HOUSTON - On the final day of the Houston stop of Nike's Elite Youth Basketball, four-star point guard
Alterique Gilbert showed that he's been a bit undervalued. Meanwhile, 2017's
Gary Trent Jr. capped off a terrific weekend.
When the
class of 2016 Rivals150 was updated after the high school season, Rivals.com received some calls from people concerned that
Alterique Gilbert had been ranked a bit too low at No. 77. As it turns out, those who thought he should have been a bit higher were absolutely right.
Playing for Team CP3 in the EYBL, the 6-footer from Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove has been outstanding while leading his team to a league-best 11-1 record. During Sunday's final game of the Houston session he was as solid as ever in leading CP3 to a win over King James.
Confident and under control, Gilbert scored 21 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed four rebounds in a fast-paced 98-85 win. A previous concern with Gilbert had been that he appeared to have relatively average quickness but he has added another gear. On top of that, he changes speeds well and makes great decisions with the ball.
In short, Gilbert is a leader and as if he is well on his way to being a very good college point guard.
Gilbert recently took an official visit to
Connecticut and said that he connected with
Kevin Ollie's message of hard work overcoming adversity. However, Gilbert said that he's not quite ready to make a decision and he wants to be sure that he sees his other four finalists
Louisville,
Illinois,
Syracuse and
Texas.
It was inevitable, at some point four-star shooting guard
Gary Trent Jr. was going to have a merely mortal effort during the Houston session. He scored a combined 109 points while shooting 18-for-30 from behind the three-point line during the first three games of the weekend. Trent scored 13 points in his last outing as his Howard Pulley team fell to the Playaz Basketball Club 60-56.
Even in his "off" game, Trent showed an awful lot.
The No. 45 player in the class of 2017, Trent has improved tremendously with his shot selection. Make no mistake, the well built 6-foot-4 shooting is going to let the shots fly at a healthy clip. But he's not rushing things, is making sure he is on balance and using his strength to take defenders down to the post and get easy buckets at the hoop.
Trent can thank his father, Gary Sr., for that post game. The former "Shaq of the MAC" was a powerful, athletic and clever post player during his time at Ohio University and throughout his NBA career.
The younger Trent says that he currently holds offers from
Minnesota,
Ohio State,
Michigan State,
Alabama, Providence and
Texas Tech. He said that
Duke has been in recent contact with his summer coaches and that
Kentucky made its way to watch him during April's live evaluation period.
Two class of 2017 members of Athlete's First's 16U squad caught our attention - 6-foot combo guard
Elijah LandrumClick Walker's teammate on Team Final, 6-foot-4 point guard Tony Carr, had a tough day shooting, going just 4-of-19. However the class of 2016 four-star prospect made several nice passes and clutch defensive plays. Carr listed offers from Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Xavier, SMU, Temple, La Salle, Rhode Island and Penn State.Here to view this Link. and 6-foot-4 wing
Marvin JohnsonClick Walker's teammate on Team Final, 6-foot-4 point guard Tony Carr, had a tough day shooting, going just 4-of-19. However the class of 2016 four-star prospect made several nice passes and clutch defensive plays. Carr listed offers from Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Xavier, SMU, Temple, La Salle, Rhode Island and Penn State.Here to view this Link.. An explosive athlete, Landrum attacks the rim relentlessly off the dribble and really forces the issue in transition. His shot doesn't look bad either and he's a tough kid. Johnson is a lengthy wing who like Landrum gets to the rim and plays with plus athleticism.