Troy University Athletics
Bassett Named Second Team All-Sun Belt; Troy Set to Face ULL In First Round
3/4/2008 5:00:00 PM | Basketball (M)
Troy University senior guard O'Darien Bassett was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team today, the league announced.
Bassett, a native of Carrollton, Ga., leads the Trojans and is fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game. He is the second player in Troy's short history to earn a spot on the All-Sun Belt squad, joining Bobby Dixon, who was a first team pick in 2005-06.
“I am very proud for O'Darrien, but this is a very deserving honor,” Trojans head coach Don Maestri said. “Some of our wins this year came as a direct result of his outstanding play. Hopefully, we'll get to see him play a few more times before the season is over.”
Bassett's best performances came against some of the best teams in the Sun Belt this year. His top effort came just last week, scoring 42 points, including 33 in the second half and 17 in the final five minutes, against Florida Atlantic.
Bassett earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors early in the conference season when he scored 25 and 36 points in back-to-back games against the league's eventual co-champions South Alabama and Western Kentucky. He followed those performances with a 30 point game against North Texas.
Overall this year, Bassett scored at least 20 points in a game 11 times. In addition to his overall scoring, he ranks ninth in the league in free throw percentage (.806), 11th in steals (1.28/game) and fourth in three-pointers made (2.24/game).
Bassett enters the Trojans' Sun Belt Conference Tournament opener Wednesday night at Louisiana-Lafayette just 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of Troy's 1,000-point club. He would be the first new member of that club since Rob Lewin reached the 1,000-point milestone in 2004.
In addition to Bassett's quest for 1,000 points, the Trojans will be looking to end a three-game losing skid to the Ragin' Cajuns and advance to the Sun Belt Tournament in Mobile after missing out on tournament play last year.
The Ragin' Cajuns defeated Troy 87-66 in the only meeting between the teams this year back on January 27. ULL led by just one at the half but took advantage of poor second half shooting by the Trojans to pull away. Troy hit just eight field goals in the second half of that game and the Trojans' bench was outscored 41-23.
“They are, without a doubt, one of the deepest teams in the league,” Maestri said. “They interchange players all over the floor and never miss a beat. They play a lot of guys every night and they are on a good run right now. They are co-champions of their division. The big thing I remember from our first meeting is that they shot the lights out.”
For the Trojans to end their losing skid against ULL and advance to Mobile, Maestri said the entire team will have to play well. In particular, Troy needs both Bassett and fellow senior Justin Jonus to score to have a chance.
“Our guys have had great attitudes and have come to work every day all year,” Maestri said. “They have taken things one game at a time and I am sure there will be no looking back now. The big thing is we have to get more than one guy to play well on a given night. Our shooting has been horrendous but, if we can get off to a good start, then maybe we can feed off that. I know that we need for Justin and O'Darien to both play at a very high level for us to have a chance.”
Tipoff for the game at the Cajun Dome Wednesday night is set for 8:05 p.m. The winner will advance to play the winner of the Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Monroe matchup on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Mitchell Center in Mobile.
Desmond Yates (Middle Tennessee, So., F)
Bo McCalebb (New Orleans, Sr., G)
Demetric Bennett (South Alabama, Sr., G)
Courtney Lee (WKU, Sr., G/F)
Josh White (North Texas, Fr., G)
Daon Merritt (South Alabama, Sr. G)
O'Darien Bassett (Troy, Sr., G)
Tyrone Brazelton (WKU, Sr., G)
Alex Galindo (Florida International, Jr., F)
Russell Hicks (Florida International, Jr., C)
Brandon Davis (South Alabama, Jr., F)
Domonic Tilford (South Alabama, Jr., G)
Bassett, a native of Carrollton, Ga., leads the Trojans and is fourth in the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game. He is the second player in Troy's short history to earn a spot on the All-Sun Belt squad, joining Bobby Dixon, who was a first team pick in 2005-06.
“I am very proud for O'Darrien, but this is a very deserving honor,” Trojans head coach Don Maestri said. “Some of our wins this year came as a direct result of his outstanding play. Hopefully, we'll get to see him play a few more times before the season is over.”
Bassett's best performances came against some of the best teams in the Sun Belt this year. His top effort came just last week, scoring 42 points, including 33 in the second half and 17 in the final five minutes, against Florida Atlantic.
Bassett earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors early in the conference season when he scored 25 and 36 points in back-to-back games against the league's eventual co-champions South Alabama and Western Kentucky. He followed those performances with a 30 point game against North Texas.
Overall this year, Bassett scored at least 20 points in a game 11 times. In addition to his overall scoring, he ranks ninth in the league in free throw percentage (.806), 11th in steals (1.28/game) and fourth in three-pointers made (2.24/game).
Bassett enters the Trojans' Sun Belt Conference Tournament opener Wednesday night at Louisiana-Lafayette just 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of Troy's 1,000-point club. He would be the first new member of that club since Rob Lewin reached the 1,000-point milestone in 2004.
In addition to Bassett's quest for 1,000 points, the Trojans will be looking to end a three-game losing skid to the Ragin' Cajuns and advance to the Sun Belt Tournament in Mobile after missing out on tournament play last year.
The Ragin' Cajuns defeated Troy 87-66 in the only meeting between the teams this year back on January 27. ULL led by just one at the half but took advantage of poor second half shooting by the Trojans to pull away. Troy hit just eight field goals in the second half of that game and the Trojans' bench was outscored 41-23.
“They are, without a doubt, one of the deepest teams in the league,” Maestri said. “They interchange players all over the floor and never miss a beat. They play a lot of guys every night and they are on a good run right now. They are co-champions of their division. The big thing I remember from our first meeting is that they shot the lights out.”
For the Trojans to end their losing skid against ULL and advance to Mobile, Maestri said the entire team will have to play well. In particular, Troy needs both Bassett and fellow senior Justin Jonus to score to have a chance.
“Our guys have had great attitudes and have come to work every day all year,” Maestri said. “They have taken things one game at a time and I am sure there will be no looking back now. The big thing is we have to get more than one guy to play well on a given night. Our shooting has been horrendous but, if we can get off to a good start, then maybe we can feed off that. I know that we need for Justin and O'Darien to both play at a very high level for us to have a chance.”
Tipoff for the game at the Cajun Dome Wednesday night is set for 8:05 p.m. The winner will advance to play the winner of the Middle Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Monroe matchup on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Mitchell Center in Mobile.
Sun Belt Conference All-Conference Men's Basketball Team
First Team
Carlos Monroe (Florida Atlantic, Jr. F)Desmond Yates (Middle Tennessee, So., F)
Bo McCalebb (New Orleans, Sr., G)
Demetric Bennett (South Alabama, Sr., G)
Courtney Lee (WKU, Sr., G/F)
Second Team
Collin Dennis (North Texas, Jr., G)Josh White (North Texas, Fr., G)
Daon Merritt (South Alabama, Sr. G)
O'Darien Bassett (Troy, Sr., G)
Tyrone Brazelton (WKU, Sr., G)
Third Team
Ryan Wedel (Arkansas State, So., G)Alex Galindo (Florida International, Jr., F)
Russell Hicks (Florida International, Jr., C)
Brandon Davis (South Alabama, Jr., F)
Domonic Tilford (South Alabama, Jr., G)
Player of the Year
Courtney Lee (WKU, Sr., G/F)Defensive Player of the Year
Bo McCalebb (New Orleans, Sr., G)Newcomer of the Year
Collin Dennis (North Texas, Jr., G)Freshman of the Year
Josh White (North Texas, Fr., G)Coach of the Year
Ronnie Arrow, South Alabama
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