IN)
Position: Guard (1/2)
Year: Freshman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 210
High School Awards
– Indiana Junior All-Star
– AP Second-Team All-State (Indiana, 2012-13)
There comes a point when a high school athlete exceeds awards. Especially when you choose the path to college basketball that JaQuan Lyle did.
Before even playing a high school game, the highly rated prospect out of the state of Indiana, had received a scholarship offer from Hoosier head coach Tom Crean.
Three years in to his high school career, over 20 institutions had offered him full-ride scholarships.
It led Lyle down the tough recruiting road and trying to make a decision was darn near impossible.
After committing to Indiana early, the big game point guard decided that Louisville and coach Pitino’s basketball philosophy was the best for his future.
A few months later, while averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Huntington Prep,that ship sailed when he realized that he wouldn’t see as much playing time as he wanted.
Enter the Oregon Ducks, who made a strong play for Lyle’s services, but were denied by the NCAA clearinghouse before the start of the 2014-15 season to add him to their roster. After the bad news, Lyle spent a year at IMG Academy to clear the missed credits needed to play at the other level.
He opened up his recruitment and found a comfort with Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, who he kept in contact with nearly every day.
Now Matta will look to work the magic he did last season with D’Angelo Russell.
JaQuan Lyle is a top-25 prospect in the class of 2015. The next step is turning the prospect into Ohio State’s bonafide star.
Strengths
When you are 6’5″ and have the athletic ability of a wing player, you can easily drain defenders who are severely undersized in comparison.
Especially when you add in the brute strength of being well over 200 pounds.
Going the prep school route, after playing three years in High School ball has already pitted him against supreme talent and he has shown that he can be consistent at a high level.
Like most “Point Forwards” — a position that is rapidly changing the game, Lyle has a freakish ability to be a post threat, dominate you off the ball, and still have the quick and efficient handles to burn you if you try to double team him.
What makes him so unique is his feel for the game. Like D’Angelo Russell, he has a great sense of knowing when to take over ballgames.
His ability to get teammates involved is very underrated. He has a knack for finding guys at the right time — in transition and in half-court settings.
What impresses me the most about his on-ball ability is that he never seems to settle for jump shots. He enjoys baiting defenders into believing they can stop him in the paint.
JaQuan Lyle doesn’t just beat his defender to the rack. He is so dominant at times, that those guarding him give up in the transition game.
And once he goes baseline, he owns the court.
There aren’t many point guards with his baseline skill-set. He can turn and face in the paint, dish off to a streaking shooter or paint presence in the fast break. Did I mention, he can also pivot by you or post up and score on the fade?
These are things that most college point guards have not mastered heading into their freshman year.
Lyle enters his first year at Ohio State as the best on the roster in doing those things.
Weaknesses
There is a great balance between the three guards that will have a major impact in this class.
Austin Grandstaff is the pure shooter. A.J. Harris has the lightning speed that you see from most NBA caliber point guards.
JaQuan Lyle is physical and possesses the intangibles that you cannot teach.
He still isn’t going to blow by you though like Harris. What he does have the great foundation and playmaking basketball mind to find ways to burn you.
And he’s working on becoming a better athlete.
Lyle has dropped nearly 20 pounds since making his way to Columbus this summer to prove that he can handle the grind and to help make more finesse plays.
There are a lot of basketball analysts that are quick to judge his character because of his previous struggles to stick with one program.
I don’t buy into that one bit as a weakness.
Lyle has been committed to being the best player and teammate that he can be during his first year as a Buckeye.
Role on the Team
JaQuan Lyle is the D’Angelo Russell of the 2015-16 campaign.
We don’t quite know 100% what his role is going to be, but you can guarantee that he is going to be on the floor at least 29 minutes a game.
Like Russell, his strengths early on in the season indicate that his best fit would be off the ball as a shooting guard.
With plenty of handle the ball and make plays in isolation.
There is still a lot to figure out though as Ohio State is replacing 88 percent of it’s assists.
If the season goes haywire like it did at the beginning of last year and the point guards on the roster can’t run the offense, it will become the JaQuan Lyle show.
He will get plenty of looks as well as the lead guard, especially when A.J. Harris needs a breather.
Lyle is already experienced in facing college-level competition. His frame is built for being a superstar at this level of the game. He is so refined in many aspects of the game that it’s hard to imagine him not having a major impact on the upcoming season.
He’s the next star in Thad Matta’s program.
The post 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Preview: JaQuan Lyle appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Ohio State men’s basketball season is right around the corner. The upstart Buckeyes will take on Walsh in exhibition play on November 8th. To help get you ready for tip-off, The Buckeye Battle Cry will be bringing you Player Previews leading up to the beginning of the season. Today, we look at the star player of the freshman class.
D’Angelo Russell made the decision to leave Ohio State a year early, because there was no doubt he would be a top 5 pick in the NBA Draft.
The Buckeyes will still profit off of his hard work though during the 2015-16 season.
