Tim Lyle was a standout basketball player for the Poca Dots in the late 1990s, then went on to play four years at James Madison University from 1998-02.
Tim Lyle in 1998. Lyle was a standout basketball player for the Poca Dots in the late 1990s, then went on to play four years at James Madison University.
Tim Lyle was a standout basketball player for the Poca Dots in the late 1990s, then went on to play four years at James Madison University from 1998-02.
Submitted photo
Tim Lyle in 1998. Lyle was a standout basketball player for the Poca Dots in the late 1990s, then went on to play four years at James Madison University.
Lyle was a tall, dominant threat for the Dots from 1995-98. His final two years at Poca were his best, as he averaged 23 points his junior and senior seasons.
Lyle’s path to stardom took some ebbs and flows early, especially having a minor setback in first grade.
“I had two older brothers that were playing in the youth basketball league, which was at Poca Middle School,†Lyle said. “I was in the first grade. My parents didn’t let me play because I would have been on the same team as my brothers. They thought there would be too many fights or something.â€
Lyle used the minor setback as a steppingstone toward wanting to get better on his own.
“I went out and shot basketball on my own that year,†Lyle said. “I would shoot in the neighborhood at the hoop on the other side of the neighborhood. I really enjoyed it from that age. In first grade, I was playing every day that year and got decent.â€
His father, Craig, played football at Penn State and was a member of the 1971 Cotton Bowl team with Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell.
The bond Lyle had with his brothers, David and Seth, growing up helped him grow.
“The main thing is that they set the bar,†Lyle said. “They were a few years older than me. I saw them playing in middle school and high school. It got me motivated to do the same things or try to be better than them perhaps even.â€
Lyle spent his first season of high school basketball on the junior varsity team at Poca. However, a growth spurt and continuous work got Lyle a spot on the varsity team.
He recalled his first game as a varsity member against the Nitro Wildcats as a breakthrough in his basketball journey.
“I had a great game. I had like 32 points,†Lyle recalled. “Chuck Landon [then of the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Daily Mail] wrote this article saying ‘Hey, Tim Lyle looks like a possible Division I prospect.’ I hadn’t even considered that as a goal. I wanted to be, maybe, a good high school player. Chuck wrote that article and it got me some publicity. It helped me.â€
Lyle credits his work in the weight room as a boost from his freshman to sophomore years.
The former Dot’s best season came in the 1996-97 campaign.
He helped lead Poca to the Class AA state title, defeating Bluefield 77-60 in the final. The Dots finished 21-5 that season.
Poca’s ’97 state basketball title was the first won by a Putnam County school. It was also Osborne’s first championship as Poca’s coach.
Lyle averaged 23.7 points while making 203 field goals and grabbing 257 rebounds.
“One thing I remember from that [year] is coach Osborne changed and altered his offensive style,†Lyle said. “The plays that he designed that year fit with everybody’s strengths. Coach Osborne really adapted his offensive philosophy to fit exactly what he had in his personnel that year.â€
The recently retired coach appreciates the sacrifices Lyle gave toward the Dots.
“The first thing that comes to my mind about Tim is the kind of person he was,†Osborne said. “He was very coachable. He was also a hard worker and dedicated. He comes from an outstanding family. Tim didn’t take any shortcuts. He loved to play basketball.â€
Lyle left Poca as a 1,000-point scorer. The college attention he garnered landed him at James Madison University.
He played four years there from 1998-02. Lyle said that the preparation and lessons from playing for Osborne as a help during the transition to JMU.
Injuries played a factor in Lyle’s career in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It took tolls on him mentally.
But Lyle started 75 of the 102 games in which he played. His best season was in 2000-01, when he averaged 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds.
“It, for sure, built a lot of mental toughness,†Lyle said. “My senior year, I was kind of hurt the whole year and was playing through a knee injury. I had knee surgery after that and rehabbed it. I played professionally in Europe for six years in Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The mental toughness that those struggles provided was valuable.â€
All of the challenges Lyle experienced throughout his basketball career made for a memorable life.
“He didn’t take shortcuts and was a winner,†Osborne said. “His teammates saw that he was successful with what he did. He did it the right way. When you have a guy like that in your program or school doing those things, those around him saw that it was the right way to be done. He had a tremendous influence on our school.â€
Lyle now lives in Greenville, South Carolina, and works for Michelin.
Taylor Kennedy covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-7935 or tkennedy@hdmediallc.com. Follow @Taylor_kennedy7 on Twitter.
