By Jordan Divens

You can watch Gary Trent Jr. live at the Howard Pulley Invitational, May 6-8, exclusively on FloHoops.

Lately, Gary Trent Jr. (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Wendell Carter (Atlanta, Ga.) have been discussing the possibility of playing together at the next level. These highly recruited players in the Class of '17 have developed a strong bond during their years in the elite prep basketball circuit, and would like to continue their success on the same team in college.

“I want to play with a great player at the next level. We're friends, and the likelihood of us going to school together is very high.” Trent Jr. said.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard said his recruitment is completely open right now as he entertains offers from 13 schools: Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Minnesota, Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas Tech. Trent Jr. is second in scoring in the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) with an average of 22.7 points per game.

“I want to become a better all-around player this summer. I don’t want to just be known as a scorer. I also want continue to win; we are 7-0 in EYBL play. My goal in the EYBL is to win the Peach Jam.” Trent Jr said.


In EYBL play, he averages 6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1 steal per game. But his development may continue at a different high school next season—Trent Jr. has been looking around to see what prep schools have to offer. “I've visited La Lumiere (IN) and I plan to visit Findlay Prep (NV) and maybe Montverde Academy (FL). I've been hearing from prep schools for the last few years. I want to see what they have to offer me.”

When asked about how his father helped shape him as a player, Trent Jr. responded with nothing but praise: “He has helped me in every way since day one. Every jumper, every shot, every pass is him. The goal has been to try and get better every day and he has helped me every step of the way.”

Trent Jr. is looking to make his college decision during the upcoming fall.

“I've visited UCLA, Kentucky, and Duke. Kentucky was NBA University—everything is set up to prepare you for the NBA. Duke was like Hogwarts—it has a real college feel to it. The buildings are really old, and it just feels different there. UCLA was beautiful. The weather was beautiful, and the buildings and campus were beautiful. But I just want to find the school that gives me the best chance of making me successful on and off the court.”