The funky dynamic between Trey Wertz and his dad as college hoops coaches come calling
BY ALEX ANDREJEV
APRIL 06, 2020 06:00 AM, UPDATED APRIL 06, 2020 11:51 AM
NCAA Division I college basketball player Trey Wertz, son of Charlotte Observer preps reporter Langston Wertz Jr, is interviewed by his father about his experience as a college transfer prospect. BY DAVID T. FOSTER III | LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
Langston Wertz Jr. spends a lot of time talking on the phone. As The Charlotte Observer’s high school sports reporter, he’s constantly communicating with talented young athletes, their parents and prep coaches in the area.
But last Tuesday, it wasn’t sources blowing up Wertz’s phone. It was a slew of college basketball coaches calling to discuss his son, Trey, a 6-foot-4 guard at Santa Clara who entered the NCAA transfer portal.
“It just went on all day long,” Langston said. “That was me. His phone was going crazy.”
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Langston said he spoke with 58 coaches in a seven-hour period on Tuesday and that he received the first call 15 minutes after Trey put his name in the portal. (Langston took meticulous notes.) That first call ended in a scholarship offer, as did many others.
“I was getting text messages, nonstop emails, any form of communication,” Trey said. “My phone was constantly ringing.”
Trey said the calls have since slowed, allowing him to narrow his list to seven schools as of Sunday: Arizona, Butler, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Virginia. Those programs are fairly diverse, but Trey said he’s gained insight from his first recruiting experience and his time at Santa Clara to help make his decision. He is also relying on his father’s advice to help guide him, just as he did throughout his high school and early college career.
“Him being involved with basketball — not only my career, but just basketball in general — he knows a good amount,” Trey said. “So we’ve been able to sit down and talk through it a lot.”
Langston said he doesn’t necessarily have exclusive information as a reporter, and if anything, he said he feels like his job has hurt his son’s career.
“Sometimes I think people are not willing to talk to me openly because of what I do,” Langston said. “I definitely think that’s been an issue throughout his career.”
When Trey was in high school, his success as a player was taboo for Langston as a writer. Langston has been writing for The Observer since 1988 and said he never expected his son to one day be making headlines of his own.
Langston had to navigate unique situations while Trey was a standout player at Providence Day. For example, Langston said he was watching one close game between Trey’s team and a rival years ago. A parent from the other team called Langston’s editor at The Observer after the game to say he was cheering in the stands.
“When it comes to Trey, I’m just a dad,” Langston said. “I’m not a reporter. I’m a dad like anybody else. I just want the best for my son.”
Although Langston described Trey’s high school basketball career as some of “the best times,” he also acknowledged that it was “hard” to be a sports writer then. He recused himself from choosing any All-Observer teams while Trey was playing at Providence Day and is still subdued when discussing his son’s talents.
Instead, he relies on the facts: Trey was a two-time all-state selection and a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a high school senior. He made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team last year and holds Santa Clara’s all-time freshman assist record (146 assists).
In high school, Trey had 26 college basketball scholarship offers, a third of which were from Power Five schools, Langston estimated.
“During my high school career, I was pretty much off limits regarding my dad writing about me or doing anything with me,” Trey said.
But now the Wertz family is under one roof again and under different circumstances. Because of COVID-19, Trey is resuming classes online following his spring break, which has allowed him some time to take virtual campus tours and discuss plans with his parents in person.
“Anytime I go in his room, he’s talking to a coach,” Langston said. “I mean, every time. It’s crazy.”
According to Langston, Trey initially doubted he would have interest from a lot of schools when he decided to transfer, but those fears have been unfounded.
“He got pretty heavily recruited out of high school, but it was nothing like this,” Langston said. “I think with the coronavirus and coaches not being able to go see the rising seniors play in AAU, they’ve really turned their attention to the portal.”
As a business major positioned to graduate in three years, Trey said he’s looking for a school with a strong business program where he can complete his master’s degree. Athletically, Langston said Trey is seeking a program that runs a more spread-out offense to open him up as a guard. Santa Clara’s offense became too compacted, according to Langston, but neither he nor Trey named a specific program that the transfer was leaning toward.
“Trey’s a smart kid and his parents have done a great job of influencing and raising him,” said Muggsy Bogues, a former NBA player who coached Trey during his AAU career. “He’s a mild-mannered type of kid. Not flamboyant at all. He goes about his business, so the culture and atmosphere is key for him.”
Bogues added that Trey’s game reminded him of Jamal Crawford.
“He’s worked on his ball handling and is able to stretch the floor,” Bogues said.
Bogues is like an “uncle to Trey,” Langston said, and the two will likely have more discussions as Trey continues to narrow down his list. Discussions will also continue between father and son.
“The good thing is, I don’t cover college basketball,” Langston said. “I don’t really have to worry about that anymore.”
However, Langston’s youngest son, Khamani, is now a freshman starting his high school basketball career, so the longtime preps writer might not get to stay comfortable for long.
For now, though, Langston is enjoying his role. When asked late Sunday over text if he would be the one to break the news about Trey’s decision, Langston responded as a father instead of as a journalist.
