In-state four-star combo guard blowing up
Five-star forward Chris Walker was the top prize to come out of the Florida panhandle in the Class of 2013. The next big thing from the western part of the Sunshine State will be Chipley (Fla.) four-star combo guard Trent Forrest, who already holds offers from schools in the ACC, Pac-12 and SEC.
Forrest, the Rivals No. 59 ranked sophomore holds offers from Florida State, Oregon State and Tennessee and is getting interest from North Carolina State, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Duke, Louisville, Xavier, Maryland and Alabama.
Advertisement
"Schools call my coach," Forrest said of his The Challenge AAU coach Robert Shannon.
This is the second year Forrest has played 'up' with The Challenge 17-under Nike EYBL team; something he feels has helped him improve his game.
"I've been playing 'up' pretty much all my life. I like playing up with older players, so it (playing 17-under) came naturally. It's helped me learn how hard you have to work. You're going against the top players, playing 'up'. Then playing EYBL, it's the best circuit in the world for AAU."
The 6-foot-4, 185 pound sophomore scores at all three levels, makes good decisions, passes well on the move and is a more than willing defender. Forrest averaged 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists for The Challenge, who struggled in Sacramento in EYBL Session One.
"We went 1-3 in Sacramento," Forrest said. "We had a chance to go 4-0. We won or lost by two points in all but one of our games. We just need to finish. We know what we need to do going into Dallas this weekend."
Forrest is also a high academic prospect who takes honors classes in Algebra II, English and Biology and recently had a 4.0 GPA.
"School is really good," said Forrest. "I'm still keeping my grades high but I got a B in one of my classes and my GPA dropped some but it stays around a 3.8 to 4.0. You can't get into college without your grades so I keep them up. I'm thinking of majoring in Sports Management or Engineering."
Listing no favorites, Forrest did talk to us about some of the in-state colleges that are recruiting him.
Florida State: "It's close to home and the fans are great. It just feels like home every time I go there on unofficials."
Florida: "It would be great (if they offered) because they are one of the top teams in the SEC and they are in-state. My eighth grade year I went to their summer team camp, but they weren't looking at me then."
South Florida: "The coach before (Stan Heath) sent me some mail but I am not aware of the new coach getting in touch with my AAU Coach."
Russ Wood is the basketball recruiting analyst for Inside the Gators & Rivals. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.