Athlete of the Week: Arsenal Tech's Trey Lyles

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Arsenal Tech’s basketball season may have been cut short but their star player, Trey Lyles, remains one of Indiana’s biggest up and coming stars. Only a junior, and Lyles is already a household name, recruited by the likes of Indiana, Kentucky, Florida and Louisville.

Since there’s so much publicly known about Lyles, 24-Hour News 8's Amanda Maynard sat down to find out five things you don’t know about the star basketball player.

No. 5 – He’s Canadian

“A lot of people just now started learning that, because I played with the Canadian team last year,” Trey Lyles said.

No. 4- He likes puzzles

“I’m good at putting puzzles together and model cars.  It really mellows me down, just gets my mind off of things.  It just takes me to a place that basketball doesn’t," Lyles said.

No. 3- He once wanted to play in the NHL

“When I lived in Canada, I wanted to play in the NHL, because I was a big hockey fan," he said.

When asked if he still skates, he said he doesn’t because he can’t find any skates big enough to fit. 

No. 2- Steve Nash is his mentor

“He’s one of the general managers for Canada, so I’ve gotten to talk to him a lot.  He really talks me through things, giving me advice.  Any time I’ve got anything going on, I ask him, and he always answers me," said Lyles.

When asked what advice Nash had given him about choosing a college, Lyles said, “He told me to go wherever I feel comfortable, and wherever I’ll be able to play my game.”

No. 1- Toughest thing he’s gone through:  Decommitting from IU

Lyles told our Amanda Maynard that decommitting from Indiana was the toughest thing he’s ever gone through in his life. 

“I got a lot of hate mail and fans comments.  It was pretty hard, but I’ve gotten over it,” said Lyles.  “It hurt.  It showed who people were.  It showed who my real friends and fans were, but it just made me a better person.”