Recruiting Report: Trey Wiest (2019)
Mandan point guard Trey Wiest led his team in three point shooting percentage as a sophomore and was the team’s third leading scorer.
Wiest spent his spring and summer months playing with the North Dakota Phenom 16u squad that battled through early struggles to have a strong summer.
“We started the season a little slow and had some tough games in April and May,” Wiest said. “I was happy with how my team came together in June and July as we started to play more consistent on offense and became a better team defensively.
“We had a really good tournament in June at The Midwest Summer Start-Up in Ames placing second. We also played pretty well in St. Cloud at the Great Plains Alliance and at the SPBL Finals in Sioux Falls. We ended the summer season playing in the Las Vegas 48 against teams from other parts of the country that we hadn’t seen before.
“I liked how hard my team played and competed. It was fun to see us grow as a team. Overall, I really enjoyed the summer and my teammates and I had a very fun experience.”
Trey grew as a point guard competing against tough opponents game after game. It was a valuable experience that he will take into winter play.
“Playing the point guard position against some really good 16’s all summer helped me to continue to grow as a point guard,” Wiest explained. “I wanted to be more aggressive this summer on both ends of the floor.
“Defensively I concentrated on becoming a stronger on-the-ball defender. I learned how to use my body more and kept offensive players in front of me more consistently.
“Offensively I worked hard on improving my ability to attack the basket and finish as I drew contact. I also worked hard this summer on becoming a more vocal and positive leader. I take pride in taking care of the ball and I love creating and setting my teammates up for open shots.
“Overall, I felt like I improved quite a bit and feel I’m going to be able to help the Mandan Braves have a great upcoming season!”
Wiest has put together a strong plan for the fall months as he gets ready for his junior year of basketball.
“I plan on continuing to get a lot of shots up this off-season so I can be a more effective and consistent shooter. I will attend the Prep Hoops Top 250 and also the Warwick Workouts Prospect camp at the University of Jamestown.
“In addition to the camps, I will also participate in the Sanford Power training in Bismarck to continuing working on my spend and strength.”
Mandan returns Wiest, Camren Steckler, and Trae Steckler, all of which were big number contributors in 2016-17. Wiest gave his team 10.1 points, three assists, and almost four boards a contest.
“I am very excited about our up-coming season,” Trey explained. “We graduated five seniors but were returning three starters, plus a number of guys who played a lot of varsity and JV minutes last year.
“We should have good depth on the team. Mandan hasn’t been to the state tournament for a few years and we’d like to change that. We have a good combination of size and guards that will make us hard for teams to defend.”
It’s early but schools are already starting to call Trey after seeing him play 16u and with Mandan as a young player.
“I have heard a lot from Jamestown as of now, but I also have been invited to many college basketball camps from North Dakota and South Dakota.”
Wiest has several professional players he enjoys watching including Kobe Bryant who is definitely a North Dakota favorite.
“One player that has mainly influenced my game is Kobe. He is very inspirational and has the best work ethic/mentality. My favorite hoops players would be Karl Anthony Towns, Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, and Devin Booker.”