It was Russell, who played a major role as an ambassador of the program to convince Lyle in late January that Ohio State was the perfect place for him to excel his game at a high rate.
The top point guard prospect in the state of Florida not only saw D’Angelo as a player to confide in, but also as a superstar athlete that excelled beyond what was expected in his first year.
Lyle could see the same thing happen in 2015. The only question is at what position will he be doing it at.
JaQuan Lyle
Hometown: Evansville, IN
High School: IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)/ Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV)/ Bosse (Evansville, IN)
Position: Guard (1/2)
Year: Freshman
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 210
High School Awards
– Indiana Junior All-Star
– AP Second-Team All-State (Indiana, 2012-13)
There comes a point when a high school athlete exceeds awards. Especially when you choose the path to college basketball that JaQuan Lyle did.
Before even playing a high school game, the highly rated prospect out of the state of Indiana, had received a scholarship offer from Hoosier head coach Tom Crean.
Three years in to his high school career, over 20 institutions had offered him full-ride scholarships.
It led Lyle down the tough recruiting road and trying to make a decision was darn near impossible.
After committing to Indiana early, the big game point guard decided that Louisville and coach Pitino’s basketball philosophy was the best for his future.
A few months later, while averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Huntington Prep,that ship sailed when he realized that he wouldn’t see as much playing time as he wanted.
Enter the Oregon Ducks, who made a strong play for Lyle’s services, but were denied by the NCAA clearinghouse before the start of the 2014-15 season to add him to their roster. After the bad news, Lyle spent a year at IMG Academy to clear the missed credits needed to play at the other level.
He opened up his recruitment and found a comfort with Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, who he kept in contact with nearly every day.
Now Matta will look to work the magic he did last season with D’Angelo Russell.
JaQuan Lyle is a top-25 prospect in the class of 2015. The next step is turning the prospect into Ohio State’s bonafide star.
Strengths
When you are 6’5″ and have the athletic ability of a wing player, you can easily drain defenders who are severely undersized in comparison.
Especially when you add in the brute strength of being well over 200 pounds.
Going the prep school route, after playing three years in High School ball has already pitted him against supreme talent and he has shown that he can be consistent at a high level.
Like most “Point Forwards” — a position that is rapidly changing the game, Lyle has a freakish ability to be a post threat, dominate you off the ball, and still have the quick and efficient handles to burn you if you try to double team him.
What makes him so unique is his feel for the game. Like D’Angelo Russell, he has a great sense of knowing when to take over ballgames.
His ability to get teammates involved is very underrated. He has a knack for finding guys at the right time — in transition and in half-court settings.
What impresses me the most about his on-ball ability is that he never seems to settle for jump shots. He enjoys baiting defenders into believing they can stop him in the paint.
JaQuan Lyle doesn’t just beat his defender to the rack. He is so dominant at times, that those guarding him give up in the transition game.
And once he goes baseline, he owns the court.
There aren’t many point guards with his baseline skill-set. He can turn and face in the paint, dish off to a streaking shooter or paint presence in the fast break. Did I mention, he can also pivot by you or post up and score on the fade?
These are things that most college point guards have not mastered heading into their freshman year.
Lyle enters his first year at Ohio State as the best on the roster in doing those things.
Weaknesses
There is a great balance between the three guards that will have a major impact in this class.
Austin Grandstaff is the pure shooter. A.J. Harris has the lightning speed that you see from most NBA caliber point guards.
JaQuan Lyle is physical and possesses the intangibles that you cannot teach.
He still isn’t going to blow by you though like Harris. What he does have the great foundation and playmaking basketball mind to find ways to burn you.
And he’s working on becoming a better athlete.
Lyle has dropped nearly 20 pounds since making his way to Columbus this summer to prove that he can handle the grind and to help make more finesse plays.
There are a lot of basketball analysts that are quick to judge his character because of his previous struggles to stick with one program.
I don’t buy into that one bit as a weakness.
Lyle has been committed to being the best player and teammate that he can be during his first year as a Buckeye.
Role on the Team
JaQuan Lyle is the D’Angelo Russell of the 2015-16 campaign.
We don’t quite know 100% what his role is going to be, but you can guarantee that he is going to be on the floor at least 29 minutes a game.
Like Russell, his strengths early on in the season indicate that his best fit would be off the ball as a shooting guard.
With plenty of handle the ball and make plays in isolation.
There is still a lot to figure out though as Ohio State is replacing 88 percent of it’s assists.
If the season goes haywire like it did at the beginning of last year and the point guards on the roster can’t run the offense, it will become the JaQuan Lyle show.
He will get plenty of looks as well as the lead guard, especially when A.J. Harris needs a breather.
Lyle is already experienced in facing college-level competition. His frame is built for being a superstar at this level of the game. He is so refined in many aspects of the game that it’s hard to imagine him not having a major impact on the upcoming season.
He’s the next star in Thad Matta’s program.
The post 2015-16 Men’s Basketball Preview: JaQuan Lyle appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...