Tuesday link/polls
February 16, 2009
Nothing from me on Troy athletics today, but our esteemed columnist Phil Paramore finally caught some Troy hoops from his recliner Saturday and wrote this good piece on the Trojans.
Not much surprises me any more, but going into my fifth year on the beat, this is the most surprising development. The Trojans are battling for a league title in men’s hoops. I’ve got no idea when this win streak will come to an end, but head coach Don Maestri has done his best coaching job yet. Sartain Hall wasn’t built in a day (though sometimes it sure looks like it), and this offense took a couple of months to get installed, but that—plus the great team chemistry—has Troy rolling.
I knew Michael Vogler and Richard Delk would be good. The surprise has been Brandon Hazzard, who has stepped his game up many notches this year. He worked his rear end off in the weight room and on the court in the offseason and has become the go-to guy in terms of scoring. He’s been behind O’Darien Bassett the past two years and while Bassett’s a phenomenal athlete—maybe the best one I’ve ever seen put on a Troy basketball uniform—he can’t match Hazzard in a game of H-O-R-S-E nor did I see him hit clutch shot after clutch shot like Hazzard. Though, it would have been fun to see Bassett operate in this dribble-drive offense because he was very good at taking it to the rack.
So, that trio has become very legit Sun Belt guards, possibly the best trio of guards in the league. The good thing about them is that they’re all back next year. Great guard play wins games. South Alabama has the best frontcourt in the league, but is in the middle of the back because the guards have struggled. Middle Tennessee has the league’s best forward (Desmond Yates), but its three senior guards haven’t played up to par this year.
Along with the guards, the starting forwards and the four top bench players haven’t done anything to lose games, and almost always there’s one or two stepping with a big game every time out. It just depends on which one. Kenny Ware scorched the nets in wins over WKU and South Alabama. Josh Williams had three big defensive plays in an overtime win over Denver. Mario Telfair brings all-out energy every game, Tom Jervis has become a defensive force and Travis Lee can really fill up the nets when he’s hot.
With that, I leave you a couple of polls
I do hope to get some baseball position previews out starting today. Troy opens vs. Kentucky Friday in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
