With a few flicks of a pen Thursday morning at Mount Pleasant High School, Zeigler officially became the highest-rated high school player ever to sign with the Central Michigan basketball program.

His mother, Seantelle, sat by his side, but his father, Ernie, chose to stand on the side to watch his son sign the National Letter of Intent inside the school cafeteria. Ernie also was there as a basketball coach who just saw his CMU program reach heights that were nearly unthinkable when he was hired four years ago.

But this was about Trey — a prospect ranked as high as No. 26 overall, including No. 7 among shooting guards, in the country.

“This is his moment,” said Ernie as he backed away after delivering the paperwork.

It was an anticlimactic ending after years of speculation about Trey, who turned down offers from Arizona State, Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA to join a program that has had four winning seasons in the past 31 years. He announced his decision Wednesday night on ESPNU.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t leave dad.”

Switching roles

Ernie began approaching Trey more as a coach than as a father over the last month.

“It really picked up, telling me he really wanted me here,” Trey said.

After a week of not talking to coaches, Trey returned from an all-star game in Louisville, Ky., on Monday night and told his father of his decision.

“He was about to break it down to me again, convince me again and, before he even got started, I told him I was coming,” Trey said. “You could just see the relief on his face.”

Meanwhile, Seantelle is glad the announcement is over.

“I had to get in the middle and be the mediator between the two,” she said. “I had to let Trey know it was totally his decision.”

A different path

Ernie Zeigler has yet to have a winning season.

CMU came close in 2009-10, finishing 15-15 and winning its second consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division title.

But Trey is driven by that fact — and said he wants to lead the Chippewas to the same heights mid-major schools such as Butler, Davidson and George Mason were able to achieve the past few seasons.

“That’s the main goal – that’s what I’m trying to prove,” Trey said. “I think (Ray McCallum Jr. is) doing the same thing at Detroit. We can do it anywhere. We feel like we can do it here and hopefully make a tournament run here.”

The success stories from those schools drove Ernie to leave articles about players such as Butler’s Gordon Hayward, Davidson’s Stephen Curry (now with the Golden State Warriors) and others to show what could be possible.

“I told him not to be afraid about being that guy,” Ernie said. “If you have the opportunity to emerge in that type of setting, the responsibility that’s going to come with it, you have to earn it.”

Trey said McCallum Jr., a good friend of his and a similarly regarded basketball recruit (Detroit Country Day), had a major role in making his decision easier. McCallum Jr. revealed he would play for his father, Ray McCallum Sr., at the University of Detroit Mercy a few minutes before Trey’s announcement Wednesday.

“I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it without Ray,” Trey said. “It was a blessing because we were able to talk about it a lot and I had somebody who was going through the same situation.”

Where does he fit?

Trey will have an opportunity to immediately compete for a starting spot, as last season’s backcourt duo of Jordan Bitzer (15.3 points per game) and Robbie Harman (15.0) will graduate.

But Ernie, as his mantra ‘Think Tough, Be Tough,’ mantra suggests, will not give Trey any breaks on the way to earning that spot.

“I’m not going to try to be the savior,” Trey said. “I think we’ve got a lot of great pieces — a lot of great guys coming back and a lot of great recruits coming in. I’m just going to step in and try to do my part"