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One of the class of 2014's top players, Trey Lyles of Indianapolis Tech, has decommitted from the Indiana Hoosiers and reopened his recruitment:
Lyles, who is 6-foot-8, made an oral commitment to Indiana before his freshman year. He is rated the No. 9 player in the country for the Class of 2014, according to Rivals.com.
"Trey Lyles has decided to open his recruitment," his high school coach Jason Delaney said in a Twitter post. "He loves IU & it is still #1 but he would like to have something to compare it to."
Lyles is exactly the kind of player that John Calipari would be interested in, theoretically -- a skilled forward with good low-post moves and excellent range. He would be a versatile fit as a "stretch" four player, and assuming Wiggins remains in 2014 as I expect, could be a match made in heaven for the #1 player in 2014.
Lyles committed to Indiana almost two years ago back in September of 2010, when he was in the 8th grade. A lot of things have changed since then, and Lyles' interests at the time were pretty much confined to Indiana, Ohio St Buckeyes and North Carolina Tar Heels.
Since then, however, he could not have failed to notice that the nearby Kentucky Wildcats have risen to the top of the college basketball world, going to two Final Fours and winning an NCAA Tournament title, as well as put 15 players into the NBA.
A lot has happened in two years, and Lyles is now unsure of his decision to go to IU after basically short-circuiting the recruiting process. There is no official word of Kentucky interest at the moment, but a quick look at who UK is known to be recruiting in 2014 suggests that he would be a welcome addition to the group.
Then there is the rivalry factor. After all the sturm und drang about the Kentucky-IU series ending, and the sharp exchanges between the two athletics departments, I can't help but think that Calipari would love to stick one in Indiana's eye right now. And although Lyles insists that IU is still #1 in his eyes, recruits that decommit from a school wind up going elsewhere more often than not.
We'll have to wait and see, but don't be surprised to see Lyles down for an unofficial visit to Kentucky fairly soon.