NEW YORK — Gary Trent Jr. continued his busy summer this weekend by playing in the Big Strick Classic at the Gauchos Gym in The Bronx.
Trent Jr. went for 15 points Saturday night as Team USA beat Team NYC 159-137.
The 6-foot-5 2017 guard out of Apple Valley (MN) was coming off a recent unofficial visit to UCLA that followed his stint at the adidas Nations event in Long Beach.
“I went to the University and it was good, I enjoyed it,” he told SNY.tv. “It was nice, a nice atmosphere. The campus is beautiful, palm trees everywhere.”
UCLA also hosted E.J. Montgomery and Trevon Duval on unofficials, and Duval also played in the Big Strick.
“The [UCLA] coaches said they wanted to offer me a scholarship,” Trent Jr. said.
He plans on taking some other visits this fall, too, and will go to at least some with his friend Wendell Carter Jr., a fellow 2017 recruit.
“I’ll sit down with my dad and start mapping out where we want to go this fall,” said Trent Jr., who attended the same high school as former Duke and current Minnesota Timberwolves floor general Tyus Jones.
Trent Jr. told Pat Lawless of MadeHoops.com that three schools were recruiting him the hardest — Kentucky, Duke and Ohio State.
“They are all about recruiting me the same, but Coach Cal, Duke and Ohio State call me the most right now,” said Trent.
As for Kentucky, he recently picked up an offer.
“They offered me during the Nike Global Games,” he told SNY.tv.
Asked if he might visit, he said, “I can see that in the future definitely. They have a great tradition, great history, they make great players, so I would love to visit.”
Meantime, Trent Jr. and Carter Jr. have discussed becoming a package deal, committing to the same school with the goal of winning in March. The two previously told SNY.tv about the idea earlier this summer during USA Basketball U16 tryouts.
Duke is seen as a possibility for the package, especially since Carter Jr. told SNY.tv at the Peach Jam that the Blue Devils were recruiting him the hardest.
“They’re recruiting both of us, but that [definitely going to Duke] is not really the situation,” Trent Jr. said. “We talked about it and we’re down to go anywhere. We plan on taking visits together here soon in the fall and we can see what universities are like and about and as we build relationships with the coaches and will it be the best fit for both of us.”
He added: “We’ll talk here and there, either text message or Snapchat, just little things like that. I would love to go to school with a lot of great players because I want to have success in college, so at the end of the day when you choose a school you are going to look into where certain kids are going to certain universities and who you can team up with, so it would be great.”
Trent Jr. admits that Duke’s addition of Jayson Tatum and the possible addition of Harry Giles helps them perception-wise in recruiting.
“The big names, you could say, like a household name, like everybody knows Jayson Tatum, that really pushes them up a little bit,” Trent Jr. said. “But at the end of the day, they’re all great universities and it’s just what’s the best fit for you.”
