Jairus Lyles (born July 6, 1995) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UMBC Retrievers The UMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, located in Catonsville, Maryland, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate ...

. He also competed for the

VCU Rams The VCU Rams are the college athletics, athletic teams of Virginia Commonwealth University of Richmond, Virginia, United States. The Rams compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atl ...

in his freshman season but played a limited role before transferring. Prior to college, Lyles attended

DeMatha Catholic High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washin ...

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It is an urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper Anacostia ...

, where he was a three-star recruit. At UMBC, he earned all-conference honors for three consecutive years. He most notably led the Retrievers to a first-round victory over

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

at the 2018 NCAA tournament, the first time a 16-seed defeated a 1-seed in men's tournament history.

Early life

Lyles was born in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

Lester Lyles General Lester L. Lyles (born April 20, 1946) is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force (USAF). He served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air ...

and Carol Motley. His father Lester was a four-year

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

, for whom he won the

1984 Peach Bowl The 1984 Peach Bowl featured the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten against the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC. Virginia defeated Purdue 27–24 in the first bowl game in school history. Purdue jumped out to a 24–14 halftime lead, but Virginia ...

, before spending seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). His mother Carol attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

as well. In addition, Lyles' sister Symone played four seasons of basketball for the

Ohio Bobcats The Ohio Bobcats are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946 ...

. His parents later divorced, and Jairus was mainly raised by his mother.

High school career

Lyles attended

, where he was a

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

. As a freshman, he was teammates with future

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Traditionally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

player

Victor Oladipo Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo ( ; born May 4, 1992) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a sports analyst for ESPN. Oladipo play ...

. In his junior season, he averaged 11 points and three assists per game and helped his team reach the

Washington Catholic Athletic Conference The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is a major high school athletic league for boys, girls, and co-ed Catholic high schools of the Archdiocese of Washington & Diocese of Arlington located in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Th ...

(WCAC) finals. As a senior, he averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 assists per game but his team finished with a 14–17 record, one of the worst seasons in program history. Lyles also played for Team Takeover on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) circuit, competing alongside

Josh Hart Joshua Aaron Hart (born March 6, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He holds the Knicks franchise record for the most triple doubles in a single season. Har ...

. Lyles was rated a consensus three-star recruit and chose to play for VCU in college despite drawing interest from

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, who gave him an offer, as well as

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

College career

Lyles competed for the

as a freshman in 2013–14 under head coach

Shaka Smart Shaka Dingani Smart (born April 8, 1977) is an American men's college basketball coach and former college basketball player. He is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University. Smart rose to prominence in 2011 after leading Vi ...

, averaging 0.7 points, 0.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in only 2.9 minutes per game. He only recorded two

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

in the season, scoring a season-high three points on two occasions, against

Fordham Fordham may refer to: Education * Fordham Preparatory School, an all-male, Jesuit high school in New York City * Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York City ** Fordham Rams, athletic teams of the above university ** Fordham University ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Following the season, he transferred to play for the

Robert Morris Colonials The Robert Morris Colonials are the athletic teams for Robert Morris University, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision, FCS, formerly Division I-AA, in ...

but was forced to sit out in 2014–15 due to eligibility rules. After one semester at Robert Morris, Lyles transferred to the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

(UMBC), where he would play for the Retrievers starting in the 2015–16 season. He made an instant impact as a sophomore for UMBC, averaging 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game and garnering second-team All-

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

accolades. In his junior season, Lyles averaged 18.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists en route to second-team All-America East honors. He scored a total of 604 points, breaking the school record for most points by a junior. Lyles made his senior debut on November 10, 2017, in a loss to SMU, scoring 24 points with five assists for UMBC. In his next game, he recorded 31 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a defeat to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. On November 19, Lyles had a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

of 26 points and 11 rebounds against Colgate. He scored a season-best 35 points to help UMBC beat

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

on January 15, 2018. By the end of his regular season campaign, Lyles was named first-team All-America East. On March 10, in the championship game of the 2018 America East tournament vs.

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, Lyles scored 27 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left in regulation. He was named most outstanding player (MOP) of the tournament. On March 16, at the first round of the

2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 seas ...

, Lyles notched a game-high 28 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field, to lead UMBC to a 20-point upset over top-seeded

. The game marked the first time in tournament history that a 16-seed defeated a 1-seed. After his performance, Lyles drew national attention, being featured in stories by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''.

Professional career

Lyles went undrafted in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

but subsequently joined the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

for the NBA Summer League. He was the first Retriever to play in the NBA Summer League. On July 12, 2018, he signed with the Utah Jazz. After appearing in five preseason games, Lyles was waived on October 14. The Jazz added Lyles to their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate, the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American minor-league professional basketball team. They are a member of the NBA G League, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. Before the 2016–17 ...

. On July 25, 2019, Lyles signed with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg BG Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (), is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of basketball in Germany. Fo ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

. On December 15, 2019, he signed with

Löwen Braunschweig Löwen, literally meaning "lions", may refer to: Music *Lowen (band), an English heavy metal band from London Places *Leuven or , the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium *Lewin Brzeski or ...

of the German

(BBL). Lyles signed with Krka of the Slovenian League and

ABA League Second Division The ABA League Second Division, also ABA League 2, is the 2nd-tier men's basketball division of the ABA League system. It is run by the ABA League JTD. It is a regional competition between men's professional clubs from six countries: Bosnia and ...

on July 14, 2020. However, he never played for the team.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", VCU , , 22 , , 0 , , 2.6 , , .100 , , .125 , , .667 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .0 , , .6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", UMBC , , 21 , , 19 , , 36.2 , , .472 , , .342 , , .698 , , 5.5 , , 2.8 , , 2.5 , , .0 , , 23.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", UMBC , , 32 , , 31 , , 34.6 , , .442 , , .319 , , .728 , , 6.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", UMBC , , 33 , , 32 , , 34.9 , , .439 , , .390 , , .792 , , 5.5 , , 3.5 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , 20.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 108 , , 82 , , 28.5 , , .444 , , .352 , , .739 , , 4.8 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , .1 , , 16.3

References

External links

VCU Rams bio

UMBC Retrievers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyles, Jairus 1995 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball Löwen Braunschweig players DeMatha Catholic High School alumni Basketball players from Silver Spring, Maryland Point guards Riesen Ludwigsburg players Salt Lake City Stars players Shooting guards UMBC Retrievers men's basketball players University of Maryland, Baltimore County alumni VCU Rams men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen