Strong bodied Boone getting looks

South Garland (Texas) High School will be alright next year when Terrel Harris leaves for Oklahoma State. Why? They have Trent Boone. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound bull of shooting guard will be there and if he plays anything like he did at the Academy National Invitational in Houston, the team from the Dallas suburbs will keep on trucking like they have been.

Boone was one of the nice surprises last week at the ANI tournament. Because of his bulk and muscle mass it's no surprise that he first started playing inside. Now he's moving more to the wing and attacking from the outside in. What is a surprise, though, is the fact he doesn't play on the gridiron like most of state mates.

"I don't play football. Should I?" Boone asked with a grin. "I played football back in middle school but I haven't played since then. I just play strong really. If you go into the lane, you gotta be strong. Especially here in Texas."

Built like a middle linebacker, most sub 200 pound players get out of his way when Boone wants to rebound. He has solid athleticism and can score above the rim as well as put in the midrange jumper. Boone loves to get to the foul stripe, too. He went there 30 times at the ANI and hit 24 of his attempts.

The class of 2006 prospect doesn't have a reliable outside game just yet but when he puts it all together, he'll be a guy that gets serious looks from schools that love to grind it out and win with defense. That is the game he's been playing at South Garland.

"I'm not going to score a lot but I'm trying to just put our team into a position to win," Boone, who averaged over 23 points a game at the ANI said. "Don't do too much but do enough to win. That's kind of how I play."

After playing with Team Texas on the summer circuit and playing with Harris, who will play for Eddie Sutton next year at Oklahoma State, Boone has caught the attention of a number of programs already.

"My recruitment is going good, really good actually," Boone said. "I'm being recruited by all of the schools in Texas."

Boone also said Nebraska, OSU, Florida State, St. John's and DePaul are regulars with mail and information. For now, he's listening to what people have to say and after his showing at the ANI, he'll probably have more schools to choose from.

"I haven't started to narrow it down or anything. I probably will once schools start to offer me but for now I'm open," Boone said. "I'll go from there after that."