By. Corey Albertson
CatsIllustrated.com

There have been two major trends in college basketball recruiting since the July evaluation period ended a couple of weeks ago.

First, we’ve seen some high-profile prospects decommit from their original decision. Second, there has been more and more talk about the top prospects from the class of 2014 being involved in package deals of two or more prospects choosing to go to school together.

Trey Lyles is familiar with both of these trends, and the onetime Indiana commitment hasn’t been able to escape rumors of package deals, his father, Tom Lyles said.

The five-star power forward from Indianapolis Arsenal Tech has been rumored to be a strong Kentucky lean, a near pledge for Louisville and then a lock to stay home and go to Butler. However, Tom Lyles said, none of those stories are even close to true.

“It’s tough to say what exactly Trey is thinking right now,” Tom Lyles said. “He’s still pretty open among his finalists. We’re trying to make sure we have a great feel for each of the schools.

“Things have changed somewhat due to Brad Stevens leaving Butler. We’re building a new relationship with the new staff there and trying to understand what his philosophy is.”

While things have changed somewhat with Butler, the Wildcats have been a pretty steady constant in Lyles’ recruitment since he re-opened his decision about a year ago. With 12 months having passed, the relationship between Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Lyles family has grown, with the elder Lyles saying that they look forward to his calls.

“Coach Calipari has called to check in a lot and see how things are going,” Tom Lyles said. “He’s been curious about what our routine is in terms of his development and his strength training. There hasn’t been any significant news with Kentucky, but we’ve stayed in close touch with them.”

While Tom Lyles adamantly reaffirmed that his son will not make a decision until after his senior season of high school basketball has ended, the family still plans on taking official visits in the fall, and Lexington should be one of them.

“Kentucky’s coaches have been trying to get another visit set up with Trey,” Tom Lyles said. “They’d like him to come down for Big Blue Madness, that visit would probably be an official and it will probably happen but it hasn’t been finalized just yet.”

As for the package deals, rumors have tied Lyles to Louisville after the commitment of AAU teammate and friend JaQuan Lyle, a fellow five-star.

However, with Kentucky’s recent offer of four-star AAU teammate James Blackmon, another close friend, the Wildcats have now entered the package-deal rumor mill.

While Lyles confirmed that his son is friends with both Lyle and Blackmon, he said neither player’s decision will influence where his son ultimately ends up.

“People have been saying that Trey will definitely end up at Kentucky if James goes there, but they really don’t understand that this thing is personal,” Tom Lyles said. “James is an unbelievable player, but his decision is going to have zero impact on Trey’s decision. Just like there family has to make a decision for their son, that’s how we feel about Trey. Now they are good friends, but in the end there’s almost zero barring on his decision.”

Lyles was in action for Team Canada this past Summer at the U19 FIBA World Championships

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYTeWhVaneA

Also here is his 2012-13 Official Mixtape