Gary Trent is a Solid Prospect

trentThe last time out on he AAU Circuit, Duke prospect Gary Trent cemented himself at the top of his class with stellar scoring performances.  The Howard Pulley wing guard is one of the main reasons his team remains undefeated against Nike's very best in this seasons EYBL.  A prolific and confident scorer, Trent shows that he is never afraid to score the ball as his defense continues to improve to help make him a rounded player.  Down point guard Tre Jones, Trent fought through a deep thighbruise to team with an upstart player to keep the hopes alive for the rarest of things, an undefeated EYBL season.

''I got hit in the quad and the face,'' said Trent the game after going for 47 points.  As he was doing so, it was clear that he had friends at the Hampton session at the packed out Boo Williams facilities.  During that time many of the top players stopped to give him props on his scoring performance news that seemingly travels quickly through the eight basketball courts.

Among those to talk with him were Mohamed Bamba and Wendell Carter just to name a few.  Drama is seemingly nothing new for Trent and his Pulley teammates in that they had to come from way behind in one game to win in overtime while riding two of his scoring outbursts for victories.

All of this added up to me seeing a much improved player on the court since a season ago, where Trent remains cool under pressure while allowing his teammates to take some of the load.

Trent was quick to prop his teammates as well, including Brad Davison who had just concluded a stellar break out performance. ''We've known he's had potential for greatness, so for me I am really not surprised by his performance.''  Davison was the talk of the tournament after a game where he filled in for Tre Jones and logged in 37 points.

Trent also plays with the aforementioned Jones who suffered a hand injury late in the tournament.  Jones is his Apple Valley teammate and the brother of Tyus Jones who helped lead Duke to their last National Championship.

Here are some more comments from Trent when I caught up to him for a quick one on one interview -

On his 47 point outburst and what was going on in his mind during the performance -

''We were really just trying to stay undefeated.  Coming off a game like that everybody is going to look at you to shoot the ball first.  So, today, in the next game, I saw the double team, traps and stuff, so I tried to find my teammates and get everybody involved. It's great.  We had another tough game like this early this morning and our team had our back against the wall and we won.  We keep winning in these situations, so we want to keep it going. We know if we play together, great things can happen and if everybody plays hard, we should be successful no matter what.

Where are you in he recruiting process, who has been staying the most active of late?

It would be Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas ..

Blue bloods ...

Yes, it's still an open process right now. He then stated that he would be going for sure to a high major school in college.

Who are some of the last coaches you've heard from?

UCLA called, Coach Jeff Capel from Duke texted me.  That was the most recent.

What did they have to say ... what did Capel have to say?

Just to keep it going, keep it turned up and play hard.

I mostly cover Duke.  I saw you down in Durham on a visit sitting with the Cameron Crazies.

Ahem, yeah.

What was that visit like?

It was fun, it was crazy.  Every time you see them on TV with people putting their hands up or out on the out-of-bounds happens.  You kind of get a feeling of what it is like to be in a game there in person and they are crazy and loud.  I like the little Harry Potter feel the campus has to it with the old buildings.  It was nice.  I got to see their facilities too and they're top-notch. Everything is great their and the standards they have, it's just good.

Who are some of the guys you would not mind playing with at the college level?

There has been some talk of me and Wendell Carter being a part of a package deal and we've been talking about that for a year now, so that could happen.  We are trying to get one more player to come with us but I don't know how that is going to work out just yet.

You can't say those names of the possibilities just yet, huh?

No, not yet.

Back to Wendell and yourself, the two schools on your list are Kentucky and Duke, right?

Yeah, right now we both have Kentucky and Duke on our lists and Kansas offered us, UCLA and I think Michigan State as well.  We have a handful of offers together.

Who do you guys have in the morning game?

Man, I am not even sure, I just show up and play.

I notice you warming up in a pretty serious manner before game son the sideline.  Are you a but of a workout warrior?

Oh yeah, every day.  I work out every day of the week and only take Monday off.  I got that work ethic from my father who instilled that into me at a young age.

What's wrong with your man Tre Jones there?

I don't know yet.  He then yelled, Hey, Tre come here.  He;s got some ice cubes on his hand.

In closing - It is obvious that Howard Pulley is a close knot bunch and that they have each others backs.  I then discussed a few more things with Jones and Trent as other players continued to show their respect off them remaining undefeated.  Jones who is a year behind Trent was to see a doctor on Monday and he injury did not seem serious but did keep him out of the two games.  Meanwhile,  Trent was clearly one of the best wings available for the power teams he lists.  We will also have a chat with the younger Jones coming up shortly, so stay tuned.