Allonzo Trier committed to Arizona's 2015 class as a known prodigy. He was featured as a 13-year-old in a New York Times article from 2009, but his reputation as a workhorse and basketball nut began to cement itself this summer as he dominated the AAU circuit.
Born in January of 1996, Trier is actually more than four months older than 2014 Arizona recruit Stanley Johnson. While there are a number of reasons for players to be held back, neither disciplinary reasons nor hoping to help his stock seem to be behind Trier's situation.
Trier attended Montrose Academy in Maryland this past year after being homeschooled, and this coming senior season, he'll be on the move again. He'll be attending another basketball player factory, Findlay Prep, the same school Nick Johnson and Brandon Ashley played at to polish their skills before joining the Wildcats.
The Washington Post's Roman Stubbs wrote a feature on Trier's winding path to Arizona, and he gives us a better understanding of why Trier has traveled around so much.
But in the spring, (Trier's mother) Marcie said (Montrose) had mishandled Trier's academic schedule, placing him in two classes he had already taken in ninth grade and forcing him to fall behind should he stay for his senior year. That was always the plan, she said, for her son to graduate from the first high school he had attended. (Montrose coach) Bartley declined to comment for this story.
"[People] think he's like a wanderer, and they wonder about him. What's his deal? It's not that," Marcie said. "Zo is a really good kid. He does what he wants to do. He got mostly A's and B's and a couple C's at Montrose. It's just everything's been happening that's beyond our control."
Trier reportedly was diagnosed with dyslexia in the sixth grade, and that had a lot to do with the decision to homeschool the guard in high school, his mother told the Post. Stubbs' piece covers the ins and outs of Trier's high school career as a homeschooled player and all of his family's work to make sure he would be able to play at ever level.
As a top-20 player by ESPN's standards, it's clear Trier did enough to sell his game. Top-notch talents don't often go overlooked these days. It's obvious from Trier's play on the U-18 squad this summer with Stanley Johnson and Sean Miller that he's going to be a huge part of Arizona's team when he joins the Wildcats in 2015.