Recruiting Report: Gary Trent Jr (2017)
The Apple Valley Eagles came into the 2015-16 season as defending state champions and the favorites to win the Class AAAA division in Minnesota once again. The Eagles are 22-1 on the season with a loss to Hopkins but wins…
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Continue ReadingThe Apple Valley Eagles came into the 2015-16 season as defending state champions and the favorites to win the Class AAAA division in Minnesota once again.
The Eagles are 22-1 on the season with a loss to Hopkins but wins that include Iowa City West, Maple Grove, Wayzata, Lakeville North, Shakopee, and Lausanna out of Tennessee. The next two Apple Valley games are against Lakeville North and Shakopee again so the Eagles will be tested entering section play.
The Eagles are getting 13.1 points and 9.6 rebounds a game from Buffalo bound Brock Bertram, 14.8 points a contest from Cameron Kirksey (one of the top unsigned prospects in the upper Midwest), and 14.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists a game from four star sophomore point guard Tre Jones.
Leading the way is five star junior shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. The 6-foot-6 Trent has had games of 46 points (vs Chanhassen), 41 (Minnetonka), 46 (Prior Lake), and five contests in the 30s.
Gary is averaging 26.7 points per game after scoring a total of 14 points in the last couple games because he was dealing with being sick like everybody else in Minnesota has to once or twice a winter (28.5 per game before getting sick).
“JR” is shooting a tremendous 53.4 percent from the field taking about 17 shots a game, he’s made 85 percent of his free throws and 40.5 percent of his 131 three-point attempts. Excellent shooting totals plus his team has won 16 straight games.
“I feel as if we are getting into a nice groove as a unit,” Trent said earlier in the week. “The season is going great so far. But something we really have to buy into as a team if we want to reach the next level and are goals is our defense. And if we do that I believe we can accomplish our goals!”
Gary was so good last spring and summer that he went from a nationally ranked top 25 player overall to consistently being ranked as the best shooting guard prospect in all of the junior class nation wide. The progressions of his game have been rapid and now he knows what else he wants to do to improve.
“My game this season has progressed really well, everything is clicking for me offensively and defensively and for me to help my team get to the next level I need to step my defense up as well.”
The offer list for Trent is a who is who of college basketball. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan State, Arizona, and everybody in between has extended. So who is he hearing from the most this winter?
“I’m hearing from Duke, Ohio State, Arizona, Michigan State, UCLA, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Alabama the most,” Trent said.
Gary mentioned that he is so busy with the season, school, and improving his game that he really hasn’t had time to take visits over the winter.
Locally the Minnesota Gophers are about a 20 minute drive from his house so of course they are a team talking to Gary.
“Minnesota has only been showing me little interest, I talk to Ben Johnson a little bit and only talk to coach Richard Pitino hardly. This season not going great for them but with the 2016 recruits they should be more successful.”
In three years at Apple Valley Trent has helped the Eagles put together a combined record of 79-5.