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 (appr ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

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 Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associ ...

. He also competed for the

VCU Rams The VCU Rams are the athletic teams of Virginia Commonwealth University of Richmond, Virginia, United States. The Rams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The most succ ...

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 Washington Ca ...

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, 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 An ...

, where he was a three-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

. 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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

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, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 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 s ...

, before spending seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(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. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

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) Division I Intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio, United States. Ohio University is a charter member (1946) of the Mid-Amer ...

. 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. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...

player

Victor Oladipo Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo (born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012-2013 sea ...

. 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 Schools located in the Washington Metropolitan Ar ...

(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 has ...

(AAU) circuit, competing alongside

Josh Hart Josh Hart (born March 6, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz with the 30th ...

. Lyles was rated a consensus three-star

and chose to play for VCU in college despite drawing interest from

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

, 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 campu ...

and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

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. He is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University. Early life and playing career Smart grew up in Oregon, Wisconsin. In high school, Sm ...

, 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. The entire ball ...

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

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. 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 ( FCS, formerly Division I-AA, in football). In 2020, the school joi ...

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 research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

(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 is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

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 ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. 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 term ...

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

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

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 state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, 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, 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'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''.

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 (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...

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 league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

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 the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

affiliate, the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. As of the 2022-23 season, the Stars play in the Maverik Center in West Valley City, U ...

. On July 25, 2019, Lyles signed with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg Riesen Ludwigsburg ( en, Giants 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 ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

. On December 15, 2019, he signed with

Löwen Braunschweig Löwen, literally meaning "lions", may refer to: Places *Leuven or , the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium *Lewin Brzeski or , a town in Brzeg County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland Sports *Fra ...

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 Her ...

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 The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

, , 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;",

, , 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;",

, , 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 Sportspeople from Silver Spring, Maryland Basketball players from Montgomery County, 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