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Hazzard named Sun Belt Player of the Week

February 02, 2009

from the Sun Belt office

TROY’S HAZZARD NAMED SUN BELT MEN’S HOOPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

NEW ORLEANS – After a superb week, including leading Troy to back-to-back victories and helping to extend its win-streak to six games, guard Brandon Hazzard has been named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of Week.

At North Texas on Thursday, Hazzard sank a pair of free throws late in regulation to ice Troy’s first-ever win at the Super Pit. He then followed that performance by fueling a furious home comeback against Denver on Saturday – tying the game with just over a minute remaining, before temporarily putting the Trojans ahead with 15 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, Hazzard drained a three-pointer with 1:34 left, giving Troy the two-point advantage, then sealed the Trojans sixth-straight victory with two free throws at the :20 mark.

In the Trojans two contests last week, Hazzard averaged 25.5 points each time out, while shooting 50 percent (17.34) from the field and 46 percent (6-13) from beyond the arc, along with a near perfect showing at the line (11-13). The Atlanta native also added three steals and as many assists. Moreover, during Troy’s league-best active win streak, Hazzard is averaging 19.3 points per game. On the season, he is putting up 14.7 points and pulling down 2.4 boards per contest, shooting 45 percent from the field and 42 percent from long distance.

Posted by Drew Champlin on 02/02 at 04:17 PM (0) Comments | Permalink

Sunday recruiting thread

February 01, 2009

By Drew Champlin

All updates will be on this one thread. I don’t want to hide the hoops stuff below from last night.

12:22 p.m. CST - Rivals.com has a couple of interesting notes. First, Angelo Peace switches his commitment to Kansas State. Tight end Darrell Smith of Gadsden, who had a one-day official visit this week, went to Clemson, got an offer, and will announce his decision between the Trojans and Tigers on National Signing Day on ESPNU around 1:45 p.m. CST.

3:52 p.m. - Sorry updates have been a little slow. Busy with other stuff and going out for my birthday dinner tonight (tomorrow’s my birthday, but today’s easier to celebrate). I got a call back from Sam Haskins, the WR who committed during his official visit. The Dinwiddie, Va., native picked Troy over Marshall.

“I felt Troy was the best fit for me,“ Haskins said. “I wanted to stay in the offense that my high school runs and Troy fits that.“

Haskins listed himself as 6-foot-4 and 207 pounds and said he’d start out at the X-receiver position but could bulk up and move inside. Haskins is familiar with Troy, as he and his high school had been attending the team camps at Troy the past three summers. His player host was wideout Justin Bray.

9:25 p.m. CST - Back with a recruiting update after the game. Mississippi Delta CC defensive back Willard Ross called me back and said he did commit to Troy on his official visit. Ross said he liked the coaches and the school. He also said coaches want him to play safety, and with the loss of three all-conference players there, there’s a good chance for immediate playing time. He said he would be in school by August.

This is probably the last update I’ll have for tonight. I’m willing to bet that others committed on the trip. A top target was DB Barry Valcin from Coffeeville CC in Kansas, and at this stage if Jeremy Rowell wants a recruit from up there, he’s usually pretty successful in getting it. I’d be surprised if he left without committing, but I have no concrete information at this time.

HERE is the espn.com commitment list. It’s more thorough than the one on rivals.com and with the exception of Demond Dennis‘ commitment, it’s accurate. Not sure if Damond Brinson stuck with Troy or not. Unfortunately, some of those high school kids won’t qualify right away.

Posted by Drew Champlin on 02/01 at 12:21 PM (1) Comments | Permalink

Recapping Troy’s OT win over Denver

By Drew Champlin

First off, HERE is my game story. WIth the late finish, I had to rush to put it together, but hopefully the videos below will tell the complete story. HERE is the Troy release, HERE is the box score and HERE is the Denver release.

Count me as one who’s still wondering how in the heck Troy pulled off that win, the Trojans’ sixth in a row. Troy is now 8-3 in league play. In four seasons of Sun Belt play, Troy has been 6-9, 8-10, 4-14, and now 8-3 with 7 more games to go.

I’ll be honest, I thought this would be Troy’s worst team of the four. Boy, was I wrong. It starts with coaching - Don Maestri changed styles to reflect an international-type game where players drive to the basket and look to get to the line. It continues with players. Big Shot Brandon Hazzard has been the surprise of the league, and his career-high 28 points and continued ability to knock down clutch shots has been a spark in this team. Combine that guard play with Richard Delk and Michael Vogler, and you’ve got a trio that’s as good or better than anyone in the league. It culminates with team chemistry. Josh Williams is normally the 9th man in the rotation, but he played the game of his life - forcing 3 turnovers in OT after Vogler had fouled out. Troy went with the quicker lineup to counteract what Denver had on the floor, and because of that, Williams played more minutes. Each and every player on the Troy roster knows its role.

Got to feel bad for Denver. They did everything exactly right, but those poor guys aren’t athletic enough to hang with most teams in the Sun Belt, especially away from Denver and that thin air. I was impressed with Rob Lewis and Nate Rohnert - both of those guys are very legit. But Denver needs to be in a league that fits it better geographically.
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VIDEO 1 - Troy players Josh Williams (left) and Brandon Hazzard talk about the win