Matt Sargeant, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard from Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California might be the best player you’ve never heard of. As the AAU summer circuit approaches, Sargeant knows that it’s his time to shine.

It’s simply amazing that Sargeant has gone as long as he has without being recognized on a National Level. Ocean View won the CIF Southern Section with a 27-4 record, went 12-0 in conference play, made it to the Final Four of the CIF Southern Section and scored 20 points a game, which led the team.

Sargeant was born to play the game of basketball, but he and his family realize how important academics are. Alberta Sargeant, Matt’s mother, provided RivalsHoops.com with the latest update.

“Matt’s got a 3.6 GPA and scored got a score of 1280 on the SAT,” Alberta Sargeant said. “He took the test last October and said he wouldn’t take it again if he got a score of 1200 or better, which he did.

“Academics are very important and it’s something that Matt takes very seriously, but he really loves basketball,” she added. “He started playing basketball when he was seven years old. He’s gone up against some of the best players in the state of California, but he’s also formed some special friendships with guys he has played with and against."

Sargeant is successful on the basketball court and in the classroom, so deciding on what school to attend could be even more troubling. Should he attend an academic school, or a basketball school or both?

“Matt’s recruiting is really exploding. He’s sent his application to Stanford and they’ve received that,” Sargeant said. “Schools from the Big West and Mountain West are becoming real interested. A couple of schools in the Pac 10 are starting to get involved and schools in the WCC have a lot of interest.

“Navy showed up to watch Matt play the day the War started, which says a lot about their feelings toward him,” she added. “Connecticut and Utah are also starting to show some interest, so things are starting to heat up. The Ivy League is something he’s considered. His father attended Harvard and Matt has heard from Yale.”

It looks like the secret about Sargeant has finally leaked out. Stanford coaches visited during the CIF playoffs and another meeting is set for April 30.

He had two scholarship offers at the beginning of the year, but now Sargeant has heard from 40 schools from every major conference.

It’s quite shocking that Stanford waited so long in terms of getting more involved, especially since Sargeant is right in their backyard. Here’s a young man that is in great academic standing and has great athletic ability.

I think it’s safe to say that Sargeant’s recruitment is about to get very interesting.