Player Spotlight: Kyle Doyle

Kyle Doyle, a 6'6" forward who is entering his senior season with the Josey Eagles, is certainly one of our area's best players.  His combination of size and skill enables him to be a great scorer.  And his character, competitiveness, and unselfishness make him a great team leader.  After leading the Josey Eagles to a region 3-AAA tournament championship and earning first team Augusta Chronicle All Area honors as a junior, we expect Doyle to have a special senior season.  In addition to the success he has experienced, and will likely continue to experience, at Josey, his size and ability will likely attract interest from college basketball programs.  Doyle plays AAU basketball for the Georgia Stars, a program that has attracted many of the most talented players in the southeast during the past two decades.  We look forward to following him this summer as he competes with Josey during June and with the Stars during July.

Kyle Doyle
1st Team All Area
22ppg, 12rpg, 4apg

Along with his character and skill set, the most impressive thing about Doyle may be his rate of improvement.  During the past 12 months, he has steadily added perimeter skills to go along with his effective inside play, transforming from an "inside-out" player to one who is completely comfortable, and effective, at the wing position.  He therefore causes match up nightmares for opponents.  Taller players are unable to stay in front of him on the perimeter.  And guards have trouble too, as he uses his size, length, and shooting and ball handling skills to penetrate and score in the mid range and at the rim.  And he has always been a good passer.  So a helping defense leads to opportunities for teammates.  Recently we've seen Doyle making three point shots and displaying even more athleticism, finishing above the rim more frequently.

The video above shows Doyle's progress over the past year, beginning with his impressive performance in last summer's 16 & Under AAU National Championships in Orlando, Florida, as a member of the Southern Select.  We then highlight his progress by February, 2012, as he leads Josey to a region tournament championship, scoring and creating from the perimeter.  Finally, we show a sampling of what we have seen during the Spring, as Doyle seems to be developing a deeper range on his jump shot and getting more explosive.

Even a player like Doyle, who is as dominant a player as we have in our area, has to constantly be improving his game.  For there are many places in this world and many talented players.  And those who truly excel are the players who spend the most time developing their skills.  Because of what we have seen from him over the past year, we expect Kyle to continue his progress, have a fine senior season, and a productive college experience.