“Nah, his day his news,” Wertz wrote. “I will (retweet).”
BY ALEX ANDREJEV
APRIL 06, 2020 06:00 AM, UPDATED APRIL 06, 2020 11:51 AM
NCAA Division I college basketball player Trey Wertz, son of Charlotte Observer preps reporter Langston Wertz Jr, is interviewed by his father about his experience as a college transfer prospect. BY DAVID T. FOSTER III | LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
Langston Wertz Jr. spends a lot of time talking on the phone. As The Charlotte Observer’s high school sports reporter, he’s constantly communicating with talented young athletes, their parents and prep coaches in the area.
But last Tuesday, it wasn’t sources blowing up Wertz’s phone. It was a slew of college basketball coaches calling to discuss his son, Trey, a 6-foot-4 guard at Santa Clara who entered the NCAA transfer portal.
“It just went on all day long,” Langston said. “That was me. His phone was going crazy.”
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Langston said he spoke with 58 coaches in a seven-hour period on Tuesday and that he received the first call 15 minutes after Trey put his name in the portal. (Langston took meticulous notes.) That first call ended in a scholarship offer, as did many others.
“I was getting text messages, nonstop emails, any form of communication,” Trey said. “My phone was constantly ringing.”
Trey said the calls have since slowed, allowing him to narrow his list to seven schools as of Sunday: Arizona, Butler, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Virginia. Those programs are fairly diverse, but Trey said he’s gained insight from his first recruiting experience and his time at Santa Clara to help make his decision. He is also relying on his father’s advice to help guide him, just as he did throughout his high school and early college career.
“Him being involved with basketball — not only my career, but just basketball in general — he knows a good amount,” Trey said. “So we’ve been able to sit down and talk through it a lot.”
Langston said he doesn’t necessarily have exclusive information as a reporter, and if anything, he said he feels like his job has hurt his son’s career.
“Sometimes I think people are not willing to talk to me openly because of what I do,” Langston said. “I definitely think that’s been an issue throughout his career.”
When Trey was in high school, his success as a player was taboo for Langston as a writer. Langston has been writing for The Observer since 1988 and said he never expected his son to one day be making headlines of his own.
Langston had to navigate unique situations while Trey was a standout player at Providence Day. For example, Langston said he was watching one close game between Trey’s team and a rival years ago. A parent from the other team called Langston’s editor at The Observer after the game to say he was cheering in the stands.
“When it comes to Trey, I’m just a dad,” Langston said. “I’m not a reporter. I’m a dad like anybody else. I just want the best for my son.”
Although Langston described Trey’s high school basketball career as some of “the best times,” he also acknowledged that it was “hard” to be a sports writer then. He recused himself from choosing any All-Observer teams while Trey was playing at Providence Day and is still subdued when discussing his son’s talents.
Instead, he relies on the facts: Trey was a two-time all-state selection and a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a high school senior. He made the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team last year and holds Santa Clara’s all-time freshman assist record (146 assists).
In high school, Trey had 26 college basketball scholarship offers, a third of which were from Power Five schools, Langston estimated.
“During my high school career, I was pretty much off limits regarding my dad writing about me or doing anything with me,” Trey said.
But now the Wertz family is under one roof again and under different circumstances. Because of COVID-19, Trey is resuming classes online following his spring break, which has allowed him some time to take virtual campus tours and discuss plans with his parents in person.
“Anytime I go in his room, he’s talking to a coach,” Langston said. “I mean, every time. It’s crazy.”
According to Langston, Trey initially doubted he would have interest from a lot of schools when he decided to transfer, but those fears have been unfounded.
“He got pretty heavily recruited out of high school, but it was nothing like this,” Langston said. “I think with the coronavirus and coaches not being able to go see the rising seniors play in AAU, they’ve really turned their attention to the portal.”
As a business major positioned to graduate in three years, Trey said he’s looking for a school with a strong business program where he can complete his master’s degree. Athletically, Langston said Trey is seeking a program that runs a more spread-out offense to open him up as a guard. Santa Clara’s offense became too compacted, according to Langston, but neither he nor Trey named a specific program that the transfer was leaning toward.
“Trey’s a smart kid and his parents have done a great job of influencing and raising him,” said Muggsy Bogues, a former NBA player who coached Trey during his AAU career. “He’s a mild-mannered type of kid. Not flamboyant at all. He goes about his business, so the culture and atmosphere is key for him.”
Bogues added that Trey’s game reminded him of Jamal Crawford.
“He’s worked on his ball handling and is able to stretch the floor,” Bogues said.
Bogues is like an “uncle to Trey,” Langston said, and the two will likely have more discussions as Trey continues to narrow down his list. Discussions will also continue between father and son.
“The good thing is, I don’t cover college basketball,” Langston said. “I don’t really have to worry about that anymore.”
However, Langston’s youngest son, Khamani, is now a freshman starting his high school basketball career, so the longtime preps writer might not get to stay comfortable for long.
For now, though, Langston is enjoying his role. When asked late Sunday over text if he would be the one to break the news about Trey’s decision, Langston responded as a father instead of as a journalist.
“Nah, his day his news,” Wertz wrote. “I will (retweet).”
