Arkansas’ coaching staff hauled in one of the best 2008 basketball recruiting classes in the country in their first year in Fayetteville. But now Coach John Pelphrey and staff are focused on the 2009 class and will earn lots of frequent flier miles traveling the country over the next month.

They hit the road Sunday, the first day of the summer evaluation period that runs until July 15 and then resumes July 22 until July 31.

The NCAA allows three coaches per staff to go out during the allotted 20 days in July to evaluate talent. Coaches will try to travel to the numerous summer tournaments and camps to evaluate and be seen by prospects, but because of NCAA rules, they can’t have any contact with the athletes.

Coach John Pelphrey and assistant coaches Tom Ostrom and Isacc Brown will be out on the road the majority of the time during July.

Ostrom gave a rundown on his schedule for the next week that includes a stop in Little Rock for the AAU Division I and Division II national championships for boys 16 and younger.

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“I’ll probably be in Kansas City [Mo. ] for a day,” Ostrom said. “I came to Akron [Ohio ] last night; I’ll be in Akron until tomorrow [Tuesday ] night. I’ll probably go to Indianapolis for a night, Philadelphia for a night and then from there I’ll probably go to Little Rock for a day and then Memphis for a day or two and then possibly Louisville, Ky. That will all happen before next Tuesday.” Pelphrey and Brown will be just as busy traveling to such places as Akron, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Georgia and Tulsa, just to name a few. While it’s nearly impossible for three coaches to make it to all of the tournaments across the country, Arkansas’ will be out looking for new talent as well as seeing current prospects.

“You literally could have four or five guys in different spots,” Ostrom said. “There’s so many players and so many tournaments that you’re spread out. So we’ll have three guys in three different cities the whole month of July trying to cover all of these events. Some of it’s evaluating, and some of it is beyond evaluations and just making sure the kids know you’re there watching them.” After July 15, a dead period sets in and the Razorbacks’ coaching staff can contact the newly discovered talent to gauge their interest in the Arkansas program, along with recruits the staff already had interest in.

“We’ll really spend a lot of time on the phone with maybe some of the new kids we saw for the first time and some of the guys we did a better job of evaluating,” Ostrom said. “You regroup and see who’s interested in you as well. You can’t talk to a kid while they’re at the event. They may or may not have an interest in you. You have to find out. You don’t want to follow a kid around the country the whole month and find out in August “ well coach I’m really not interested in Arkansas” so you have to get back and regroup and spend a lot of time on the phone. ” Arkansas will primarily focus on three events in three cities during the second evaluation period.

“Majority of the time in the second period you’ll either be in Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Orlando [Fla. ] for the most part.” Ostrom said.

While in Philadelphia, the Razorbacks’ coaches will no doubt check out forward Clarence Trent, who plays for the Arkansas Hawks.

Trent is an explosive leaper with a 39-inch vertical and at 6-8, 230 pounds is one of the more athletic forwards in the country. He averaged 11. 8 points and 7. 7 rebounds a game and had a teamhigh 50 blocks for the very talented Findlay Prep team in Henderson, Nev., that went 32-1 and finished second in the National Prep Championships at Fordham University in March.

Trent arrived Sunday in Philadelphia for the prestigious Reebok All-American Camp. Trent and Hawks teammate Fred Gulley of Fayetteville were two of 120 athletes who were invited to improve their individual skill level and compete against the best in the nation. Another Hawk, center Anthony Borden of West Memphis, was invited but is with his high school team for a camp in Kansas City.

“I’ve got it down to Maryland, Washington, Cal-Berkley, UNLV, Kentucky and Arkansas,” Trent said of his top six schools.

All but Maryland have offered scholarships to Trent. He plans to narrow his list before the fall.

“By the time school starts, I’ll have the list of five and then I’ll set dates for all of my official visits,” Trent said. “I’ll then take my visits and see what I like from each school.” Playing for Coach Bill Ingram and the Hawks, Trent was recently named to the all-tournament team at the GBOA South Tournament in Atlanta.

“He’s improving every time he goes out and plays,” Ingram said. “His ball handling and decision-making is getting a lot better.” Though he’s very fond of the Hogs, Trent is being deliberate in choosing a school.

“I like them a lot right now, but I’m just taking it slow and trying to figure out what I want to do,” he said.

Trent said he’s working on his outside shot to go along with his outstanding inside game.

“Summer basketball has been going real good,” Trent said. “My perimeter game is improving a lot. I can step out and hit the three where before I wasn’t able to hit as many. I’ve been able to knock down more, and I’m still driving to the basket.” Trent said most schools are recruiting him as a small / power forward combo.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline. com