Duke offers 5-star guard Gary Trent Jr., Kentucky, UNC offer big man Sacha Killeya-Jones

Gary Trent Jr. has become one of the biggest risers in the class of 2017 after the spring session. The 6’3 guard climbed all the way up to No. 8 in ESPN’s rankings after largely being considered a four-star recruit coming into grassroots season. Trent’s ascension to an elite prospect was solidified on Monday when he announced Duke has offered him a scholarship.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s of course because Trent’s father starred at Ohio before becoming the No. 11 pick in the 1995 draft and enjoying a nine-year career in the NBA. Gary Trent was once deemed “The Shaq of the MAC” as a bruising 6’8, 250-pound power forward, but his son a different type of player.

Trent Jr. is a two-guard noted for being a “bucket getter.” He scores from all three levels and has no problem getting to the rim with a sturdy 200-pound frame. Trent was part of the USA Basketball U16 team that just took home the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championships this past weekend in Argentina. He scored 19 points in the gold medal game as the U.S. beat Canada.

Killeya-Jones became one of the first big men in the class of 2016 to pick a school when he committed to Virginia last year, but he’s since decommitted and reopened his recruitment. It didn’t take long for top programs to notice. Both North Carolina and Kentucky have already offered the skinny 6’11 center.

Killeya-Jones’ decommittment is a big blow for Virginia, which had the start of a promising 2016 class with Indiana guard Kyle Guy and New York point guard Ty Jerome also in the mix, both of whom are also considered top 100 prospects. Virginia’s loss will be someone else’s gain, as Killeya-Jones immediately becomes one of the best big men left on the board in his class.

Killeya-Jones is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C., and plays on Team Felton in Under Armour’s grassroots circuit, the AAU program led by former Tar Heel standout Raymond Felton. Killeya-Jones is a teammate of Raymond’s nephew Jalek Felton on that team, the five-star point guard in 2017 who has already committed to UNC.

Both North Carolina and Kentucky do not have a commitment in the 2016 class yet.

Class of 2017 center Mohammed Bamba has been making a name for himself this summer. The 6’10 big man reportedly has a 7’8 wingspan. He’s climbed all the way to No. 10 in ESPN’s rankings and recently added scholarship offers from Kentucky and Missouri to a list that already includes offers from St. John’s, Indiana, Kansas, Syracuse, Arizona, UConn, Texas, Villanova, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Penn State, Temple, Seton Hall, James Madison and Yale.

-- Charles O’Bannon Jr. has received an offer from Texas A&M.

-- 4-star center Joey Brunk has committed to Butler.