A Basketball Journey Realized

Former Nash Central guard Trey Sumler has had a unique basketball journey.

Sumler had a highly decorated career as a Nash Central Bulldog, and one could argue that he has been the most talented basketball prospect to play for the Bulldogs. He was four-time first-team All-Conference selection, and he was named the NEW-6 Conference’s Boys Co-Player of the Year in his senior year. Sumler was also selected to play in the North Carolina-South Carolina All-Star Game in his senior year. After graduating from Nash Central High School in 2009, Sumler walked-on at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.

Sumler would redshirt his first year at Western Carolina, but was awarded “Most Improved” honors for his hard work and grit on the practice lcourt. In his first year suiting up the Catamounts, Sumler was named the Southern Conference’s Freshman of the Year. In the following years, Sumler would continue to have tremendous success, and he was essential to Western Carolina’s program. At the end of his college career, Sumler’s achievements ranked highly in Western Carolina school history, and he sits 3rd all-time in points scored with 1,996 points and 1st in starts with 121 stars.

While Sumler was not drafted in the 2014 NBA draft, he was given the opportunity to play professional basketball. Sumer packed up and moved to Denmark to play for the Aalborg Vikings. The Vikings play in the first division of the Danish Basketball League. In his rookie year, Sumler impressed and averaged 22.6 points, 4.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds for the Vikings, which was enough to garner attention from NBA scouts.

On Saturday, October 31st, Sumler was drafted by the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. Sumer was the 8th pick (65th overall) in the 4th round of the NBA Development League draft, which was held on October 31st, 2015. The BayHawks call Erie, Pennsylvania home and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic.

It’s extremely clear that Sumler has made the most of every opportunity given to him, and he has excelled at every level of basketball thus far. There’s no reason to doubt Sumler, and it wouldn’t too far-fetched to say that Sumler has the talent to make the jump from the Erie BayHawks to the Orlando Magic in a fairly short period of time.

In all, Sumer is just another example of the talent that Nash Central High School has been able to produce, and it goes to show you how a dream can turn into a reality with little hard work and effort.