For three years, Gary Trent dominated the Mid-American Conference, and he’ll finally be recognized Saturday by Ohio Athletics for his accomplishments as his No. 20 will be raised to The Convo’s rafters.?
But as the day draws near, it becomes more apparent that very few students, including current members of the Ohio men’s basketball team, actually know much about Gary Trent.
Allow me to acquaint you.
Arguably the greatest player ever to don the green and white, Trent holds many conference and Ohio records and is the only three-time MAC Player of the Year.
From 1992–95, the “Shaq of the MAC,” as Trent was known, dominated the league and led the Bobcats to wins against prominent programs such as Connecticut, Ohio State, Virginia and West Virginia.
Trent’s Ohio resumé also includes a 1994 regular-season MAC championship, MAC Tournament championship, as well as a NCAA Tournament bid.
He led the MAC in scoring all three seasons as a Bobcat and is one of only three players in conference history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
At 22.7 points per game, Trent is Ohio’s all-time leader in scoring average and ranks third on the all-time scoring list with 2,108 career points. Had Trent stayed in school for his senior season, he likely would have crushed Dave Jamerson’s career-points record of 2,336, as well as many others.
Trent ranks in the top four in Ohio history in career field goals made (796), field goals attempted (1,390), field-goal percentage (.573), free throws made (499) and rebounds (1,050).
Trent’s 514 points in his first year at Ohio ranks second all-time in the MAC for points by a freshman. That season, Trent set the school’s all-time single-season record for field goal percentage at .651 and was named MAC Freshman of the Year.
Statistically, Trent’s finest year as a Bobcat came during the 1993-1994 season, when he scored 837 points for an average of 25.4 points per game — both second only to Jamerson’s 1989-1990 season in which he averaged 31.2 points per game.
In a February, 1994 games against Bowling Green, Trent scored 46 of the Bobcats' 84 points in the 14-point win at the Convo. It was one of eight forty-point performances in Ohio history.
Trent’s 1993–94 season set the standard for free throws made in a season (210) and ranks second in rebounds (423).
Trent led the conference in rebounds during both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The following season, Trent guided the Bobcats as high as the No. 14 ranking in the AP Poll after winning the Preseason NIT.
Trent’s 12-for-12 shooting performance in the Preseason NIT Championship game against New Mexico State remains the greatest single-game shooting performance in Ohio history.
Following his three-year college career, Trent became the highest Ohio player ever selected in the NBA draft when the Milwaukee Bucks made him the 11th overall pick in the 1995 draft.
Be sure to read The Post Friday for more on Gary Trent and a preview of Ohio’s clash with Miami.?
Rob Ogden is a senior studying journalism and assistant sports editor of The Post. Talk Trent stats at ro137807@ohiou.edu.
