Arizona Basketball reaches out to Oakland transfer forward Trey Townsend

Townsend's tale

Coming out of Oxford High School just 20 minutes north of Oakland in Oxford, Michigan, Townsend wasn't exactly a coveted prospect. Despite averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds as a senior and earning All-State honorable mentions in his final two years, Oakland was the only Division I team that had him on their radar, but the Golden Grizzlies and the Townsends are familiar.

Townsend's father played basketball for Oakland and was a part of the Golden Grizzlies' first 20-plus-win season in 1987 when the now-well-seasoned head coach Greg Kampe was in just his third year at the helm. The family ties stretch deeper, too: both his mother (basketball) and brother (soccer) were also athletes in their times at Oakland.

Townsend's freshman year was the chaotic 2019-20 season, but he still started all 30 games and averaged 8.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and a team-high 0.8 blocks. His accolades earned him Horizon League All-Freshman honors. He took a step forward in Year 2, starting all 31 games played and averaging 13.3 points per game — good for third on the team.

Mid-major greatness

The leaps got larger in his Junior year, where he (once again) started all 32 games and his outputs increased to 16.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, a block, and a steal per game. He logged three 30-plus-point games and was the Golden Grizzlies' second-leading scorer, which was good enough to earn All-Horizon League Second Team honors.

It all came to a head in his senior year, where he posted career-highs across the board. He started all 36 games while playing 36.4 minutes per game. He logged averages of 17.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting over 45% from the field and 37.5% from distance. He scored 30-plus points twice this season and recorded 10 double-doubles.

All of the previously listed numbers add up to a spectacularly dominant season at the mid-major level. Townsend's list of accolades grew even further, and he was named to the All-Horizon League First Team and was given the Horizon League Player of the Year honors. He didn't let this affect his classroom performance, either: he was also named All-Horizon League All-Academic First Team.

His extensive body of work indicates that Townsend always had high-major-caliber talent, but he just flew under the radars of scouts deep in the Detroit metro area. Now, the kid from Oxford can't be denied, and Arizona could seriously use his services with Keshad Johnson out and Pelle Larsson likely pursuing NBA opportunities.

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