This converstation starts and ends with Gary Trent.

Of course, the LaFerla twins would be a close second.

Steve Skaggs, Tim Joyce, John Devereaux...

Who is the douche that wrote this article?  I like calling Geno "little dude" and adding his own little spice to Gary's nickname (The Shaq of the MF'ing MAC).  That's good journalism.

There were many great Ohio players over the years. The teams from the 60's and 70's played against better competition, yet except Luckett, none of those players were mentioned. Gary Trent is the most accomplished Bobcat by far.

There was a similar thread not long ago, and this is what I said then:

Of my watching of OHIO basketball, which goes back to the Walter Luckett era, plus what I know about OHIO's basketball history, I'll make two claims:

1. That Gary Trent was the best basketball player in OHIO history.

2. The best OHIO player, when compared to players of the same era, is Frank Baumholtz.

Baumholtz was 1st team All-American in 1941. He was the MVP of the national championship game when the NIT was the premier conference, receiving that award even though OHIO lost the game. He played one year of professional basketball, opting for a career in MLB. In that rookie year, he was named to the  All Pro 2nd team. 

He's not a journalist. He's someone who has been painfully unfunny since he started writing for the BG News.

I think the choice goes beyond just who had the best stats, Trent brought an excitement that I haven't seen since.  I was at OU when Trent played, and if you didnt get to the Convo early, you weren't getting a seat.

You guys and gals are suffering from the historical sin of "presentism."  I suffer from the disease known as "oldfartism."  I would say that Gary Trent ranks in my top three or four Ohio players ever.  I have a hard time ranking him above such legendaries as Don Hilt and Mike Haley, and maybe Howie Jolliff, whose NBA career was cut short by injury.  

Trent was the best player for Ohio and its not even close. He either scored, scored after rebounding a miss or got fouled.  The only was Trent was stopped was if he passed the ball out to one of his guards and they then knocked down three's at 40% combined.  The only ones who really could stop Trent were the MAC refs if they called early fouls and he had a sit on the bench and the scoreboard that allowed Hunter to rest Trent with the Cats up big. He was a smart player and was able to stay out of foul trouble most of the time.  His numbers would have been higher but Larry Hunter showed mercy on the MAC and emptied the bench when the Bobcats were up 20 plus with 5 to play most nites.   Bobcats could name the score many nites in the Trent era. The game Trent had 36 second half points on BGSU and a 46 point overall performance capped by the dunk the included Trent going coast to coast dribbled behind he back at midcourt and finishing with a rim ricker at the end.  5 BGSU frontcourt players fouled out that game trying to stop him.  I haven't seen many better performances than that. BGSU had a very strong frontcourt and Trent just carved them up that day.  

 

His bingo cards for Deadspin had their moments. His MAC blog has been dependably brutal. 

Like many bobcatattackers, I was in the Convo that day.  Absolutely electric and astonishing performance.  I remember him splitting many double teams that day and just slamming the ball home.  

I guess nobody wants to bite on my idea of naming the top 25. Naming Trent as the best is like shooting fish in a barrel. Consider the stats he would have put up if he stayed for his senior year. Not to mention a 4 time POTY, which I don't think hs ever been done in any conference.