America East Basketball: 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

3. Jairus Lyles

Lyles went down in history during his time at UMBC with his remarkable contributions on that historic upset over Virginia, but this 6’2 guard from Silver Spring, Maryland didn’t actually start his career with those Retrievers. He spent a year at VCU, playing only a handful of minutes for Shaka Smart and the Rams before transferring to UMBC in 2014. After sitting out the next season, he was a starter in UMBC’s backcourt for the next three seasons.

His numbers at UMBC were simply phenomenal. Lyles averaged 23.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during what would be a dreadful season for the Retrievers. Lyles stayed with the Retrievers after the hiring of Ryan Odom and remained a major focus in his offense. He’d average more than 20 points per game across those three seasons at UMBC. He had numerous scoring outbursts and impressive performance though none could ever top the 28 points he scored against #1 Virginia in that 2018 upset.

Lyles was outshined by a few other players in the America East, but was still thrice named to the All-Conference teams and was AEC Tournament MVP a week before that historic upset. He was honestly the conference’s best scorer during his three seasons in the league while also leading it in steals in two of those three seasons. His legacy wasn’t just built on one game; Lyles was a masterful scorer who shot well from beyond the arc and had crafty hands on the defensive end. He’ll rightfully be remembered in connection with that upset five years ago.