With his improved play in recent games, Kentucky freshman Trey Lyles is ascending in the eyes of NBA scouts.
Some 20 NBA personnel — including Knicks’ President Phil Jackson — watched Kentucky crush Arkansas, 84-67, on Saturday to improve to 29-0.
The 6-foot-10 freshman went for 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting and 4 rebounds in the win after putting up 18 and 6 in Wednesday’s win over Mississippi State. On Monday, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week as a result.
On the season, he’s averaging 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in under 22 minutes per game.
Kentucky coach John Calipari has been calling Lyles the “X-factor” of late.
“He’s the one that makes us go from pretty good (to) really good to, ‘Uh-oh, what am I watching?'” Calipari told reporters.
After missing three games with strep throat, Lyles says he’s feeling much better now.
“The couple of games before [last week] I was still trying to get my wind back,” he said, according to Kentucky.com. “Now, I’m 100 percent, back to feeling how I regularly feel — and that’s a good feeling to have.”
Originally a projected 2016 pick, Lyles is now projected as the No. 25 pick in 2015 by DraftExpress.com, one of four Kentucky players in the first round, following No. 2 Karl-Anthony Towns, No. 7 Willie Cauley-Stein and No. 14 Devin Booker.
“I think he goes Top 20 [in the NBA Draft],” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He is playing with more confidence. He is a forward who will be able to play both forward positions based on matches. He needs to work on his 3-points shooting. He will struggle at times to defends 3’s out on the floor. He is only getting better and will become a better skilled 3 as he gets older. He’s an upside guy who is tough.”
The Knicks have the NBA’s worst record and have a 25 percent chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick, and Jackson spent two days watching Kentucky’s reservoir of talent.
“We just gotta go out there and play for us and do what we have to do,” Lyles said, according to Larry Vaught. “Whoever’s watching, they’re gonna have fun watching us because we’re a fun team to play.”
Photo: USA Today Sports
