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Houston EYBL Day 2: Harry Giles, Gary Trent Jr. have huge days

Harry Giles

HOUSTON -- The third session of the Nike EYBL continued with a full day of hoops on Saturday as Class of 2016 five-star forward Harry Giles showed why he’s a strong contender for No. 1 in the class while Class of 2017 wing Gary Trent Jr. continued his ridiculous weekend of scoring.

Harry Giles makes a statement with his Saturday play

North Carolina native and five-star forward Harry Giles arrived in Houston on Saturday morning looking to make his case for the No. 1 spot in the Class of 2016 national rankings. After missing Friday night’s Team CP3 game because of a test he had to take at school, Giles made his presence felt in a huge way in two games on Saturday.

During the morning’s first session of games in a win over Mokan, Giles was completely dominant, going for 28 points, 11 rebounds and two steals while shooting 12-for-16 from the field. Giles did a little bit of everything in the win and he played incredibly hard on both ends throughout the contest while controlling the interior.

In a night session win over Seattle Rotary, Giles continued his ridiculous play, going for 24 points and 17 rebounds while going 9-for-18 from the field.

While some other elite prospects have had up-and-down spring grassroots seasons -- Giles included -- this Saturday session was a tremendous day for Giles and at 6-foot-10, he does so much on the floor that makes him an elite prospect. Rivals currently rates Giles as the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2016 and he’s going to make a hard push for No. 1 now that he’s healthy and playing without the knee brace he wore after recovering from his torn ACL.

Gary Trent Jr. puts up ridiculous scoring numbers

Class of 2017 guard Gary Trent Jr. will always be tied to his famous father, who carved out a NBA career as a 6-foot-8 forward who was known as the “Shaq of the Mac.” Trent Jr. is only a 6-foot-4 guard, but he’s scoring at an elite level in the EYBL this spring and he’s putting in buckets at a ridiculous rate this weekend in Houston.

Regarded as the No. 45 prospect in the Class of 2017 national rankings, according to Rivals, Trent Jr. pumped in 33 points and six steals in a loss to Southern Stampede while scoring another 33 points in the night session in a win over Alabama Challenge.

For the weekend, Trent Jr. is averaging 36 points per game after a 43-point performance in a win on Friday night over the Travelers. While his scoring numbers have been outstanding, Trent Jr. could stand to improve as a passer. Simply put: he doesn’t find teammates very often. Once he learns to balance scoring and distributing, Trent Jr. will be a well-rounded guard.