Saskatchewan-born power forward Trey Lyles getting set to make the jump to the NCAA

The first in a five-part series looking at some of Canada's top up-and-coming basketball talent.

Long before Trey Lyles was a top NCAA basketball recruit headed off to the University of Kentucky, he was spending five to six hours a day on the court with his father Tom at the Armstrong Pavilion, a community centre near the family’s home in Indianapolis.

He was only in middle school then and his dad vividly remembers their daily routine, which often began with a one-hour workout on the court at 6 a.m. before Trey went to school, and ended with another trip to the gym after dinner.

“Some of those mornings I didn’t want to get up,” Tom Lyles recalled in a recent phone interview. “[Trey would] come into my room and ask, ‘dad are we going to the gym this morning?’ And I couldn’t say no even though I wanted to . . . It became the norm for him.

“He picked up on the game pretty quickly. He’d ask a lot of questions. The good thing about he and I is our relationship is so close; we’re so much more than father and son. We’d spend a lot of time talking and a lot of time just sitting down watching old school basketball footage . . . He loves going back and watching Bob Cousy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of course [Michael] Jordan, Scotty Pippen [and] Hakeem Olajuwon.”

Basketball hasn’t always been Trey’s passion, though. Born in Saskatoon the 6-foot-10 Lyles grew up, like many other Canadians do, playing hockey – he was a goalie – and baseball.

It wasn’t until the family moved to Indiana when he was seven years old that his dad, who has a deep background in basketball having played overseas and in Canada, began taking him to the court and teaching him the fundamentals of the game. They’d often spend nights during the week at a local park practicing dribbling and shooting in the dark.

“My philosophy there was if you can get to the point where you can’t see the net all that well and still make that shot consistently based on your form and or handle the ball without seeing it all that well then we’re going to have some good pieces to work with,” he said

Now 18, Lyles, who was unavailable for comment, is ranked by ESPN as the sixth best NCAA prospect in the 2014 class. In what’s been referred to as the golden age of Canadian basketball, he’s yet another name for fans to keep a watchful eye on.

It started with Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, both drafted in 2011. Thompson, selected fourth overall by Cleveland, was at the time the first Canadian too be taken that high in the draft.

They were followed by Andrew Nicholson in 2012 and Anthony Bennett, the first Canadian to ever be selected No. 1 overall, and Kelly Olynyk in 2013.

This year as many as three Canadians – Andrew Wiggins, Nik Stauskas and Tyler Ennis – are expected to be selected in the first round alone with Wiggins being the player many have at the top of their mock drafts.

Lyles is coming off a memorable year with the Arsenal Tech Titans, where his father served as the team’s assistant coach. He helped the high school to its first ever state title, was named a McDonalds All-American and the top high school player in Indiana, an award that’s been won by a handful of current and former NBA players including Greg Oden, Eric Gordon and Glenn Robinson.

Being Canadian born has also brought upon opportunities for Lyles to represent Canada on the international stage. He donned the red and white at both the under-19 world championships in 2013, where he finished third in tournament scoring, and the under-18 world championships in 2012 when Canada captured a bronze medal.

Roy Rana, the head coach of Ryerson University’s men’s basketball team, coached Lyles at both the aforementioned international events as well as at the 2014 Nike Hoops Summit and feels his versatility is his biggest strength on the court.

“His skillset is so complete,” Rana said. “For a guy his size, he can handle the ball, he can pass, he’s got a very good back-to-the basket game . . . He’s certainly an NBA player in my opinion, there’s no question about that.

“With increased development and continued improvement to his overall game I think he has the chance to be a great NBA player . . . He’s a guy that can go out and get you a double-double every game.”