During a time period in which there are so-called “exposure” camps for middle school basketball players and numerous talent evaluators combing playgrounds, gyms and points in between, there are very few true “unknown” college basketball prospects.
One player that fell into that slim category is Tony Trocha.
Whispers about the 6-10 forward have been circulating for almost a year, and the bare minimum of information available was that Trocha was a 2012 recruit who was attending high school in the Houston area as a native of Colombia. Trocha was not able to play during the high school season following his transfer from outside the United States, but reports indicated that he had the potential to be an elite recruit.
Late in the signing period, his name was brought up by several fan bases as a potential last member of their respective classes, but that time period came and went. Now, the first week of the live evaluation period Trocha made his first appearance in the summer circuit, where he was seen by a number of college coaches and talent evaluators.
Trocha played in the aptly named Reebok Breakout Challenge at Philadelphia University, but there still isn’t definite information regarding his recruitment. Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog spoke with his guardian, Jamie Ibanez, who confirmed that Trocha, who speaks minimal English, is waiting on a test score to determine if he’ll be a 2012 or 2013 player.
The reviews about Trocha’s play were mixed, and it isn’t exactly clear where he will fit in to the pecking order. With dozens of scholarship offers from high-majors, though, the reality is that numerous coaches believe in his ability and basketball future.
Perhaps more telling is Trocha’s play in June’s FIBA U-18 tournament for Colombia. He played for the poorly performing Colombia squad, but posted favorable statistics, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game during the event.
It remains to be seen exactly where Trocha will fit in, but there’s no doubt he’ll be a top-100 recruit regardless class. The early indications are that he’s unlikely to ascend to the top of player rankings, but his confidence should increase as he is increasingly exposed to competitive U.S. basketball. At this point, it’s certainly worth filing Trocha’s name in the back of your head as a potential impact player in college basketball.
Kellon Hassenstab runs Hoopniks.com. Follow him on Twitter @hoopniks.