Kitsap Sun file Gig Harbor sophomore Clarence Trent grabs a rebound during a March 1 West Central/Southwest district playoff game against South Kitsap. Trent had 19 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday in the TidesB 71-58 upset of Inglemoor in a Class 4A state tournament game.

By Chuck Stark | Viewpoint
March 9, 2006

TACOMA

It was halftime of th eGig Harbor-Issaquah game and Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice walked by Craig Murray and gave him a playful jab to his shoulder.

"You look like a proud papa," said Rice, who was scouting the first day of the Class 4A state boys basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Clarence Trent, a member of Murray’s Total Package select program and a Gig Harbor sophomore, had just created quite a buzz after an imposing state-tournament debut.

The buzz actually started last summer when the 6-foot-8 Trent more than held his own in tournaments against some of the country’s elite players.

Fair or not, he’s already drawing comparisons to former Bremerton High star Marvin Williams, currently a rookie with the Atlanta Hawks.

If you watched his first-half performance yesterday, you know why. Trent had 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 14 minutes that had to have every college coach in the building drooling. He threw down monster dunks, hit back-to-back 3-pointers and seemed to be everywhere — no, he was everywhere — while leading the young Tides to a 71-58 upset of Inglemoor.

Gig Harbor, which could meet South Kitsap in Friday’s semifinals if both win today, led Inglemoor by 17 at halftime. Inglemoor coach Greg Lowell said he couldn’t remember playing against a better team over the last two years.

Trent made his team look that good.

He was in foul trouble most of the second half and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he clearly showed why he’s rated as the state’s top sophomore.

The energetic kid moved to Gig Harbor with an uncle and a cousin, fellow Tides sophomore T.J. Nettles, to get out of "a bad environment," in Lacey. He has been anointed as the top recruit in the class of 2008 by one Pac-10 coach, Murray said.

"When we played in Vegas last summer we had a game against Texas Elite. They had guys who were being recruited by Kansas and everybody," Murray said. "They had a 6-10 guy and a 7-footer. Trent had 15 points, 13 rebounds and about eight blocked shots and some monster jams. When the competition gets better, he gets better."

As for the Marvin comparisons, Murray said:

"Clarence and Marvin are similar except he’s more aggressive and explosive than Marvin. Marvin, you knew he was good. He would get his numbers, but he wouldn’t impose his will on the game all the time. Clarence is always trying to impose his will somehow, someway. Whether it’s a monster block, whether it’s a monster jam. Marvin was so good because he was so skilled."

Gig Harbor coach Lyle McIntosh keeps a tight rein on his players, even the skilled ones like Trent, who has been asked to defend smaller, quicker guards and even bring the ball up court at times.

"He’s got a real tight leash on me," Trent said of his coach. "Tonight he cut me loose and I thank him for that. I was able to play my game."

"I don’t think he’s under the radar anymore," McIntosh said. "He came out and got it done at the beginning and he looked as good as anybody I’ve seen in a long time."

Trent just shrugged when asked if it was a coming out party.

"I’m at state. I’m a sophomore. I’ve got two more years to come out," he said.

The muscular and athletic forward already has the body of a college senior. While he looks closer to 6-6 than the 6-8 he’s listed at, he could be 6-9 or 6-10 before he leaves Gig Harbor.

"You could see the glimpses of how good he was last summer," said South Kitsap’s Evan Atwater, among seven Wolves and four Tides who are part of the Total Package program. "You can see why he draws the Marvin comparisons. Marvin’s a little different because he understood the game a little better, but athletically Clarence is a lot better than Marvin was at the same time."

He’s the real deal and now he has to live up to what people are saying about him.

"He’s got a lot of work to do," Murray said. "But he’s got a lot to work with."

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