#WhereIsTrey? He's back, ready to help No. 1 Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Unlike a few gullible and overzealous Kentucky basketball fans, Trey Lyles was in on the joke. Before coach John Calipari launched his #WhereIsTrey prank on social media Monday, he told Lyles to keep a low profile.
Lyles had missed three consecutive games with a mystery illness and his status for Tuesday night at LSU was still unclear. It became even murkier when Calipari tweeted: "I thought Trey got on (the) plane but we can't find him," then followed up with: "Has anyone in Lexington seen Trey? If anyone sees him, please let us know. #WhereIsTrey."
The faux search was on and it went viral in a hurry. Lyles, who on Friday revealed he had been quarantined for a time while recovering from strep throat, and his teammates laughed and laughed on their way to Baton Rouge.
"He told me (about the prank) on the plane and he made me walk into the hotel with my hood on," Lyles said, grinning. "Just made sure nobody saw me for a couple hours. So it was pretty funny, I think. He wanted to have some fun and just take some pressure or whatever away from the guys and just show that it's still fun to be able to play games. We definitely had some fun with that one."
A small but panicked segment of the top-ranked Wildcats' fan base, however, did not. They fired off messages of legitimate concern and, in a few incredulous cases, anger. How could you lose a player?!
"That blew up kind of big. My mentions on Twitter wouldn't go away," Lyles said. "That's pretty funny. I don't think anybody would let me disappear and miss a plane."
Story continues after the video
No, in fact, Calipari eventually revealed a few hours before the game that the 6-foot-10 freshman forward had been "found." He not only made the trip to LSU but scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in nine minutes as Kentucky escaped with a 71-69 win in Lyles' return.
But why would the Cats' coach make jokes about a player so valuable as Lyles, a former McDonald's All-American and projected first-round NBA draft pick who is averaging 7.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per game?
"The only reason I did it (is) I was on a plane and I'm thinking, 'Our fans are going nutty. They gotta loosen up a little bit. This isn't life or death. It's not March,' " said Calipari, whose team is now 24-0 overall, 11-0 in SEC play and beginning to feel the pressure of its pursuit of perfection.
He sent a text message to deputy athletic director DeWayne Peevy with the words he wanted to tweet for that first part of his prank.
"And he got up and started looking around the plane. And I said, 'It's a tweet, you idiot. He's right here in front of us,' " Calipari said. "And when he did that, I knew: 'Uh-oh. This is going to be absolutely outrageous.' And we had people camped out at the hotel. We had people camped out as we got off the bus. Scouts. People with hats. … It was just stupid."
The players, who'll try to match the best start in school history by completing a season sweep of South Carolina (12-11, 3-8) on Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena, appreciate the levity.
"He's just having fun with it," shooting guard Devin Booker said. "That's what it's all about. It's cool of a coach to be able to do that, not be so uptight and just have fun with the whole process."
But what is certainly no joke is Lyles' importance to this team. While still loaded with talent even in his absence, it's difficult to replace a 6-10 small forward who can score inside or out and is among the better rebounders on the roster. In the three games he missed, UK was beaten on the boards by a combined 82-78.
"It was frustrating watching them. I wanted to be out there and playing with them, but I just learned from it and I just saw where I need to go out there and do certain things to make an impact on the game," Lyles said. "Coach talked a lot about me just going out there and rebounding."
His father came down from Indianapolis and watched games with him in his room at the Wildcat Lodge while he was sick. They talked about how he could help upon his return. Lyles saw the game in a new light.
"Seeing some mistakes but then just noticing how that happens and just seeing what Coach talks about and seeing stuff from his point of view," Lyles said.
Of his return, Calipari also noted that "one guy can shift everybody into the spot they need to be in," meaning the coach can play more balanced rotations when he has nine available future pros compared to only eight.
Lyles admits he wasn't quite "100 percent" yet at LSU but expects to be against the Gamecocks. He is missing no more.
"Just had to get back in the rhythm of things," he said. "Now I feel back to normal and hopefully will be able to play well."
Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.
SATURDAY'S GAME
SOUTH CAROLINA AT NO. 1 KENTUCKY
2 p.m., Rupp Arena
TV: ESPN Radio: WHAS-840 and WAKY-103.5