As the Black Eyed Peas song says, “Let’s Get It Started,” and JaQuan Lyle couldn’t agree more. Early last week, Lyle was seen running up and down the steps at Enlow Field, getting in shape before rejoining Ohio State University’s men’s basketball team. He will leave for Columbus about 20 pounds lighter than when he played for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, last winter. It’s been a long and winding road to Columbus for Lyle, a freshman regarded as a four-star point guard and the 40th-best player in the incoming 2015 class, according to 247SportsComposite. He left Bosse High School for Huntington (West Virginia) Prep for his senior season and planned to play for Oregon in 2014-15. But he fell one-half credit shy of being able to academically enroll in the program. Instead of realizing his dream of playing Division I basketball, he spent another year at a prep school, IMG. “It’s definitely exciting to say I’m playing Division I basketball,” Lyle said. “It’s just a blessing. God is there to guide me through the process.” He averaged 16 points per game before having surgery on a torn meniscus last February — the same injury former Ohio State point guard-shooting guard D’Angelo Russell incurred as a senior in high school. Russell recovered so well he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year at OSU and the Los Angeles Lakers made him the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, leaving the door wide open for Lyle. …
Continue Reading: Lyle eager to begin Division I college basketball career
