At age 3 to 4 all the young Trent Perry could do was watch his dad Troy play ball. His dad, who is this fantastically charismatic person who is a whiz in the world of finance, had been a baller himself growing up in Seattle.
Troy played with the finest hoopers like the Stewart brothers that starred at USC. He came out of famed Franklin High with the likes of Aaron Brooks who was a phenom at Oregon.
Troy knows and appreciates former NBA player Nate Robinson from Seattle and so many from the city hoop scene.
His son Trent was mesmerized by his dad’s love of the game and would flick his wrists as a kid like his dad on the small hoop. Troy would use his broad shoulders to create space and power up vs. the comp and Trent wanted to power up his own hoop dreams as well.
Trent inherited his dad’s broad shoulders and natural charisma. He got his mom Jessica’s kind smile and great demeanor and a lot of other great attributes as well.
Talk to Trent long enough and it’s easy to see why people are drawn to him and his whole family no doubt. They are good people that are ultra articulate off court in convo and killas on court.
I’ll let Trent explain, “My family and I are close. Me seeing my dad play, him giving me advice on how to approach the game has been instrumental in my life. Something inside me said back when I was 3 or 4 that ‘play that hoop with fire like your dad did.’
“It was God’s way of telling me to play sports as an outlet in life. Playing sports just lets me feel free. I build relationships through basketball. Like my guy Robert Hinton, we played through our freshman year grinding in the system at Harvard-Westlake. Tons of academics and rigorous hoop. Just doing it together.”
Trent Perry is a cool cat, just like his pops, just like his mom. He is right now helping to power a juggernaut of a team that is headed on a mission to win an Open Division championship. Period. He’ll tell you of the sacrifice.
He sets up with pride the big men on the team by his gifted passing. His coach Dave Rebibo has them in oh so perfect unison. Harvard Westlake is like the San Antonio Spurs in their system where coaching has been so strong for many years.
That system has molded guys like Tony Parker. T-Perry is a product of both that system and also a very special LA trainer, Marcus LoVett Sr, who I’ll get to later.
Right now Trent is a big part of that system but he has really paid some dues waiting in line behind Dante Russell.
I’ll let Trent explain, “I waited behind Dante, learned all I could from him. Got my basketball vocab as a leader and figured out when to take control when my team needed me. How to be that effective PG, to be impactful. I’ve learned so much from coaches and coach Rebibo.
“I’m so thankful to be able to take the next step to have a better pinpoint skill set at the next level in college. I know what I need to do is to improve my athleticism, get my body ready for college.”
Trent’s super respected Harvard Westlake coach Dave Rebibo has helped countless players maximize their God given talent, most recently Johnny Juzang of the Utah Jazz.
Dave had these glowing words on Trent and his family, “In an era where everybody wants it now, Trent and his family bought into a process that allowed him to grow into a fully formed player through a maturation process.
“His family supports him and supports me and the team with everything they have. I’m just so proud of him. He’s a tremendous example of a person and player that is patient and does things the right way.”
How does Trent perform in game? From a talent evaluator’s perspective?
Trent will cut up the defender by crossing them up with his dribble in the lane. Or he’ll run the team patiently from the outside and tire out defenders before making efficient passes to other guards. He can flat out just pop his “J” where needed to control the flow of the game. That’s what makes him special.
Trent Perry, for what he brings to the tempo to the game and his fierce defense, is that cold piece of work. He has 9 really good D-1 college offers right now, and he’s only in the middle of his junior season.
Programs like Stanford, Oklahoma, and Cal have offered. Imagine where he’ll be at when he gets done at the end of his AAU summer. He’s a high major talent that has a lot of upside and he also gets all A’s and B’s in high school. He wants to be a business or Kinesiology major in college.
Hear Trent’s dad Troy tell it, “It’s all about the little things that add up to the big things. We give a lot of credit to Dave Rebibo. You don’t always have to score 20 points a game to get the most acclaim as a junior when it counts.
“Just be patient, learn under the best. Get connected to coach Dave who is connected to the best AAU travel teams. Display a sharp mentality that makes an impact so that others want you to be a part of what they are building.
“I’m so proud of Trent. He’s put in the work, believed in himself and the process, and is on his way to successful goals he’s selecting for himself in life.”
That’s the thing. Trent is just a cool down to earth guy that never forgets where he came from. He speaks on the turning point that impacted his life so much, “My family is from West Covina and I was reluctant to want to go to Harvard Westlake because I didn’t want to leave my friends that were staying at high schools in the West Covina area.
“My friends like RJ Smith playing basketball now at Colorado, we’re going to Damien High. I applied to Harvard Westlake and was denied entry but my dad encouraged me to reapply. Both my parents are so supportive.
“I did and started to attend a different kind of place where I might’ve been a middle class kid on a wealthy campus. I saw kids leave their backpack unattended and that shocked and made me see the world in a new light. It’s basketball and also something else in the world too.”
Trent’s trainer is the ultimate LA skills instructor Marcus LoVett, a person I’ve noticed that is a real one to kids and all people. His son Marcus Jr., was a local phenom with mind blowing handles like Brandon Jennings who starred at St Johns University.
Marcus Sr. has been intensely working with Trent for a while now to help him build and transform his great attitude and tremendous energy into monster abilities. He’s working to help build Trent to that next level of being a dominant player that impacts the game!
Trent is a sponge and earns praise from LoVett who says, “I could foresee from the beginning that Trent would be good. He always had a strong core and his confidence wouldn’t be shaken by things that might get in his way or mess others up.
“He’s a big strong guard that can shoot it. As he grows into that lead guard role his upside will grow and grow as his stock rises higher. He’s a good kid with a great family that I appreciate.”
Here’s a feature story I did on Marcus Sr. as a trainer and mentor:
How much does basketball mean to Trent? Just get to know him then lean in close and whisper, “Are you about this life bro?” You’ll see so much fire in his prideful eyes that he’ll answer with his heart and his play.
Trent wants the Open State championship, wants it as bad as anyone I know in the whole freaking state. His desire and hunger are like the man hasn’t eaten in days for a meal of winning at the highest level of a champion-chip flavored bag of potato chips no doubt!
Trent and his team is chasing the golden precious ring. They are running 110 miles per hour, like a cheetah in the open division of the California savanna going after its prey for that ring.
Come February let’s see what goes down for Mr. Underdog, aka Trent Perry, who is betting on himself. He’s been that kid who was overlooked at times in certain ways.
Him moving from West Covina to attend Harvard Westlake changed his perspective, and that has made the difference for him. Will he and his teammates come up with that rare piece of hardware? Go see Trent and find out. 100.
